Clem Rogers McSpadden (November 9, 1925 – July 7, 2008) was an American

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 ...

announcer and

politician A politician is a person who participates in Public policy, policy-making processes, usually holding an elective position in government. Politicians represent the people, make decisions, and influence the formulation of public policy. The roles ...

. A member of the Democratic Party, he served as a

U.S. Representative The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Article One of th ...

from

Oklahoma Oklahoma ( ; Choctaw language, Choctaw: , ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Texas to the south and west, Kansas to the north, Missouri to the northea ...

's 2nd Congressional District for one full term from 1973 to 1975. Prior to his election to the U.S. House, McSpadden was a member of the Oklahoma Senate between 1954 and 1972. He was the grandnephew of Oklahoma

comedian A comedian (feminine comedienne) or comic is a person who seeks to entertainment, entertain an audience by making them laughter, laugh. This might be through jokes or amusing situations, or acting foolishly (as in slapstick), or employing prop c ...

and

actor An actor (masculine/gender-neutral), or actress (feminine), is a person who portrays a character in a production. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. ...

Will Rogers William Penn Adair Rogers (November 4, 1879 – August 15, 1935) was an American vaudeville performer, actor, and humorous social commentator. He was born as a citizen of the Cherokee Nation, in the Indian Territory (now part of Oklahoma ...

Early life

McSpadden was born on a

ranch A ranch (from /Mexican Spanish) is an area of landscape, land, including various structures, given primarily to ranching, the practice of raising grazing livestock such as cattle and sheep. It is a subtype of farm. These terms are most often ap ...

near the small town of Bushyhead in

Rogers County Rogers County is a county located in the northeastern part of the U.S. state of Oklahoma. As of the 2020 census, the population was 95,240, making it the sixth-most populous county in Oklahoma. The county seat is Claremore. Rogers County is ...

, Oklahoma. He grew up on a ranch owned by Will Rogers in nearby Oologah, where he attended public schools. He served in the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

(1944–1946). He attended the

University of Redlands The University of Redlands is a private university in Redlands, California, United States. The university's main, residential campus is situated on 160 acres (65 ha) near downtown Redlands. An additional eight regional locations throughout Calif ...

North Texas Agricultural College The University of Texas at Arlington (UTA or UT Arlington) is a public research university in Arlington, Texas, United States. It is the second oldest university in the University of Texas System and was founded in 1895. It was in the Texas A&M ...

, and the

University of Texas The University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin, UT, or Texas) is a public research university in Austin, Texas, United States. Founded in 1883, it is the flagship institution of the University of Texas System. With 53,082 students as of fall 2 ...

before he received his

Bachelor of Science A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, B.S., B.Sc., SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree that is awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Scienc ...

degree in 1948 from

Oklahoma State University–Stillwater Oklahoma State University (informally Oklahoma State or OSU) is a public land-grant research university in Stillwater, Oklahoma, United States. The university was established in 1890 under the legislation of the Morrill Act. Originally known ...

, then known as Oklahoma A&M.

Career

He was first elected to public office in November 1954 when he won a seat in the

Oklahoma Senate The Oklahoma Senate is the upper house of the two houses of the Legislature of Oklahoma, the other being the Oklahoma House of Representatives. The total number of senators is set at 48 by the Oklahoma Constitution.President pro tempore of the Oklahoma Senate The president ''pro tempore'' of the Oklahoma Senate is the second-highest-ranking official of the Oklahoma Senate and the highest-ranking state senator. The Oklahoma Constitution designates the Lieutenant Governor of Oklahoma as the highest-rank ...

. He was elected to the Ninety-third Congress in November

1972 Within the context of Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) it was the longest year ever, as two leap seconds were added during this 366-day year, an event which has not since been repeated. (If its start and end are defined using Solar time, ...

, and served one term (January 3, 1973 – January 3, 1975), serving on the

House Rules Committee The Committee on Rules (or more commonly the Rules Committee) is a committee of the United States House of Representatives. It is responsible for the rules under which bills will be presented to the House of Representatives, unlike other committ ...

. He chose to run for

Governor of Oklahoma The governor of Oklahoma is the head of government of the U.S. state of Oklahoma. Under the Oklahoma Constitution, the governor serves as the head of the Oklahoma Executive (government), executive branch, of the government of Oklahoma. The gover ...

in 1974 rather than seek reelection for a second congressional term. His gubernatorial candidacy was unsuccessful, as David L. Boren, later a

United States senator The United States Senate consists of 100 members, two from each of the 50 U.S. state, states. This list includes all senators serving in the 119th United States Congress. Party affiliation Independent Senators Angus King of Maine and Berni ...

and the president of the

University of Oklahoma The University of Oklahoma (OU) is a Public university, public research university in Norman, Oklahoma, United States. Founded in 1890, it had existed in Oklahoma Territory near Indian Territory for 17 years before the two territories became the ...

, received the Democratic nomination instead. McSpadden was involved in

s throughout North America as a broadcaster, including the

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 ...

, the

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 ...

, and the

Canadian Finals Rodeo The Canadian Finals Rodeo (CFR) is the national championship professional rodeo in Canada, currently held in Edmonton, Alberta; the host site from its 1974 inception through 2017, after being held in Red Deer, Alberta, from 2018 through 2023. The ...

. In 1974, he hired a then-unknown

Reba McEntire Reba Nell McEntire ( ; born March 28, 1955), or simply Reba, is an American country music, country singer and actress. Dubbed "Honorific nicknames in popular music, The Queen of Country", she has sold more than 75 million records worldwide. Sin ...

to sing the National Anthem at the National Finals Rodeo. He was quoted by the Tulsa World as observing "an amazing correlation" between politics and the rodeo profession, "in that there's bull in each profession." He is also known, especially through the rodeo community, for his authorship of "A Cowboy's Prayer."

Death and legacy

After being diagnosed with

cancer Cancer is a group of diseases involving Cell growth#Disorders, abnormal cell growth with the potential to Invasion (cancer), invade or Metastasis, spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Po ...

, McSpadden died at the M.D. Anderson Cancer Center in

Houston Houston ( ) is the List of cities in Texas by population, most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and in the Southern United States. Located in Southeast Texas near Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, it is the county seat, seat of ...

on July 7, 2008. A portion of

Oklahoma State Highway 66 State Highway 66 (abbreviated SH-66) is a state highway in the U.S. state of Oklahoma, beginning at U.S. Route 81 in Oklahoma, U.S. Highway 81 in El Reno, Oklahoma, El Reno and ending at U.S. Route 60 in Oklahoma, U.S. Highway 60 near White Oa ...

between Claremore and Bushyhead was designated Clem McSpadden Highway in 1985. The

post office A post office is a public facility and a retailer that provides mail services, such as accepting letter (message), letters and parcel (package), parcels, providing post office boxes, and selling postage stamps, packaging, and stationery. Post o ...

Chelsea, Oklahoma Chelsea is a town in Rogers County, Oklahoma, United States. The population was 1,964 at the 2010 census, a decline of 8.3 percent from the figure of 2,136 recorded in 2000. Chelsea was named after the area in London, England, by Charles Peach, a ...

, where he made his home, was renamed the "Clem Rogers McSpadden Post Office Building" in his honor in January 2008.

Honors

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 & Western Heritage Museum The National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum is a museum in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, United States, with more than 28,000 Western and Native American art works and artifacts. The facility also has the world's most extensive collection of Amer ...

1989 *

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 ...

1990 *

Oklahoma Hall of Fame The Oklahoma Hall of Fame was founded in 1927 by Anna B. Korn to officially celebrate Statehood Day, recognize Oklahomans dedicated to their communities, and provide educational programming for all ages. The first Oklahoma Hall of Fame Induction Cer ...

1990 * Oklahoma Sports Hall of Fame 2009 *

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 ...

1989 *

1990 *

1990 * Ben Johnson Memorial Award of the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum 1998 * Oklahoma Sports Hall of Fame 2009 *Legends of ProRodeo Hall of Fame 2008 *Legend in 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 ...

2017 *Legends of ProRodeo Hall of Fame 2008 *Legend in the

2017

References

External links