ProRodeo Sports News - Nov. 1, 2024

TIME CAPSULE POST WAR

History Lesson

Rodeo returns stronger than ever after WWII BY PRCA STAFF A s U.S. participation in WWII approached, the PRCA didn’t exist, nor did the Rodeo Cowboys Association (RCA). And its forerunner, the Cowboys’ Turtle Association, was still in its infancy, having formed in 1936. By 1940, the Turtles had about 1,000 members. During that time, the Rodeo Association of America (RAA) was the main governing body, and Hoofs and Horns was the official monthly publication of the RAA and the CTA. There were an estimated 105 rodeos in the United States that were part of the RAA in 1940, according to an Oct. 26, 1940, article by C.M. Black in the now-defunct magazine Collier’s. By 1941, 28 percent of the regularly scheduled rodeos in the U.S. and Canada had been canceled, according to the September 1941 RAA Bulletin . WWII brought on gasoline rationing and limited public gatherings along the coast and military roads. The West Coast, Arizona and New Mexico were designated Military Area One and Two. Within these zones, no public gatherings of 5,000 or more could be held without sanction. The only established rodeo within those zones to be held in 1942 was La Fiesta de los Vaqueros in Tucson, Ariz. The rodeos held throughout WWII had a war clause within their contracts, allowing committees to cancel at any time, without notice. SETTING THE STANDARD President Franklin D. Roosevelt declared that baseball must continue despite the war as a morale-builder. Rodeos didn’t receive the same level of federal backing, but fan enthusiasm carried the flag into the arena, and some took it as an opportunity to establish new rodeos in places where none had been. Creating rodeos as fundraisers was a trend that began during World War I and continued through WWII. In 1942, Cheyenne (Wyo.) Frontier Days invested 75 percent of its profits in war bonds and donated the balance to the Red Cross, according to Western Horseman columnist Jerry Armstrong. Even in its infancy, by early 1942 the CTA had $10,000 worth of U.S. defense bonds. The CTA’s name changed during WWII, but their support did not. When the war ended, the RCA had $20,910 in war bonds. The patriotic theme continued at the Stock Show Rodeo in Fort Worth, Texas, where $50 war bonds were substituted for trophies to event winners. The prize money was an impressive $23,275 purse, plus entry fees. Other rodeos were able to offer higher dollar amounts, according to Armstrong’s column in Western Horseman’s July/August 1944 edition. Throughout the war, the RAA urged committee members of canceled

All-around cowboy Louis Brooks was featured on the cover of the January 1945 edition of the Rodeo Association of America News magazine.

rodeos to help organize those that were still being held for two reasons: preserving the sport and for morale of the troops who were fans. The secretary of the RAA received a letter from a colonel stating that the rodeo held in his area “was one of the finest morale builders for the army of any other community event,” according to the April 1942 RAA bulletin. The draft also played a role. By mid-July 1942 about 100 of the CTA’s 1,400 members had been drafted. Even animals were subject to a draft of sorts. In December 1941, the Army requested that all owners of mares and geldings 3 to 10 years of age in California, Oregon, Washington and Nevada register their mounts with the Western Remount Arena in San Mateo, Calif. This call to arms (err, hooves) was never implemented, according to the January/February 1942 edition of Western Horseman. GROWING THE SPORT By mid-1942, it became clear that rodeo attendance had increased over 1941. The RAA’s July 1942 bulletin attributed the increase to rodeos forming in new areas and attracting “curiosity-seekers” and that established fans of the sport were taking a more active approach in attending rodeos. In 1943, RAA President R.J. Hoffman continued his efforts to keep rodeos active while adhering to the travel restrictions of gasoline and tire rationing. The RAA’s April 1943 bulletin emphasized the importance of keeping competitions alive so they could resume on a full scale after the war. By the end of the war, rodeo had established itself as synonymous with American patriotism and rallied new fans around the world as soldiers stationed overseas introduced the sport to their foreign allies. That led to the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) providing coverage of the 1944 Madison Square Garden Rodeo.

ProRodeo Sports News 11/1/2024

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