Shawn Davis, a three-time world champion saddle bronc rider, has devoted much of his life to the sport of rodeo. Davis won his first title in 1965 and then captured back-to-back titles in 1967-68. In 1969, he was leading the world standings when a bronc fell on him in Thompson Falls, Mont., breaking his back. At least one surgeon predicted Davis would never ride even a gentle horse again, but 13 month later, following intensive, self-motivated physical therapy, he was riding broncs and winning. He returned to the National Finals Rodeo in 1971. Davis has been general manager of the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo since 1986 and was a major proponent of moving the NFR from Oklahoma City, Okla., to Las Vegas. Davis has served on the PRCA Board of Directors and he currently is a college professor and rodeo coach at the College of Southern Idaho in Twin Falls. He was born on Dec. 7, 1941, in Butte, Mont.
World Championships: 3 (1965, 1967-68)
SONNY DAVIS Steer Roping • Inducted 1979
With his unconventional technique, Sonny Davis was credited with putting some “zip” into the single steer roping, which until that time was something of a perfectionist event. Davis, born Jan. 2, 1935, in Kenna, N.M., handled himself with catlike quickness and superb coordination, despite his 6-foot-3 inch, 220-pound frame. He won three world championships in five years. His 1968 championship might have been his toughest. He had to battle back from a 10-month layoff after suffering severe knee and ankle injuries when his horse fell with him. Davis passed away April 4, 1991.
World Championships: 3 (1964, 1966, 1968)
JO DECKER Contract Personnel • Inducted 2001
o Decker wore many hats during her rodeo career. She started her career shortly after high school as one of the “Ranch Girls” at the Madison Square Garden Rodeo. She was known as a consummate horsewoman and better able to diagnose a problem than the local veterinarian. At the first National Finals Rodeo in 1959, she carried the American flag, helped organize the event and filled the role of production coordinator. Over the years Decker worked as a rodeo secretary for some of the biggest names in the stock contracting business, including Beutler Brothers, Harry Vold, Mike Cervi and Hoss Inman. She was the secretary at the National Finals Rodeo six times. Decker’s success as a rodeo secretary came from her ability to understand problems encountered by cowboys, stock contractors and judges and offer solutions to ensure a successful rodeo. She has been described as having the biggest heart in rodeo, always willing to help anyone and with the best interest of the sport in mind.
DESCENT Livestock • Saddle Bronc •inducted 1979
Six-time Bucking Horse of the Year Descent, a palomino gelding, was the most noted animal in the Beutler string. Lynn Beutler purchased the horse in 1964 as a 5-year-old. In 1966, the season’s Top 15 saddle bronc riders voted Descent as the Bucking Horse of the Year. He continued that streak through 1969. In 1970, the horse was sidelined due to injury, but came back in 1971-72 to reclaim the Bucking Horse of the Year award. Descent was retired at the National Western Stock Show and Rodeo in Denver and lived in comfort at the ProRodeo Hall of Fame until his death in 1983.
GEORGE DOAK - JUNIOR MEEK Contract Personnel • Inducted 2000
George Doak and Junior Meek were destined to be together. Both started their bullfighting careers as a means of trading entry fees for the bull riding, although Doak also entered bareback riding while Meek chose steer wrestling and tie-down roping. Meek went on to compete in the National Finals Rodeo in steer wrestling, while earning a living as a bullfighter. As a bullfighter, he was the first to consistently jump bulls in the arena and his great athleticism made him a favorite with the bull riders. Doak, born May 18, 1937, in Fort Worth, Texas, started his professional career in Cowtown, N.J. One of the first televised rodeos, Cowtown also hosted what may have been the first clown training camp at a bull riding school. Doak twice fought bulls at the National Finals Rodeo (1971, 1977) and for many years worked the National High School Rodeo Finals and College National Finals. Doak and Meek, born April 4, 1936, in Cleburne, Texas, joined forces in 1963 to book rodeos as a team. This marked the first time two bullfighters worked as partners. The list of rodeos they worked, together and separately, reads like a “Who’s who” in the rodeo world: Fort Worth; Pendleton, Ore.; Kissimmee, Fla.; Phoenix; San Francisco; Cheyenne, Wyo.; and Denver. Although Doak and Meek developed funny props, clown acts and entertainment, they are remembered for their ability to protect the cowboy while making the event look like as easy as a day at the office.
QUAIL DOBBS Contract Personnel • Inducted 2002
Quail Dobbs always wanted to be a cowboy. When he was required to write a school paper on an admirable person, he chose rodeo icon Jim Shoulders while everyone else in the class selected a movie star. Dobbs, born Aug. 27, 1941, in Albany, Texas, began his rodeo career riding bareback horses and bulls. He found his true calling in 1962 at a Minnesota rodeo when the stock contractor was short a barrelman. Dobbs volunteered and a star was born. Dobbs, a two-time PRCA Clown of the Year and four-time Coors Man in the Can, is one of only three men to work the National Finals Rodeo as both bullfighter and barrelman. He also worked as the Wrangler Bullfight Tour Finals barrelman seven times. In a span of more than three decades, Dobbs worked Cheyenne (Wyo.) Frontier Days 28 times, Southwestern International Livestock Show and Rodeo (El Paso, Texas) 30 times, West Texas Fair & Rodeo (Abilene, Texas) 27 times and RodeoHouston 15 times. Through the years, Dobbs’ co-workers in his various acts included the famous Phyllis, pigs, chickens, mules and his explosive cars named after space missions. The 1998 Cheyenne Frontier Days marked Dobbs’ last performance. He hung up his baggy pants and red polka-dotted shirt for a second career, serving as a justice of the peace in Coahoma, Texas. He says it wasn’t much of a transition, since some judges are already thought of as clowns.
