James A. Shoulders (May 13, 1928 – June 20, 2007) was an American 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

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 ...

er. He is commemorated at 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 ...

. At the time of his death, he was one of the most successful contestants in the

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), having won 16 World Championships, which was the most of any performer at that time. He was known as the '

Babe Ruth George Herman "Babe" Ruth (February 6, 1895 – August 16, 1948) was an American professional Baseball in the United States, baseball player whose career in Major League Baseball (MLB) spanned 22 seasons, from 1914 through 1935. Nickna ...

of rodeo'.

Rodeo career

In 1943, Shoulders won his first

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." ...

competition in

Oilton, Oklahoma Oilton is a city in Creek County, Oklahoma, United States. The population was 885 at the 2020 census, a 12.6% decline from the 1,013 recorded in 2010. History Oilton began during the development of the Cushing-Drumright Oil Field. The first lot ...

, at the age of fourteen. Shoulders earned $18. He competed until his retirement due to injury at the age of forty-two. His success at competitions included: :*World All-Around Champion Cowboy Championships (1949, 1956, 1957, 1958, 1959). :*World Bull Rider Championships. (1951 and 1954 to 1959). :*World Bareback Bronc Rider Championships. (1950 and 1956 to 1958). Shoulders was the first competitor to win all three events (bareback bronc, bull riding and all-round) at the National Finals Rodeo (NFR). Shoulders set the record of 16 world championships in 1959 when he won his 15th and 16th titles. The record stood for a long time until steer roper

Guy Allen Guy Allen (born September 5, 1958) is an American ProRodeo Hall of Fame cowboy and an 18-time steer roping world champion. He competes in rodeos sanctioned by the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association (PRCA). He won the world title for the stee ...

matched the record in 2001 after winning his 16th steer roping title. Two years later in 2003, he broke Shoulder's record after winning a 17th title. Allen won his 18th and final record to date in 2004. In 2013,

Trevor Brazile Trevor Brazile (born November 16, 1976) is a semi-retired American rodeo cowboy who competed in the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association (PRCA) and partners with a cowboy named Miles Baker. He was inducted into the ProRodeo Hall of Fame in 2022 ...

won another all-around title and his total number of world titles moved to 19 world titles. This broke Allen's record of 18 world titles. As of 2020, Brazile has 26 world titles, eight more than Allen, who is in second place with 18 titles, and Shoulders is in third place with 16 titles. Brazile won his 26th title in 2020.

Business ventures

From his rodeo career earnings, Shoulders bought a

in Oklahoma where he raised livestock. He owned several bucking "weather" bulls, the most famous of which was

Tornado A tornado is a violently rotating column of air that is in contact with the surface of Earth and a cumulonimbus cloud or, in rare cases, the base of a cumulus cloud. It is often referred to as a twister, whirlwind or cyclone, although the ...

, a rodeo bull who threw 200 riders over 14 years. According to Frank Boggs, an Oklahoman sports writer and columnist, Shoulders bought Tornado in South Texas when he was three years old. In 1967,

Freckles Brown Warren Granger "Freckles" Brown (January 18, 1921 – March 20, 1987) was a hall of fame American rodeo cowboy from Wheatland, Wyoming. His career spanned from 1937 to 1974, competing in bull riding, saddle bronc riding, bareback bronc ...

rode Tornado. On the basis of his rodeo success, Shoulders took work in advertising. His manager was

Billy Martin Alfred Manuel "Billy" Martin Jr. (May 16, 1928 – December 25, 1989) was an American Major League Baseball second baseman and manager who, in addition to leading other teams, was five times the manager of the New York Yankees. First known ...

, a former

New York Yankees The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Am ...

manager. He made advertisements for products such as

Miller Lite Miller Lite is a 4.2% ABV reduced calorie light American lager beer produced by Molson Coors. It was introduced in 1973 in limited markets by the Miller Brewing Company (then owned by Philip Morris, Inc.) and began being distributed nationa ...

beer, jeans (helping to design the

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 ...

13MWZ 'cowboy cut' jeans); and

Justin Boots Justin Boots is an American western and equestrian footwear brand. It is a division of Justin Brands, Inc., itself a subsidiary of Berkshire Hathaway. History Herman Joseph Justin, the son of a cigar maker, started repairing boots in Spanish For ...

Honors

Shoulders is honored in many rodeo

halls of fame A hall, wall, or walk of fame is a list of individuals, achievements, or other entities, usually chosen by a group of electors, to mark their excellence or Wiktionary:fame, fame in their field. In some cases, these halls of fame consist of actu ...

. He was an early participant in the American Cowboy Culture Association, which holds the annual National Cowboy Symposium and Celebration each September in

Lubbock, Texas Lubbock ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the county seat of Lubbock County. With a population of 272,086 in 2024, Lubbock is the 10th-most populous city in Texas and the 84th-most populous in the United States. The city is in the ...

. *Was inducted into the

Madison Square Garden Madison Square Garden, colloquially known as the Garden or by its initials MSG, is a multi-purpose indoor arena in New York City. It is located in Midtown Manhattan between Seventh Avenue (Manhattan), Seventh and Eighth Avenue (Manhattan), Eig ...

Hall of Fame in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

. *In 1955, was an inaugural inductee 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 ...

into its

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. ...

. *In 1976, was inducted into the

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 ...

. *In 1979, was an inaugural inductee into the

Colorado Springs, Colorado Colorado Springs is the most populous city in El Paso County, Colorado, United States, and its county seat. The city had a population of 478,961 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, a 15.02% increase since 2010 United States Census, 2 ...

. *In 1996, was an inaugural inductee into the

Professional Bull Riders The Professional Bull Riders, Inc. (PBR) is an international professional bull riding organization headquartered in Fort Worth, Texas, United States. It is the largest bull riding league in the world, sanctioning hundreds of events every yea ...

(PBR)

Ring of Honor Ring of Honor (ROH) is an American professional wrestling promotion based in Jacksonville, Florida. The promotion was founded by Rob Feinstein on February 23, 2002, and was operated by Cary Silkin from 2004 until 2011; the promotion was subs ...

. *In 1997, was inducted into the

Ellensburg Rodeo Hall of Fame Ellensburg is a city in and the county seat of Kittitas County, Washington, United States. It is located just east of the Cascade Range near the junction of Interstate 90 and Interstate 82. The population was 18,666 at the 2020 census. and was ...

. *In 1999, was inducted into the St. Paul Rodeo Hall of Fame. That same year, was inducted into the

Pendleton Round-Up and Happy Canyon Hall of Fame The Pendleton Round-Up and Happy Canyon Hall of Fame, is a hall of fame located in Pendleton, Oregon, United States. Begun in 1969, it was the first hall of fame started by an individual show, the Pendleton Round-Up. Exhibits focus on show mem ...

. *In 2002, was inducted into the Cheyenne Frontier Days Hall of Fame. *In 2003, was inducted into 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 ...

. *In 2004, was awarded the Ben Johnson Memorial Award of the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum. *In 2007, was awarded the Legends of ProRodeo by the

. *In 2011, the

created the Heroes and Legends Celebration awards, one of which is the Jim Shoulders Lifetime Achievement Award. *In 2015, was an inaugural inductee 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 ...

. *In 2017, was inducted into the Molalla Walk of Fame. * In 2023, was inducted into the California Rodeo Salinas Hall of Fame. That same year, was posthumously awarded the PBR Ty Murray Top Hand Award. *Has an entry in the ''

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''. *Has an entry in the ''Encyclopedia of the Great Plains''. *Has an entry in ''The Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture'' maintained online by the

Oklahoma Historical Society The Oklahoma Historical Society (OHS) is an agency of the government of Oklahoma dedicated to promotion and preservation of Oklahoma's history and its people by collecting, interpreting, and disseminating knowledge and artifacts of Oklahoma. ...

Personal life

Shoulders was born in

Tulsa, Oklahoma Tulsa ( ) is the List of municipalities in Oklahoma, second-most-populous city in the U.S. state, state of Oklahoma, after Oklahoma City, and the List of United States cities by population, 48th-most-populous city in the United States. The po ...

, on May 13, 1928. Shoulders attended East Central High there and graduated in 1946. In 1951, he moved to Henryetta. In 1947, Shoulders married Sharon Lee Heindselman, and they had four children. Shoulders' son, Marvin Paul Shoulders, has also competed professionally in rodeo sports. According to his son, Marvin, Shoulders died on June 20, 2007, at 3:30 a.m. in

Henryetta, Oklahoma Henryetta is a city in Okmulgee County, Oklahoma, United States. The population was 5,640 at the 2020 census. History Hugh Henry established a ranch on Creek Nation land in 1885. He soon found a deposit of coal, which he began using to fuel th ...

. Shoulders fought a long battle with heart disease but succumbed to the disease at his home.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Shoulders, Jim 1928 births 2007 deaths People from Henryetta, Oklahoma Ranchers from Oklahoma Bull riders Sportspeople from Tulsa, Oklahoma American people of English descent ProRodeo Hall of Fame inductees All-Around Stock contractors Bareback bronc riders Professional Bull Riders: Heroes and Legends Bull Riding Hall of Fame inductees