Charles Osgood "Charlie" Sampson (born July 2, 1957) 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'' ...

who specialized in

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 was the 1982

Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association The Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association (PRCA) is the largest rodeo organization in the world. It sanctions events in the United States, Canada, and Mexico, with members from said countries, as well as others. Its championship event is the N ...

(PRCA) World Champion

bull rider 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 buck off the rider. American bull riding has been called "the most dangerous eight seconds in sports." To rec ...

. He is the first

African-American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from any of the Black racial groups of Africa. ...

to win a world championship in professional

. He 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 1996.

Early life

Charlie Sampson was born in

Los Angeles, California Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

, on July 2, 1957. To avoid the violence that surrounded him as a boy, he took a job at a riding stables near

Gardena, California Gardena is a city located in the South Bay region of Los Angeles County, California, United States. The population was 61,027 at the 2020 census, up from 58,829 at the 2010 census. Until 2014, the U.S. census cited the City of Gardena as the ...

. There he sparked an interest in horses and rodeo. He was a fan of the famous African-American bull rider, Myrtis Dightman, who was known as the "Jackie Robinson of Rodeo".

Career

Sampson stands 5 feet, 4 inches tall. He was a ground breaking rodeo

. He was the first African American to win a world title in the PRCA. In 1983, there were only six black members of the PRCA. Sampson was competing on a national level. Sampson very rarely mentioned race as an issue, even though he was competing in a sport dominated by white competitors. Sampson once said in ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'', "I haven't encountered discrimination as much as ignorance. Some people still don't realize that something like a quarter of all the cowboys back in the old West were black." Currently he works at "Rimrock Dude Ranch" in Cody, Wyoming.

Injuries

He is known for his many injuries as well. Sampson's left calf has 17 pins and two metal plates. In the ''New York Times Magazine'', Sampson noted, "In 1983, a bull jerked me down and cracked my skull--I broke every bone in my face except my nose. I broke my ankle, my leg, my sternum, my wrist. In '88, I had an ear ripped off when a bull ran over me and his foot caught my hat." The 1983 ordeal was when his face was shattered at the 1983 PRCA Presidential Command Performance Rodeo in

Landover, Maryland Landover is an unincorporated community and census-designated place in Prince George's County, Maryland, United States. As of the 2020 census, it had a population of 25,998. Landover is contained between Sheriff Road and Central Avenue to the ...

, with then-U.S. President

Ronald Reagan Ronald Wilson Reagan (February 6, 1911 – June 5, 2004) was an American politician and actor who served as the 40th president of the United States from 1981 to 1989. He was a member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party a ...

witnessing the wreck. Sampson's PRCA career lasted almost 20 years, with 11

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) trips.

Retirement

Sampson retired after the

National Circuit Finals Rodeo The NFR Open is an annual championship rodeo event of the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association (PRCA) held annually in the United States. The event was previously known as the National Circuit Finals Rodeo (NCFR) from 1987 through 2021, before ...

Pocatello, Idaho Pocatello () is the county seat of and the largest city in Bannock County, Idaho, Bannock County, with a small portion on the Fort Hall Indian Reservation in neighboring Power County, Idaho, Power County, containing the city's airport. It is t ...

, in 1994. He spent his retirement doing ads for companies like

Wrangler Jeans Wrangler is an American manufacturer of jeans and other clothing items, particularly workwear. The brand is owned by Kontoor Brands Inc., which also owns Lee. Its headquarters is in downtown Greensboro, North Carolina, in the United States, w ...

and Timex. In 1996, he was inducted into the ProRodeo Hall of Fame.

Wins and awards

* PRCA World Champion bull rider, 1982 * PRCA Sierra Circuit bull riding champion, 1984 *

Calgary Stampede The Calgary Stampede is an annual rodeo, fair, exhibition, and festival held every July in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. The ten-day event, which bills itself as "The Greatest Outdoor Show on Earth", attracts over one million visitors per year a ...

bull riding champion, 1985 * PRCA Turquoise Circuit bull riding champion, 1985–86 and 1993 * Copenhagen/Skoal bull riding champion, 1992 * 2-time bull riding champion at

Pendleton Round-Up The Pendleton Round-Up is a major annual rodeo in the northwestern United States, at Pendleton in northeastern Oregon. Held at the Pendleton Round-Up Stadium during the second full week of September each year since 1910, the rodeo brings roug ...

* 2-time

Grand National Rodeo The Grand National Rodeo, Horse, and Stock Show is one of the largest rodeo events in the United States. Held annually in the Cow Palace in Daly City, the annual Grand National brings rodeo to an urban audience. The Grand National is also a county ...

(Cow Palace) champion * 2-time bull riding champion at California Rodeo Salinas * 3-time champion of

George Paul Memorial Bull Riding The George Paul Memorial Bull Riding is an annual bull riding event held every spring at the Val Verde County Fairgrounds in Del Rio, Texas, United States. It is held in honor of George Paul, the 1968 Rodeo Cowboys Association (RCA) World Champion ...

Del Rio, Texas Del Rio (in Spanish language, Spanish, ''Del Río'', "from the river") is a city in and the county seat of Val Verde County, Texas, Val Verde County in southwestern Texas, United States. As of 2020 United States census, 2020, Del Rio had a popul ...

* Rodeo Superstars Champion bull rider

Honors

* 1996

* 2003

National Multicultural Western Heritage Museum The National Multicultural Western Heritage Museum, formerly the National Cowboys of Color Museum and Hall of Fame, is a museum and hall of fame in Fort Worth, Texas. History The National Multicultural Western Heritage Museum was founded Fe ...

and Hall of Fame * 2004 PBR Ring of Honor * 2008

Rodeo Hall of Fame The National Rodeo Hall of Fame was established by the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum in 1955. Located in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, U.S., the Hall was created to celebrate the contributions of cowboys and cowgirls from around the world. ...

of 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 ...

* 2009

Ellensburg Rodeo The Ellensburg Rodeo opens every Labor Day weekend along with the Kittitas County Fair in Ellensburg, Washington. Started in 1923, the Ellensburg Rodeo has grown from a local competition among ranch hands to the Professional event of today wit ...

Hall of Fame * 2019

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 ...

Personal life

Sampson attended

Central Arizona College Central Arizona College (CAC) is a public community college near Coolidge, Arizona. CAC serves the population of Pinal County. History and campus Central Arizona College was founded in 1969. With five campuses and three centers located thr ...

. He married Marilyn Casmon in 1984. Casmon hailed from

Big Spring, Texas Big Spring is a city in and the county seat of Howard County, Texas, Howard County, Texas, United States, at the crossroads of U.S. Route 87 in Texas, U.S. Highway 87 and Interstate 20 in Texas, Interstate 20. The population was 26,144 at the ...

. The Sampsons had two sons: Laurence Charles who was born in 1984, and Daniel Carl who was born in 1988. They made their home in

Aurora, Colorado Aurora (, ) is a List of municipalities in Colorado#Home rule municipality, home rule city located in Arapahoe County, Colorado, Arapahoe, Adams County, Colorado, Adams, and Douglas County, Colorado, Douglas List of counties in Colorado, counti ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sampson, Charles 1957 births Living people Sportspeople from Los Angeles Bull riders ProRodeo Hall of Fame inductees Professional Bull Riders: Heroes and Legends 21st-century African-American people 20th-century African-American sportsmen Bull Riding Hall of Fame inductees