Team Roper • Inducted 2023
Doyle Gellerman started roping at age 5 with his father, who was a great team roper in his own right. Gellerman started out heeling, but quickly switched to heading. He admits that he was much better at roping horns. After rodeoing around California, Gellerman joined RCA in 1968 at the age of 16.
Gellerman made his first National Finals Rodeo in 1972, the last year where five rounds were dally tying and five rounds were team tying. In the team tying, after catching the steer, the header dismounted to tie the two back feet over the heeler’s rope. In 1973, Gellerman chose his father to rope as his partner, they finished second in the average. Overall, Gellerman qualified for 25 National Finals (1972-74, 1976-97). He won the NFR average in 1976 with Frank Ferriera, Sr. The next year he joined with Walt Woodard, a partnership that lasted from 1977-1985 and 1992-1994. Gellerman and Woodard would win the 1981 Team Roping World Championship. Gellerman and Woodard won the 1978 PRCA Team Roping Championship. This was awarded to the cowboy who earned the most money during the season when the World Championships were awarded to the cowboy earning the most money at the NFR.
In 1995, Gellerman and partner Britt Bockius were the first team to break the 4-second barrier at the NFR, beating their 4.1-second record from the year before. Their time of 3.8 seconds would be tied by three other teams before being broken in 2004 by Clay Tryan and Michael Jones.
Starting in 1977, Gellerman and Woodard hosted team roping schools. Those schools continued for 35 years. Gellerman stopped rodeoing hard in 2000 but renewed his card in 2012 to compete in some California events. He worked in the California oil fields as an inspector for 14 years. After spending much of his time in California, Gellerman retired to Idaho.
Accolades
World Championships: 1
1981 Team Roping – split with Walt Woodard
Biography
Born December 4, 1952, in Alameda, California