Willie M. Pickett (December 5, 1870 – April 2, 1932) was a cowboy, rodeo,

Wild West show Wild West shows were traveling vaudeville performances in the United States and Europe that existed around 1870–1920. The shows began as theatrical stage productions and evolved into open-air shows that depicted romanticized stereotypes of ...

performer and actor. In 1989, Pickett 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, pr ...

Personal life

Pickett was born in the Jenks Branch community of

Williamson County, Texas Williamson County (sometimes abbreviated as "Wilco") is a county in the U.S. state of Texas. As of the 2020 census, its population was 609,017. Its county seat is Georgetown. The county is named for Robert McAlpin Williamson (1804?–1859), ...

in 1870. (Jenks Branch, also known as the Miller Community, is in western Williamson County, five miles southeast of Liberty Hill, and near the

Travis County Travis County is located in south central Texas. As of the 2020 census, the population was 1,290,188. It is the fifth-most populous county in Texas. Its county seat is Austin, the capital of Texas. The county was established in 1840 and is n ...

line.) He was the second of 13 children born to Thomas Jefferson Pickett, a former enslaved person, and Mary "Janie" Gilbert. Pickett had four brothers and eight sisters. The family's ancestry was

African-American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ensl ...

and

Cherokee The Cherokee (; chr, ᎠᏂᏴᏫᏯᎢ, translit=Aniyvwiyaʔi or Anigiduwagi, or chr, ᏣᎳᎩ, links=no, translit=Tsalagi) are one of the indigenous peoples of the Southeastern Woodlands of the United States. Prior to the 18th century, t ...

. By 1888, the family had moved to

Taylor, Texas Taylor is a city in Williamson County, Texas, United States. The population was 13,575 at the 2000 census; it was 15,191 at the 2010 census; it was 16,267 at the 2020 census. History In 1876, the Texas Land Company auctioned lots in anticipati ...

. In 1890, Pickett married Maggie Turner, the formerly enslaved daughter of a white southern plantation owner. The couple had nine children.

Career

Pickett left school in the 5th grade to become a

ranch hand 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'' ...

; he soon began to ride horses and watch the longhorn steers of his native Texas. He invented the technique of bulldogging, the skill of grabbing cattle by the horns and wrestling them to the ground. It was known among cattlemen that, with the help of a trained bulldog, a stray steer could be caught. Bill Pickett had seen this happen on many occasions. He also thought that if a bulldog could do this feat, so could he. Pickett practiced his stunt by riding hard, springing from his horse, and wrestling the steer to the ground. Pickett's method for bulldogging was biting a cow on the lip and then falling backward. He also helped cowboys with bulldogging. This method eventually lost popularity as the sport morphed into the

steer wrestling Steer wrestling, also known as bulldogging, is a rodeo event in which a horse-mounted rider chases a steer, drops from the horse to the steer, then wrestles the steer to the ground by grabbing its horns and pulling it off-balance so that it falls ...

that is practiced in rodeos. Pickett soon became known for his tricks and stunts at local country fairs. With his four brothers, he established The Pickett Brothers Bronco Busters and Rough Riders Association. The name Bill Pickett soon became synonymous with successful rodeos. He did his bulldogging act, traveling about in Texas, Arizona, Wyoming, and Oklahoma. In 1905, Pickett joined the

101 Ranch Wild West Show The Miller Brothers 101 Ranch was a cattle ranch in the Indian Territory of Oklahoma before statehood. Located near modern-day Ponca City, it was founded by Colonel George Washington Miller, a veteran of the Confederate Army, in 1893.Hoy, JimCatt ...

that featured the likes of Buffalo Bill, Will Rogers,

Tom Mix Thomas Edwin Mix (born Thomas Hezikiah Mix; January 6, 1880 – October 12, 1940) was an American film actor and the star of many early Western films between 1909 and 1935. He appeared in 291 films, all but nine of which were silent films. He w ...

Bee Ho Gray Bee Ho Gray (born Emberry Cannon Gray on April 7, 1885, in Leon, Chickasaw Nation, Indian Territory – August 3, 1951, in Pueblo, Colorado) was a Western performer who spent 50 years displaying his skills in Wild West shows, vaudeville, circus, ...

, and Zach and

Lucille Mulhall Lucille Mulhall (October 21, 1885 – December 21, 1940) was a well-known cowgirl and Wild West performer. She was born in St. Louis, Missouri to Zach and Agnes Mulhall. Her parents brought her to the Oklahoma Territory in 1889. She was ...

; he performed under the name "The Dusky Demon." Pickett was soon a popular performer who toured around the world and appeared in early motion pictures, such as a movie created by Richard E. Norman. Pickett's ethnicity resulted in his not being able to appear at many rodeos, so he often was forced to claim that he was of Comanche heritage in order to perform. In 1921, he appeared in the films ''

The Bull-Dogger ''The Bull-Dogger'' is a 1922 American five-reel silent film, silent Western (genre), Western film starring Bill Pickett, an African American and Native American who is credited with inventing bulldogging or steer wrestling. It was filmed on loc ...

'' and '' The Crimson Skull''.

Death

In 1932, after having retired from Wild West shows, Bill Pickett was kicked in the head by a bronco. After a multi-day coma he died on April 2, 1932; he was buried on the 101 Ranch. He is buried near a 15-foot stone monument to the friendship of Ponca Tribal Chief White Eagle and the Miller Brothers on Monument Hill, also known as the White Eagle Monument to the locals, less than a quarter of a mile to the northeast of Marland, Oklahoma.

Legacy

In 1971, Pickett was inducted into the

Rodeo Hall of Fame The 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. The h ...

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 Western and American Indian art works and artifacts. The facility also has the world's most extensive collection of Ame ...

. In 1989, Pickett was inducted into the ProRodeo Hall of Fame. Concert promoter Lu Vason founded the Bill Pickett Invitational Rodeo in 1984. The touring rodeo celebrates Black cowboys. In 1987, a statue of Pickett performing his signature "bulldogging" maneuver, made by artist Lisa Perry, was presented to the city of

Fort Worth, Texas Fort Worth is the fifth-largest city in the U.S. state of Texas and the 13th-largest city in the United States. It is the county seat of Tarrant County, covering nearly into four other counties: Denton, Johnson, Parker, and Wise. Accord ...

. The statue is installed in the Fort Worth Stockyards Historic District. The

United States Postal Service The United States Postal Service (USPS), also known as the Post Office, U.S. Mail, or Postal Service, is an independent agency of the executive branch of the United States federal government responsible for providing postal service in the U ...

chose to include Bill Pickett in the Legends of the West commemorative sheet unveiled in December 1993. One month later, the Pickett family informed the Postal Service that the likeness was incorrect. Its source material was a misidentified photograph of Bill Pickett's brother and fellow cowboy star, Ben Pickett. In October 1994, the USPS released corrected stamps based on the poster for ''The Bull-Dogger''. In They Die by Dawn (2013), Bill Pickett is portrayed by

Bokeem Woodbine Bokeem Woodbine (born April 13, 1973) is an American actor. In 1994 he portrayed Joshua, Jason's troubled brother, in ''Jason's Lyric''. He won a Black Reel Award, and was nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award and a Critics' Choice Television Awa ...

. In March 2015, the Taylor City Council announced that a street that leads to the rodeo arena will be renamed to honor Bill Pickett. On June 2, 2017 a new statue of Bill Pickett was unveiled in his hometown of Taylor, Texas. It is prominently displayed at the intersection of 2nd and Main Streets in the downtown. On August 6, 2018, Bill Pickett was inducted into the Jim Thorpe Association's

Oklahoma Sports Hall of Fame The Jim Thorpe Association is a civic and charity organization based in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. Its parent corporation is the Jim Thorpe Athletic Club. It is named in memory of multi-sport legend Jim Thorpe. Jim Thorpe Award The organization has ...

In popular culture

In the 2021 film ''

The Harder They Fall The Harder They Fall may refer to: * ''The Harder They Fall'' (1956 film), an American boxing film noir directed by Mark Robson. * ''The Harder They Fall'' (2021 film), an American Western film directed by Jeymes Samuel. * "The Harder They Fall", ...

'' directed by

Jeymes Samuel Jeymes Samuel (born July 27, 1979), also known by his stage name The Bullitts, is a British singer-songwriter, music producer and filmmaker. His debut album, ''They Die By Dawn & Other Short Stories...'', was issued in 2013. ''The Harder They Fa ...

, his role was played by actor

Edi Gathegi Edi Mūe Gathegi (born March 10, 1979) is a Kenyan-American actor. He appeared as recurring character Dr. Jeffrey Cole (aka "Big Love") in the television series '' House'', as Cheese in the 2007 film ''Gone Baby Gone'', Laurent in the films ''Twi ...

. Pickett is referenced in season 4 episode 5 of ''

Baywatch ''Baywatch'' is an American action drama television series about lifeguards who patrol the beaches of Los Angeles County, California, and Hawaii, starring David Hasselhoff. It was created by Michael Berk, Douglas Schwartz, and Gregory J. Bo ...

'' when the African American cop character played by Gregory Alan Williams wants to ride a horse to capture criminals, bringing up that Pickett was the "first Cowboy." Pickett is referenced in the film Get On The Bus (1996), as the man who created steer wrestling.

Honors

* 1971

of the

* 1989

* 1997

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 208 N.W. 24th Street, in the Fort Worth Stockyards National Historic District of the city. The hall honors individuals w ...

* 2003 National Multicultural Western Heritage Museum and Hall of Fame

References

* Powell, Lee (Dec. 3–9, 2004). Bill Pickett: a rodeo pioneer. ''The Sports Page'', p. 3. * Carnes, Mark C., Betz, Paul R., ed. "American National Biography". ''

Oxford University Press Oxford University Press (OUP) is the university press of the University of Oxford. It is the largest university press in the world, and its printing history dates back to the 1480s. Having been officially granted the legal right to print books ...

''.

External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Pickett, Bill 1870 births 1932 deaths African Americans in the American Old West Steer wrestlers Wild West shows American cattlemen Cowboys African-American male actors American male silent film actors 20th-century American male actors Deaths due to animal attacks in the United States People from Taylor, Texas People from Williamson County, Texas ProRodeo Hall of Fame inductees American people of Cherokee descent African-American equestrians