ProRodeo Sports News - February 2, 2024

EDITOR’S LETTER TRACY RENCK

Tracy Renck is the editor of the ProRodeo

Sports News. He previously served more than seven years as a media coordinator at the PRCA. He has three decades of experience in sports journalism with the last several consumed by ProRodeo.

Remembering 1984 World Champions I t’s always fun to look back at the past to understand the present of the PRCA. Countless cowboys paved the way to the modern-day Association – and the class of the 1984 PRCA World Champions definitely left its mark. All the world champions – all-around cowboy Dee Pickett;

PRCA Official Media Guide is a treat. That’s year’s media guide documented the achievements of the 1984 world champs, which is worth the read, but what fascinated me the most is some of the other stories and quotes in the guide from legendary ProRodeo Hall of Famers. Here’s a sampling to enjoy: • “A person has a dream to become the best, a world champion in the most competitive and demanding sport. This Association gives that person the chance to make that dream a reality.” – Larry Mahan, an eight-time world champion • “It’s my life. There’s nothing I would rather do than raise a colt from a baby, then watch him grow up and be a champion.” – Stock contractor Harry Vold • “The National Finals Rodeo is the Kentucky Derby, the Super Bowl, the World Series. It’s that to me and it’s that to a lot of Americans.” – Announcer Clem McSpadden • “It’s an eight-second lifestyle.” – Announcer Bob Tallman • “Every performance of any rodeo should get the maximum of my ability. I try to relate arena action to the greatest audiences of any sport, the rodeo fans.” – Announcer Randy Corley • “When hard going’s required, sleep becomes irrelevant.” – Team roper Leo Camarillo This was quite the journey down memory lane.

bareback rider Brad Gjermundson; steer wrestler John W. Jones Jr.; team ropers – header Pickett and heeler Mike Beers; saddle bronc rider Brad Gjermundson; tie-down roper Roy Cooper; steer roper Guy Allen; and bull rider Don Gay are all members of the ProRodeo Hall of Fame. The group won a combined 45 PRCA World Championships – led by Allen’s 18 in steer roping, a PRCA single-event record, and eight each by Cooper and Gay. Gay’s eight bull riding world championships are a PRCA record. It’s crazy to think these cowboys all reached the spotlight together in 1984 – 40 years ago. In this media-supplied photo accompanying this article – Allen isn’t shown for some reason, but it is well-documented that he’s the gold standard for all steer ropers past and present. “Guy’s got a helluva desire to rope steers,” said ProRodeo Hall of Famer Phil Lyne of Allen in the 1985 Official PRCA Media Guide. “In order to practice and progress as much as he has, he has to really, really like it … Guy’s roped steers all his life. He craves it, you know, he really, really craves it.” The Resistol Rookie of the Year – in the above photo – was bull rider Sam Poutous. Even though the Californian suffered near-fatal stomach injuries at an amateur rodeo in August 1982, he never abandoned his quest for a PRCA career. Poutous joined the PRCA in 1984 and the 23-year-old made his NFR debut that year and finished the season 15th in the world standings. As memorable as the 1984 world champs are – reading the 1985

ProRodeo Sports News 2/2/2024

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