ProRodeo Sports News, June 29, 2018

Legend Passes

Harry Tompkins got some major air aboard bareback horse Centennial Zum- walt at the 1960 National Finals Rodeo in Dal- las. He would go on to win the all-around and bull riding world titles that season. DeVere Helfrich photo

Hall of Famer Tompkins was eight-time world champ

BY TRACY RENCK T he rodeo world lost a legend on June 29. ProRodeo Hall of Famer Harry Tompkins, an eight-time world champion – including five bull riding titles (1948-50, ’52, ’60), one bareback riding title (1952) and two all-around crowns – (1952, ’60), passed away in Stephenville, Texas. He was 90. “He was a fun-loving, generous man,” said Martha Jordan, Tompkins’ daughter. Tompkins, a quiet kid from the Peekskill Mountains of upstate New York, who never saw a bull until the day he climbed

on, became one of the best cowboys in the long and storied history of rodeo. Known for his sense of humor – he was photographed waving to a cameraman while riding a bull in 1949 – Tompkins was a popular champion with fans and his fellow competitors. A superb athlete and stylish rider, the 5-foot-8, 150-pound Tompkins possessed exceptional balance and coordination. He took pride in living a clean-cut lifestyle – no cigarettes or alcohol, and no gambling – but he traveled hard by car and airplane with friends and fellow champions Jim Shoulders, Casey Tibbs and Jack Buschbom, the first group to hit the road with the intensity and dedication characterized by modern-day

ProRodeo Sports News 6/29/2018

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