Billy Minick (born January 10, 1939) is an American former professional

rodeo Rodeo () is a competitive equestrian sport that arose out of the working practices of cattle herding in Spain and Mexico, expanding throughout the Americas and to other nations. It was originally based on the skills required of the working vaqu ...

cowboy A cowboy is an animal herder who tends cattle on ranches in North America, traditionally on horseback, and often performs a multitude of other ranch-related tasks. The historic American cowboy of the late 19th century arose from the ''vaquero'' ...

and former

stock contractor A stock contractor is an individual or business that provides animals for rodeo competition. Stock contractors supply rough stock - bucking horses for Bronc riding, saddle bronc and bareback bronc riding (called buck jumpers in Australia) and buck ...

. He is part-owner of

Billy Bob's Texas Billy Bob's Texas is a country music nightclub located in the Fort Worth Stockyards, Texas, United States. It promotes itself as "The World's Largest Honky Tonk," at 100,000 square feet of interior space and nearly 20 acres of parking space. His ...

Life and career

Billy Minick was born on January 10, 1939, in

Fort Worth, Texas Fort Worth is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the county seat of Tarrant County, Texas, Tarrant County, covering nearly into Denton County, Texas, Denton, Johnson County, Texas, Johnson, Parker County, Texas, Parker, and Wise County, Te ...

. He attended

McNeese State University McNeese State University is a public university in Lake Charles, Louisiana. Founded in 1939 as Lake Charles Junior College, it was renamed McNeese Junior College after John McNeese, an early local educator. The present name was adopted in 1970. M ...

Lake Charles, Louisiana Lake Charles is the List of municipalities in Louisiana, fifth-most populous city in the U.S. state of Louisiana, and the county seat, parish seat of Calcasieu Parish, Louisiana, Calcasieu Parish, located on Lake Charles (Louisiana), Lake Char ...

. While at McNeese, he was a member of the college rodeo team, competing in bareback bronc riding and

bull riding Bull riding is a rodeo sport that involves a rider getting on a bucking bull and attempting to stay mounted while the animal tries to bucking, buck off the rider. American bull riding has been called "the most dangerous eight seconds in sports." ...

. He joined the Rodeo Cowboys Association (RCA) in 1959 and was a scorekeeper at the inaugural

National Finals Rodeo The National Finals Rodeo (NFR) is the premier championship rodeo of the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association (PRCA). It showcases the talents of the PRCA's top 15 money winners in the season for each event. The NFR is held each year in the f ...

(NFR) in

Dallas, Texas Dallas () is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of Texas metropolitan areas, most populous metropolitan area in Texas and the Metropolitan statistical area, fourth-most ...

, that year. He qualified for and competed as a bull rider at the 1966 NFR in

Oklahoma City, Oklahoma Oklahoma City (), officially the City of Oklahoma City, and often shortened to OKC, is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Oklahoma, most populous city of the U.S. state of Oklahoma. The county seat ...

. In 1968, Minick purchased the Harry Knight Rodeo Company from Knight and

Gene Autry Orvon Grover "Gene" Autry (September 29, 1907 – October 2, 1998), nicknamed the Singing Cowboy, was an American actor, musician, singer, composer, rodeo performer, and baseball team owner, who largely gained fame by singing in a Crooner ...

. The Billy Minick Rodeo Company produced top bucking stock, including the 1972 NFR top

saddle bronc Bronc riding, either bareback bronc or saddle bronc competition, is a rodeo event that involves a rodeo participant riding a bucking horse (sometimes called a ''bronc'' or ''bronco'') that attempts to throw or buck off the rider. Originally bas ...

horse Streamer and the 1973 NFR top bull Tiger, who would also win the 1974 RCA Bull of the Year title. Other famous Billy Minick Rodeo Company stock included bulls Mr. Bubbles and V-61 and horses Lonesome, Crazy 1, and My Fair Lady. Through the years, Minick helped to produce rodeos such as the

Fort Worth Stock Show & Rodeo The Fort Worth Stock Show & Rodeo (formally the Southwestern Exposition and Livestock Show) is the oldest continuously running livestock show and rodeo. It has been held annually in Fort Worth, Texas, since 1896, traditionally in mid-January thro ...

, Rodeo Houston, the San Antonio Stock Show & Rodeo, the Santa Rosa Roundup in

Vernon, Texas Vernon is a city and the county seat of Wilbarger County, Texas, United States. and as of the 2010 census had a population of 11,002. History The original town was called Eagle Springs by the indigenous community as early as 1858. After t ...

, the San Angelo Stock Show & Rodeo, the Tri-State Rodeo in

Fort Madison, Iowa Fort Madison is a city in and a county seat of Lee County, Iowa, United States along with Keokuk. Of Iowa's 99 counties, Lee County is the only one with two county seats. The population was 10,270 at the time of the 2020 census. Located alon ...

, and

Cheyenne Frontier Days Cheyenne Frontier Days is an outdoor rodeo and western celebration in the United States, held annually since 1897 in Cheyenne, Wyoming. It bills itself as the "World's Largest Outdoor Rodeo and Western Celebration." The event, claimed to be one of ...

. Several of the rodeos he produced also featured musical entertainment, and this was the beginning of Minick's long history of booking and promoting entertainers. Some of the acts Minick worked with were

Elvis Presley Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977) was an American singer and actor. Referred to as the "King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Elvis Presley, one of the most significant cultural figures of the ...

The Jackson 5 The Jackson 5, later known as the Jacksons, are an American pop band composed of members of the Jackson family. The group was formed in Gary, Indiana in 1964, and originally consisted of brothers Jackie, Ti ...

Cher Cher ( ; born Cheryl Sarkisian, May 20, 1946) is an American singer, actress and television personality. Dubbed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Goddess of Pop", she is known for her Androgyny, androgynous contralto voice, Music an ...

, and

Roy Rogers Roy Rogers (born Leonard Franklin Slye; November 5, 1911 – July 6, 1998), nicknamed the King of the Cowboys, was an American singer, actor, television host, and Rodeo, rodeo performer. Following early work under his given name, first as a c ...

. In 1981, Minick was hired to produce the bull riding at the newly opened

nightclub in the

Fort Worth Stockyards The Fort Worth Stockyards is a historic district that is located in Fort Worth, Texas, United States, north of the central business district. A portion encompassing much of the district was listed on the National Register of Historic Places as F ...

. He later became the venue's general manager and held that position until 1986. In 1989, Minick joined the group that purchased Billy Bob's Texas, and together with his partners, they control around 120 acres in the Stockyards. Minick served as the president of Billy Bob's Texas, as wells as the executive director of

Cowtown Coliseum Cowtown Coliseum is a 2,400-seat arena in Fort Worth, Texas, United States, that hosts weekly rodeos. It also occasionally hosts concerts and local team sporting events. The venue was built in 1908 and was originally known as Grand Coliseum. Part ...

for several years.

Personal

Minick married 1973

Miss Rodeo America Miss Rodeo America is an annual pageant to select the official spokesperson for the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association. Current Miss Rodeo America 2025 The Miss Rodeo America 2025 Pageant was held from November 30th to December 8th, 2024, at ...

Pam Martin on May 29, 1983. She has been a rodeo and western-lifestyle television personality for several years. She was also the marketing director at Billy Bob's Texas for over 25 years. They live on a ranch in

Argyle, Texas Argyle is a city in Denton County, Texas, Denton County, Texas, United States, with a population of 5,503 as of 2022. It is a suburb of Fort Worth. History The first European settlement, consisting of a few families, occurred in the Argyle area ...

. Minick has four children with his previous wife, Dianne Schafer; Cheyenne, Cody, Brandy and Concho, and has five grandchildren. Cody died at 41 on October 7, 2008, after a two-year battle with cancer. Brandy worked at Billy Bob's for over 20 years. Concho also served as Billy Bob's president for several years.

Honors

In 2004, Billy and Pam Minick were both inducted into the

Texas Cowboy Hall of Fame The Texas Cowboy Hall of Fame, is a western, historical museum in Fort Worth, Texas, United States that "honors those men and women who have shown excellence in the business and support of rodeo and the western lifestyle in Texas." The Hall ...

. In 2008, Billy was awarded the

National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum The National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum is a museum in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, United States, with more than 28,000 American West, Western and Native American art works and Artifact (archaeology), artifacts. The facility also has the worl ...

's Ben Johnson Memorial Award. In 2011, Billy and Pam both were inducted into the

Texas Rodeo Cowboy Hall of Fame The Texas Rodeo Cowboy Hall of Fame is a museum and hall of fame in Fort Worth, Texas, dedicated to the sport of rodeo. History This hall of fame was founded by Johnny Boren. Also contributing to the foundation were a group of Belton, Texas, b ...

and the

Texas Trail of Fame The Texas Trail Hall of Fame is a cowboy hall of fame in Fort Worth, Texas. Established in 1997, the building is located at 130 E. Exchange Avenue, in the Fort Worth Stockyards National Historic District of the city. The hall honors individuals ...

. That same year, Billy was awarded the Texas Heritage Songwriters Association's Patron Award. In 2018, Billy was inducted into the

ProRodeo Hall of Fame The ProRodeo Hall of Fame and Museum of the American Cowboy was opened in August 1979 as a museum designed to "preserve the legacy of the cowboy contests, the heritage and culture of those original competitions, and the champions of the past, p ...

. In 2022, Billy was inducted into the

Bull Riding Hall of Fame The Bull Riding Hall of Fame, located at Cowtown Coliseum in the Fort Worth Stockyards in Fort Worth, Texas, United States, is a hall of fame for the sport of bull riding. It is incorporated as a non-profit organization in the State of Texas, a ...

References

1939 births Living people Bull riders Bareback bronc riders Stock contractors McNeese State University alumni ProRodeo Hall of Fame inductees Bull Riding Hall of Fame inductees Sportspeople from Fort Worth, Texas {{DEFAULTSORT:Minick, Billy