JEFF MEDDERS Notable Inducted 2026 Jeff Medders grew up on a ranch in southeastern Oklahoma, where his passion for the western lifestyle—and for storytelling—took root at an early age. By his junior year of high school, he had already set his sights on becoming a sportscaster, a goal he has pursued with unwavering...
BOBBY GOODSPEED Notable Inducted 2026 Bobby Goodspeed grew up roping. His father was renowned calf roper and it only followed that he would be one too. He competed in Little Britches and High School Rodeo, earning the American Junior Rodeo Association Calf Roping and All-Around Championships from 1954-1956. From there, he bought his...
Rodeo Notable • Inducted 2001 Myron “Doc” Etienne is a city boy with a long and deep love of the West and the cowboy. Shortly after high school, he joined the Merchant Marines. After five years at sea, he enrolled in college and graduated with a law degree. His first job...
Rodeo Notable • Inducted 2000 Cecil Jones, born July 2, 1917, in Menan, Idaho, began his rodeo career at 17, making a dollar a ride instead of picking potatoes. In 1938, he met Harry Rowell, marking the beginning of a lifetime relationship between the two and Jones’ lifetime commitment to rodeo,...
Lifetime Achievement • Inducted 1999 Charles Wilken, known to everyone as Lefty, was born in 1920 in Valentine, Texas, to a family of pioneers who made their living with mules and wagons. At a very early age, Wilken was riding horseback and packing a rope. He was an outstanding athlete competing...
Rodeo Notable • Inducted 1999 Rodeo producer and longtime rodeo advocate Bob Thain started his rodeo career in 1965. Born May 27, 1936, in Portland, Ore., Thain has produced rodeos across the United States, including Hawaii and Alaska. One of his largest productions was in 1980 at a PRCA rodeo held...
Lifetime Achievement • Inducted 1998 Sonny Linger has spent nearly his entire life in rodeo, from his days as a contestant in the 1940s to his four decades of effort at the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo as the chute boss and then the livestock superintendent. His great ability with animals will...
Rodeo Notable • Inducted 1998 The Justin name has been synonymous with the cowboy boot for more than a century. John Justin began his career in the family business at age 6, putting laces in 16-inch lace-up boots, for no pay. In the early 1950s, his lifelong dream of running the...
Rodeo Notable • Inducted 1997 Bill Hervey was affectionately known as “Mr. Wrangler” for his involvement with the Wrangler company and support of rodeo for over thirty years. Hervey started working for Wrangler in 1957 in the sales department. He moved his way up the ladder, becoming president of the men’s...
Rodeo Notable • Inducted 1997 Eldon Evans’ father threatened him with his life if he ever became a rodeo cowboy. While he never competed in the arena, Evans of Twin Falls, Idaho, did become a true friend of the sport. He has given countess hours to the PRCA for more than...
