ProRodeo Sports News - May 14, 2021

SHORT ROUND ProRodeo Hall of Famer George Doak was 83 Bullfighter passes

B ullfighter George Doak, who was inducted into the ProRodeo Hall of Fame in Colorado Springs, Colo., in 2000, passed away April 27. He was 83. Doak and fellow bullfighter Junior Meek were inducted into the Hall of Fame together. The two bullfighters were destined to be together. Both started their bullfighting careers as a means of trading entry fees for the bull riding, although Doak also entered bareback riding. Doak, born May 18, 1937, in Fort Worth, Texas, started his professional career in 1957 in Cowtown, N.J. One of the first televised rodeos, Cowtown also hosted what may have been the first clown training camp at a bull riding school. Doak twice fought bulls at the National Finals Rodeo (1971, 1977) and for many years worked the National High School Finals Rodeo and College National Finals Rodeo. He was a bullfighter until 1981. “It’s going to be great because we are inducted together,” Doak told ProRodeo Sports News in 2000 before he and Meek were inducted. “From the time I was a kid, I wanted to be a bullfighter. Being voted into the Hall of Fame just makes the circle of my career.” Doak and Meek, born April 4, 1936, in Cleburne, Texas, joined forces in 1963 to book rodeos as a team. That marked the first time two bullfighters worked as partners. The list of rodeos they worked, together and separately, reads like a “Who’s Who” in the rodeo world: Fort Worth, Texas, Pendleton, Ore., Kissimmee, Fla., Phoenix, San Francisco, Cheyenne, Wyo., and Denver. Doak was preceded in death by son, Steven Lyle Doak.

Doak

Doak is survived by wife, Reada Kay Doak; sons George (Laquitta) Doak Jr. and Michael (Laura) Doak; stepson, Derron (Amy) Vincik; stepdaughter, Lenece (Raymond) Smith; grandchildren Colby Doak, Cassie Hamlin, Samantha Doak, Amberly Andress, Nicolas Doak, Jordan Johnson, Katelyn Macalla, Kelsey Vincik, Kingsley Vincik, Skye Smith and Steele Smith; great-grandchildren Jett and Jake Doak, Chase Hamlin, Ballie Sessom, Gage and Brielynn Andress, and Royer and Amberi Doak. Doak’s funeral will be at 2 p.m. (CT), May 18 at the Lone Star Cowboy Church, 21627 Eva St., Montgomery, Texas. Memorials for Doak can be sent to the Justin Cowboy Crisis Fund, 101 ProRodeo Dr., Colorado Springs, Colo., 80919 and/or the Rodeo Cowboy Alumni, Scholarship Fund, 6064 Appleton Rd., SW, Albuquerque, N.M., 87105.

ProRodeo Sports News 5/14/2021 Tribute to Chris LeDoux opens at Hall of Fame “A Tribute to Chris LeDoux” opened at the ProRodeo Hall of Fame’s 101 Gallery on May 1 in Colorado Springs, Colo. The exhibit consists of photographs, memorabilia and other items from the private collection of Bill and Dona Vold Larsen. The exhibit includes photos of LeDoux’s rodeo competition, concert photographs, photos of his artwork and other miscellaneous items. The exhibit includes two original artworks by LeDoux that are pencil drawings. The exhibit will be up through early fall. LeDoux was inducted into the ProRodeo Hall of Fame in 2005 and is the only dual inductee in the Hall – inducted in bareback riding and in the notable category. LeDoux won the PRCA bareback riding world championship in 1976 and was an award-winning country music artist. In early summer, the ProRodeo Hall of Fame will add a small exhibit to the gallery showcasing the history of Western heritage and rodeo of the Pikes Peak Region and the city of Colorado Springs to celebrate the 150th anniversary of Colorado Springs on July 31. LeDoux

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