ProRodeo Sports News - Sept. 7, 2018

TIME CAPSULE 1958

A s the first National Finals Rodeo approached, the world of profes- sional rodeo was abuzz with anticipation for the “World Series” of rodeo. Meanwhile, five future ProRodeo Hall of Famers made the front page of the Sept. 15, 1958, edition of the Rodeo Sports News : Harley May, Jack Buschbom, John W. Jones Sr., Guy Weeks and John Hawkins. That edition focused mostly on the 1958 Los Angeles rodeo, which was attended by 90,000, the best crowd in a five-year period. The high attendance increased the $12,500 purse to $24,125 (about $210,368 in 2018 dollars). May, pictured at left, was serving as president of the L.A. crowd and upcoming NFR were talk of cowboys

Rodeo Cowboys Association at the time, but his press coverage wasn’t about his presidential duties. Instead, he was pictured riding a bull to split the win with Don Adams at the Los Angeles Coliseum on Aug. 31, 1958. The pair split $2,359 (about $20,566 today). May was inducted into the inaugural ProRodeo Hall of Fame class in 1979, along with Buschbom, Jones and Hawkins. Weeks was inducted in 2001. Buschbom was one of

the “Stars of the Week” in the Sept. 15, 1958, edition for winning the saddle bronc riding at the Coliseum and splitting the bareback riding with Walt Mason to win the All-Around title in L.A. Jones won Los Angeles with a 4.9-second run to take home 29 percent of the purse, $1,871 (about $16,311 today). Weeks was also pictured, competing in saddle bronc riding at Sidney, Iowa. At the time, Weeks was in the Top 5 for the title and was a serious contender in bareback riding and calf roping and ranked second in the race for All-Around. Hawkins was set to redeem himself at that point in the 1958 season. In 1957, he fell 18 points shy of winning the world title for bareback riding. By September 1958, he’d taken the lead by 148 points over Benny Reynolds after winning at Fort Madison, Iowa. The cowboy with the most money won in a single event at that point in the 1958 season was calf roper Dean Oliver with $18,016 (about $157,098 today). Oliver was also inducted into the ProRodeo Hall of Fame in 1979.

ProRodeo Sports News 9/7/2018

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