PRORODEO Sports News - Sept. 9, 2026

P roRodeo Hall of Famer Phil Lyne, considered one of the best cowboys in PRORODEO histo ry, passed away Aug. 14 in Cotulla, Texas. He was 79. Lyne’s decorated PRORODEO career was high lighted by him winning the Rodeo Cowboys Asso ciation – the precursor to the PRCA – All-Around World Championships in 1971 and 1972 and the Tie-Down Roping World Championships in 1971 and 1972 as well. Then, he captured the 1990 PRCA Steer Roping World Championships. He also shined when the spotlight was the brightest at the National Finals Rodeo and National Finals Steer Roping. He won the tie-down roping average in 1971 and 1972, the 1972 bull riding aver age and the NFSR average in 1983 and 1986. Lyne was the 1969 RCA Overall Rookie of the Year, and he also won the Linderman Award - an honor given to select cowboys willing and able to

perform at both ends of the arena - in 1970, 1971, 1972 and 1976. “We crossed paths quite a few times – and I sure thought a lot of him, and he was definitely a hero of mine,” said ProRodeo Hall of Famer Ty Murray, a nine-time PRCA World Champion to the PRO RODEO Sports News. “He’s absolutely one of the greatest to ever play the game and the most versa tile. Then, you look at the span between his world championships, it’s a big span. He was a Hell of a competitor, and it’s crazy to me to see somebody that can do it that good and for that long. I had so much respect and admiration for Phil.” Bobby Steiner, the 1973 RCA Bull Riding World Champion, became friends with Lyne in the late 1960s and was well aware of how talented Lyne was in the arena. “I first started on a permit in, like, 1968. And Phil was college rodeoing – and there was talk of him then. You know, he was just that guy,” Steiner said.

Phil Lyne with other cowboys PRCA file photo

6 PRORODEO SPORTS NEWS DIGITAL MAGAZINE September 9, 2026