Bill Pickett facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Bill Pickett
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Pickett c. 1907
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| Born |
Willie M. Pickett
December 5, 1870 Jenks Branch, Texas, U.S.
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| Died | April 2, 1932 (aged 61) Ponca City, Oklahoma, U.S.
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| Resting place | White Eagle Monument, Marland, Oklahoma |
| Other names | "The Dusky Demon" |
| Occupation | Rodeo performer |
| Spouse(s) |
Maggie Turner
(m. 1890) |
| Children | 9 |
Willie M. Pickett (born December 5, 1870 – died April 2, 1932) was an amazing African American cowboy, rodeo star, and even an actor! He was so good that in 1989, he was added to the ProRodeo Hall of Fame.
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About Bill Pickett
Bill Pickett was born in 1870 in a place called Jenks Branch, Texas. He was one of 13 children! His father, Thomas Jefferson Pickett, was a formerly enslaved man. His mother was Mary "Janie" Gilbert. Bill's family had both African-American and Cherokee roots. Around 1888, his family moved to Taylor, Texas.
In 1890, Bill married Maggie Turner. She was also formerly enslaved. Together, they had nine children.
Bill's Rodeo Career
Bill Pickett left school after fifth grade to work as a ranch hand. He quickly became skilled at riding horses. He also spent a lot of time watching the Texas Longhorn steers on the ranches.
Inventing Bulldogging
Bill Pickett is famous for inventing a rodeo skill called "bulldogging." This is where a cowboy grabs a steer (a young bull) by its horns and wrestles it to the ground. Bill got the idea from watching how trained bulldogs could catch stray steers. He thought, "If a bulldog can do it, so can I!"
Bill practiced his stunt by riding fast, jumping off his horse, and tackling the steer. His special way of bulldogging involved biting the steer's lip to help bring it down. This method later changed into the steer wrestling we see in rodeos today.
Becoming a Star
Soon, Bill Pickett became well-known for his amazing tricks at local fairs. He and his four brothers even started their own group called "The Pickett Brothers Bronco Busters and Rough Riders Association." Bill Pickett's name quickly became famous in the rodeo world. He traveled all over Texas, Arizona, Wyoming, and Oklahoma, showing off his bulldogging act.
In 1905, Bill joined the famous 101 Ranch Wild West Show. He performed alongside other legends like Buffalo Bill and Will Rogers. Bill was known as "The Dusky Demon." He became a very popular performer and even toured around the world! He also appeared in early movies, like The Bull-Dogger and The Crimson Skull in 1921. Because of his ethnicity, Bill sometimes had to pretend he was of Comanche heritage to be allowed to perform in certain rodeos.
Bill Pickett's Death
After he stopped performing in Wild West shows, Bill Pickett had a terrible accident in 1932. A bronco (a wild horse) kicked him in the head. He went into a coma and sadly passed away on April 2, 1932. He was buried on the 101 Ranch in Oklahoma.
Bill Pickett's Legacy
Bill Pickett left a big mark on rodeo history.
- In 1971, he was added to the Rodeo Hall of Fame at the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum.
- In 1989, he was also inducted into the ProRodeo Hall of Fame.
A man named Lu Vason started the Bill Pickett Invitational Rodeo in 1984. This rodeo travels around and celebrates Black cowboys.
In 1987, a statue of Bill Pickett doing his famous bulldogging move was put up in Fort Worth, Texas. It's in the historic Fort Worth Stockyards area.
The United States Postal Service even put Bill Pickett on a stamp in 1993! However, they first used the wrong picture, thinking it was Bill when it was actually his brother, Ben Pickett. They fixed it in 1994 with the correct image from a movie poster.
In 2015, the city of Taylor, Texas, decided to rename a street leading to their rodeo arena in Bill Pickett's honor. Then, in 2017, a new statue of Bill Pickett was put up in downtown Taylor, Texas.
In 2018, Bill Pickett was inducted into the Jim Thorpe Association's Oklahoma Sports Hall of Fame. A hill in Texas was named after him in 2021, and a trail in Georgetown, Texas, also honors him.
Honors and Awards
- 1971 Rodeo Hall of Fame of the National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum
- 1989 ProRodeo Hall of Fame
- 1997 Texas Trail of Fame
- 2003 National Multicultural Western Heritage Museum and Hall of Fame
In Movies and TV
Bill Pickett's story has even been told in popular culture!
- In the 2021 movie The Harder They Fall, actor Edi Gathegi played Bill Pickett.
- He was also mentioned in an episode of the TV show Baywatch. A character said Bill Pickett was the "first Cowboy" when talking about riding a horse to catch criminals.
See also
- Bose Ikard
- Isom Dart
- Nat Love
