PRORODEO Sports News | Roy Cooper 1955-2025 | May 2, 2025

PRCA MOURNS PASSING OF PRORODEO HALL OF FAMER ROY COOPER By PRCA Staff T he rodeo world has lost a legend. PRORODEO Hall of Famer Roy Cooper passed away in a house fire April 29 in Decatur, Texas. He was 69. Over the course of three-plus decades, Cooper amassed a legendary rodeo resume. The PRORODEO Hall of Famer was Rookie of the Year in 1976 and won eight total world championships - six in tie-down roping, one in steer roping and one all around crown - while dominating the competition, particularly throughout the 1980s. Cooper's prowess with a rope landed him the nickname "Super Looper" and into the inaugural class of the PRORODEO Hall of Fame in 1979 in Colorado Springs, Colo. "In Oklahoma City at the Finals a guy from Sports Illustrated hung it on me," Cooper said on Ty Harris' Lets Freakin' Rodeo podcast on Feb. 4, 2025, about how he got his nickname. "I don't know if I'm Super Looper. I'm just Roy. I'm not one to brag on myself and there are so many good ropers today. You can't compare me to Toots Mansfield or Dean Oliver because we were in different eras. I had my time for 10 years there." Even with all that success, there is one moment that stands out - winning the PRCA All-Around World Championship in 1983, along with capturing the tie-down roping and steer roping championships. That made him one of 10 cowboys to ever secure rodeo's elusive Triple Crown - three world titles in the same year. Just two years ago, that All-Around buckle remained proudly on display. "It's the only one I wear. Since I won it, I've never taken it off," said Cooper in a March 31, 2023, story in the PRORODEO Sports News. There is a caveat though - Cooper would remove the buckle, but only to loan it to another legendary cowboy. "Actually, I would give it to George Strait if he would wear it. I would because he's one of my very best friends," he said. Cooper and Strait met just before Cooper's Triple Crown run in 1983. PRCA photo by Mike Copeman

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