Fort Worth Stock Show and Rodeo
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From a one-day affair with a few head of cattle tethered under ice-laden shade trees, the Southwestern Exposition and Livestock Show has grown into a three-week extravaganza with international appeal for exhibitors and visitors alike. Over the years, the steady growth of the Show has mirrored the progress of the livestock industry.
The Stock Show was first held in 1896 when the trend toward purebred livestock was in its infancy and Fort Worth was on the threshold of becoming a major player in the world market place. Fort Worth, with its small, dusty streets and limited late 19th Century entertainment, was an unlikely forerunner of today’s sprawling center of art, culture and industry coupled with a supporting cast of well over a million residents.
A quest for better meat at our nation’s tables prompted early-day ranchers to originate the exposition in March of 1896, and laid the foundation for a major annual livestock event that today exists as the oldest such exposition in the United States. The Show has been faithful to return each year since its founding except for 1943 when all available facilities in Fort Worth, as well as transportation modes, were dedicated to the World War II effort.
The idea for the initial event was the outgrowth of a sidewalk conversation between Rancher Charles McFarland and Charles French, marketing manager for the Fort Worth Stock Yards. Early–day cattle exhibitors and organizers were all Texans: Capt. William S. Ikard of Henrietta, a breeder of Herefords; I. K. Kimberlin of Sherman; Col. J. W. Burgess of Fort Worth, a Shorthorn breeder, and Col. B. C. Rhome of Denton and Wise Counties. These men were joined enthusiastically by operators of the Fort Worth Stock Yards Company, which was organized in 1893; Armour & Company and Swift & Company, meat packers; and officials of the various railway companies serving Fort Worth.
That first year’s March Show was such a success that organizers gathered again in the fall of 1896 for a two-day event—October 12 and 13. It was determined that most exhibitors preferred the spring dates, so the Show was established as a March event, a practice which continued until 1948 when the January-February dates were adopted. The move to earlier was made to fit in with a series of major livestock shows held around the country, establishing a regular circuit for exhibitor herds.
New impetus for the growth of the Stock Show came in 1908 when the North Side Coliseum (now called Cowtown Coliseum) was erected as the Show’s headquarters. The indoor judging arena brought expanded commercial exhibit displays and a carnival/midway as part of the annual event. Two years earlier the Show had been reorganized and named National Feeders and Breeders Show.
President of the Feeders and Breeders Show was Samuel Burk Burnett, founder of the famous 6666 Ranch in Northwest Texas. Burnett served as president until 1922. He was succeeded by Marion Sansom, who held the post for a year. The next president was Van Zandt Jarvis, who served for 17 years until his death in 1940. John C. Burns then served until 1946 when the structure changed to include its first Chairman of the Board, Amon G. Carter, and President W. R. Watt. Watt died in 1977 and was succeeded by his son, W. R. Watt Jr., who continues in the position today.
The Show has been operated under five names. It began without a name, but the next year adopted the name of Texas Fat Stock Show. Later, it was the Fort Worth Fat Stock Show, then the National Feeders and Breeders Show. (Fat was a popular part of the name of early-day livestock events because cattle, sheep and swine were blessed with a good supply of fat, which added to the taste and provided lard when rendered which had many uses in the days before vegetable oils appeared.) In 1918 the name of Southwestern Exposition and Fat Stock Show was chosen to give the event a broader scope of exhibitor involvement. The current Southwestern Exposition and Livestock Show name surfaced in 1988 to better reflect modern industry trends.
Wild West Show exhibitions were in their heyday in the early 1900’s, drawing large crowds wherever they were staged. A couple of the more famous such events were the Buffalo Bill Cody Wild West Show and the 101 Ranch Wild West Show (from Oklahoma, an event in which Black Cowboy Bill Pickett introduced “bull doggin” which is now called steer wrestling). Operating at a deficit for several years, the Stock Show in 1916 staged a Wild West Show in connection with the exposition. Success brought a repeat of the event in 1917, utilizing the services of the 101 Ranch.
Late in 1917, Stock Show booster Ray McKinley, then editor and publisher of the Daily Reporter and Sunday North Fort Worth News, suggested to the Show’s management an idea that led to the start of a competitive event that featured cowboys and cowgirls. To develop the idea, project manager Marion Sansom appointed a committee of livestock commission men—cattle and horse dealers who operated the Fort Worth livestock market—to work out details with McKinley. The committee was composed of Buck Sansom, Show secretary/manager; Wad Ross, Bill Rominger, Herbert Graves, Bob Tadlock and Ward Farmer.
Area historian Tom B. Saunders, III, a commission man and Stock Show vice president who died in 1974, once recalled that when results of the committee” efforts were presented to the Stock Show directors, a discussion ensued about giving the cowboy contest a name. One man present suggested “rodeo” (pronouncing it ro-DAY-o, a term Mexican cowboys use for such a contest). Another wanted to know how to spell the Mexican word. The chairman wrote “RODEO” on a blackboard. “Why, that’s rodeo (he pronounced it rode-EE-o),” still another man blurted. So the contest was named “Fort Worth Rodeo,” using the latter pronunciation.
The contest was approved as a Stock Show attraction, and indoor rodeo was born at Fort Worth in 1918, largely because the North Side Coliseum was the only arena with a capacity to accommodate the production and crowds expected. Adding the contest also served to call attention to the name change of the livestock event to Southwestern Exposition and Fat Stock Show.
Rodeo, as an indoor entertainment event, holds particular significance and pride for Fort Worth residents as they lay claim to hosting the “World’s Original Indoor Rodeo.” Wild West Show performers, many gifted in riding skills, participated as contestants in the 1918 indoor spectacular. The initial Fort Worth Rodeo featured men and women contestants vying for a total purse of $3,000. The event included two performances daily March 11 through 16.
Contests included ladies bucking bronco, junior steer riding, men’s steer riding, men’s bucking bronco, and a wild horse race—catch-as-catch-can with no saddle or bridle. A cowboy named Leonard Stroud was the big winner that first year. Homer Wilson and Lucille Mulhall, both Oklahoma ranchers and connected with the 101 Ranch Wild West Show, provided stock for the contest. An estimated 23,000 persons saw the inaugural rodeo’s 12 performances.
Over the years, the Fort Worth Rodeo continued its lead with innovations for the sport. Steer riding was dropped here in 1933, when the late rodeo producer Verne Elliott introduced “Brahma bull riding.” Bull riding, scored today among rodeo fans as probably the most dangerous and surely the most exciting event of rodeos, has been accepted as one of the five major events in the sport on a worldwide basis.
Side release chutes for bucking stock were introduced to rodeo here in 1927, also by Elliott. This type of chute is now the worldwide standard for rodeo rough stock events. As opposed to the earlier front-gate chutes, the side release allows the animal and rider into the arena when the gate opens. The chute has been termed as the safest method yet devised for protection of both cowboy and animal.
Early day rodeo performances here interspersed horse show classes with cowboy events. Since 1996, the horse show program has been removed from the rodeo agenda due to more available space in new arenas. Cutting horse contests, however, continue to be seen by rodeo crowds. Such events were included in the debuting rodeo performances as “herd cutting” contests. The nation heard its first live radio broadcast of a rodeo on the National Broadcasting Company network in 1932 through the broadcast facilities of its Fort Worth affiliate, WBAP. The station has since become part of the American Broadcasting Company network.
During World War II, movie star and popular singer Gene Autry became the first specialty act to appear as part of the Fort Worth Rodeo program. Such “half-time” singing and performing acts have been popular at many rodeos across the country ever since. Many times the degree of success of a rodeo has been determined by audience acceptance of entertainment specials.
In 1958, the ABC-TV network gave live national television coverage to a complete Fort Worth Rodeo performance—another first—reaching an estimated audience of eight million. Roy Rogers and Dale Evans, who were guest stars on the weekly Chevy Show, were hosts here along with George “Gabby” Hayes and the Sons of the Pioneers. Entertainment is the key to much of the Fort Worth success. Today’s 36-performance schedule continues to include outstanding specialty acts with a Western Heritage flare. Of course, the dozen rodeo production companies that provide an array of the industry’s best stock that makes the Fort Worth Rodeo second to none in the nation.
The Stock Show remained headquartered on the North Side of Fort Worth until 1942. After a one-year hiatus in 1943 due to demands for the World War II effort, the Show opened in 1944 at the Will Rogers Memorial Center on the city’s near West Side. At first, the Center included the Will Rogers Coliseum, Tower and Auditorium, and one horse exhibit barn. It was all part of a facility that was constructed in the mid-1930’s for the Texas Centennial observance in 1936.
Ever saddled by a goal of assisting the City of Fort Worth in advancing the Center to its top potential, the Stock Show has been a major force helping to provide quality facilities that have year-round uses. In 1984 the Amon G. Carter Jr. Exhibits Hall with its spacious Round Up Inn used as part of the Stock Show’s “food court” concept was added; the world-class Will Rogers Equestrian Center came in 1988, the Kit and Charlie Moncrief Building in 1996, and the Ticket Office and Visitors Center at the north entrance to the Will Rogers Center opened in 1999.
Major improvements since the Stock Show became a regular tenant of the Center have included the addition of ten all-weather livestock barns, three multipurpose commercial exhibits buildings, heating and air conditioning in the coliseum, auditorium and exhibits areas, and paved and lighted parking facilities.
Now working with a broad-based committee, plans are being laid for the construction of a 12,000-seat coliseum with an accompanying multi-level parking facility. Since moving to the Center, Stock Show policy has been to deed to the City any improvements. This partnership has generated some $25 million from Stock Show funds to supplement municipal programs to provide a host of permanent facilities and comforts which are available on a year-round basis for a wide variety of events.
The Southwestern Exposition and Livestock Show is a civic and educational enterprise, incorporated as a non-profit organization. Founded as “an educational showcase for the great livestock industry,” the concept continues today. All profits are either returned to the City in the form of facility improvements or used to aid in advanced education, catering to a host of young people. Since 2000 the Stock Show has provided over $1,600,000 in educational grants.
Through a variety of higher education funding opportunities, several hundred youth have been awarded grants, most of which go to Texas 4-H Club and FFA Chapter members. Many of the students enroll at college or university levels with plans to embark upon careers in agriculture or related fields.
Endowment scholarship funds benefit students in the Ranch Management Program at Texas Christian University and animal science or agricultural studies at Texas Tech University. The TCU program is two-fold. First, the Stock Show established an endowed scholarship fund, then made substantial contributions to a new building that was constructed to house the Ranch Management Program. An initial $50,000 grant to Texas Tech established the L. E. “Sonny” Nance Scholarship Fund, in honor of long-time Stock Show secretary Nance who is a Tech alumnus. Earnings from the Nance fund are used to assist worthy students who study science and agricultural economics at the Lubbock campus.
As a memorial to Dr. Dan J. Anderson, long-time Show veterinarian and Executive Committeeman who died in 1979, the Stock Show established a $4,000 grant which is made available annually to a student in the College of Veterinary Medicine at Texas A&M University.
Recent payments exceeding $74,500 have been made for college-level programs to participants in the annual Stock Show Calf Scramble, which annually gives $500 purchase certificates to 240 Texas young people to buy beef and diary heifers as a year-long educational Show project and the equine program. Based on their quality of record keeping, correspondence with sponsors and a summary essay, scramble youngsters receive freshman-year college scholarships that range from $500 to $3,000. Geared toward youths showing in the Horse Department, another program offers scholarships to the high point and reserve high point winners exhibiting Paints, Palominos and Quarter Horses and Pony of the Americas, and exhibitors who show and submit essays on “My Horse Project.”
Initial Stock Show prizes consisted of gifts donated by Fort Worth area merchants. While this practice continues to some extent, the Show’s annual profits, plus tremendous support from numerous breed associations, provide cash for premiums in the various departments. In recent years, over three-quarters of a million dollars has been paid out to prize winners in the livestock show and rodeo events.
The Fort Worth Horse Show, considered one of the top shows in the nation, annually draws almost 3,000 head of equine. Overall, the livestock events attract more than 22,000 head of top quality animals and the numbers continue to climb as more breeds are added. Classes are scheduled for beef and dairy cattle, sheep, swine, goats, horses, mules, donkeys, llamas, sheep dogs, poultry, pigeons and rabbits. Livestock entries are registered from over 40 states and several foreign countries.
An extensive international program has been developed and annually attracts visitors from well over 80 foreign nations. In recent years, the average grounds attendance of over 900,000 persons makes the Stock Show by far Fort Worth’s most attended annual event.
The Fort Worth Chamber of Commerce a few years ago honored the Show with its “Spirit of Enterprise Award.” The Stock Show received praise for “helping to build a modern Fort Worth, boosting agribusiness education with grants and scholarships, and demonstrating a strong spirit of enterprise.” Based on a recent survey, the Stock Show generates an economic impact in excess of $100 million for the Fort Worth area.
Now the Southwestern Exposition and Livestock Show is well into its second century, making way for the exhibition of new breeds of livestock coupled with new programs and events, and vowing to serve the industry with world-class facilities and top-flight educational and entertainment opportunities.
