ProRodeo Sports News - May 12, 2023

ProRodeo Hall of Famer Larry Mahan passes away BY TRACY RENCK True Legend

8 PRCA World Championships 6 Titles in All-Around 1966-70 and 1973 2 Titles in Bull Riding (1965 and 1967) 26 Number of qualifications for National Finals Rodeo in roughstock events 1966 Becomes first cowboy to qualify in all three NFR roughstock events 1979 Inducted in the inaugural class of the ProRodeo Hall of Fame MAHAN BY THE NUMBERS buckle was made for Mahan for winning six all-around world championships. Larry Mahan was a rockstar cowboy, who won his share of rodeos. This special

P roRodeo Hall of Famer Larry Mahan, arguably the biggest superstar in rodeo history, passed away on May 7. He was 79. Mahan was the all-around world champion in 1966 70 and 1973. He also was the bull riding champ in 1965 and 1967. He qualified for the NFR a combined 26 times from 1964-75 in bareback riding, saddle bronc riding and bull riding. He was inducted in the inaugural class of the ProRodeo Hall of Fame in Colorado Springs, Colo., in 1979. The loss of Mahan weighed heavy on fellow ProRodeo Hall of Famer, Ty Murray, a nine-time world champion. “I think he meant a lot to the sport of rodeo, and he meant a lot to me,” Murray said. “He was my hero. He was my superman when I was a little boy. I did a paper when I was in fifth grade, they said if you could wish anything for the world what would it be. I misunderstood the question. I thought it meant if there is anything you could do in the world, what would it be? I said I wanted to break Larry Mahan’s records. I still have that assignment today with me.” Murray acknowledged Mahan was far more than his idol. “He took me under his wing when I was 13,” Murray said. “I went and lived with him that summer and he didn’t really teach me anything about riding. He never really even mentioned anything about riding but taught me a lot about not being shy when people want to interview you and to try and give thoughtful answers and tell them what it is like because most people can’t fathom what it is like to ride a bull or a bucking horse. He taught me the importance of all that stuff, which was really a big help for me in my career because growing up, if it didn’t have to do with being a cowboy, I didn’t care about it. “I think he was a pioneer in that realm of sponsorship and doing things that no cowboys had ever done. I think he did some commercials for athletic wear, and beer commercials and all kinds of stuff. He kind of paved his own way. He didn’t just follow suit like so many people do in all different walks of life. Everybody is monkey-see, monkey-do and I feel like he was a guy who knew what he wanted to do, and he knew what he wanted to try and get done. He had a love for it, and he had a passion for it, and he went and did it.” Murray said he spent two hours with Mahan on May 5, at his home in Valley View, Texas. “He couldn’t really move, and I just sat with him, and just

PRCA ProRodeo file photo Larry Mahan smiles after winning the 1965 R.C.A. Bull Riding World Championship. He also won a bull riding world championship in 1967.

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ProRodeo Sports News 5/12/2023

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