Akridge, Eddy
Bareback Riding • Inducted 1979
Courage and determination helped earn Eddy Akridge his fourth world bareback riding championship. The cowboy, born Jan. 8, 1929, in Pampa, Texas, had rolled to three consecutive world titles in the early 1950s before suffering a potentially career-ending knee injury. Ignoring his doctors’ advice to quit rodeo, he went on to have his best season ever. Akridge later reinjured his knee and was forced to retire. At the same time, he gave up his seat as bareback riding director on the PRCA Board of Directors. He wore a heavy brace for two years. But in 1959, Akridge decided to pursue a fourth world title. He retired the brace, endured the pain, and in 1961 captured his fourth world title.
Accolades
Biography
World Championships: 4
Bareback Riding: 1953, 1954, 1955, 1961
Born: January 8, 1929 in Pampa, Texas
Died: July 25, 2011 in Las Vegas, Nevada
Rodeo Championships
California Rodeo Salinas / Salinas, CA
Bareback Riding: 1956, 1957 (tie), 1961
Cheyenne Frontier Days / Cheyenne, WY
Bareback Riding: 1955, 1957 (tie)
Clovis Rodeo / Clovis, CA
Bareback Riding: 1956, 1959 (tie), 1964
Saddle Bronc Riding: 1954
Ellensburg Rodeo / Ellensburg, WA
All-Around: 1956
Bareback Riding: 1951, 1953, 1956
Saddle Bronc Riding: 1956
Fort Worth Stock Show & Rodeo / Fort Worth, TX
Bareback Riding: 1950, 1961
Guymon Pioneer Days Rodeo / Guymon, OK
Bareback Riding: 1954
La Fiesta de los Vaqueros Rodeo / Tucson, AZ
Bareback Riding: 1948
Ogden Pioneer Days Rodeo / Ogden, UT
All-Around: 1957
Bareback Riding: 1957
Saddle Bronc Riding: 1957 (tie)
Pendleton Round-Up / Pendleton, OR
All-Around: 1953
Bareback Riding: 1953
Red Bluff Round-Up / Red Bluff, CA
Bareback Riding: 1954
Saddle Bronc Riding: 1952
Redding Rodeo / Redding, CA
Bareback Riding: 1955 (tie)
Reno Rodeo / Reno, NV
Bareback Riding: 1960 (tie), 1962
Rowell Ranch Rodeo / Hayward, CA
Barebacking Riding: 1951, 1958
San Antonio Stock Show & Rodeo / San Antonio, TX
Bareback Riding: 1952
