Warren G. Brown: Difference between revisions
Dawnleelynn (talk | contribs) m clean up, replaced: |last=|first=|date=| → | (5) using AWB |
|||
| Line 20: | Line 20: | ||
==World War II== |
==World War II== |
||
Brown enlisted to join the U.S. army, and undertook basic training in [[Fort Sill]]. He attended horseshoeing school while stationed at [[Fort Riley]]. He was recruited by the [[Office of Strategic Services]] (OSS), which acted behind enemy lines; Brown was helping paratroopers. |
Brown enlisted to join the U.S. army, and undertook basic training in [[Fort Sill]]. He attended horseshoeing school while stationed at [[Fort Riley]]. He was recruited by the [[Office of Strategic Services]] (OSS), which acted behind enemy lines; Brown was helping paratroopers. |
||
The war ended in the |
The war ended in the Summer of 1945, and Brown returned to China to finish a Red Cross-sponsored event in which U.S. pack mules that had replaced saddle-broncs and barebacks and native cattle that were rounded up for the bull ride. Brown left China with the all-around title . |
||
==1962 World Championship== |
==1962 World Championship== |
||
Revision as of 06:12, 15 July 2017
 | This article needs additional citations for verification. (March 2017) |
Warren Granger "Freckles" Brown (18 January 1921 - 20 March 1987) was a hall of fame American rodeo performer from Wheatland, Wyoming. His career spanned from 1937 to 1974, competing in bull riding, saddle bronc riding, bareback riding, team roping, and steer wrestling. He was the PRCA World Champion Bull Rider in 1962. Brown was inducted into the ProRodeo Hall of Fame in Colorado Springs, Colorado, for Bull Riding in 1979. Brown was also inducted into the inaugural class of the Bull Riding Hall of Fame in Fort Worth, Texas, in 2015. Brown was most famous for conquering the unridden bull Tornado, owned by rodeo legend Jim Shoulders who had an undefeated record of 220 riders. He was also a close friend and mentor of bull riding icon Lane Frost.
Warren G"Freckles"Brown | |
|---|---|
| Born | January 18, 1921 |
| Died | March 20, 1987 |
| Nationality | American |
| Known for | A legend of Bull Riding |
| Awards | World Champion Bull Rider 1962 |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Bull Rider |
Early career
In 1937 Brown started in the rodeo at Willcox, Arizona at age 16. In 1941 he rode his horse to Cody, Wyoming—a long distance—where he had won his first bull trophy, then rode back again.[1]
World War II
Brown enlisted to join the U.S. army, and undertook basic training in Fort Sill. He attended horseshoeing school while stationed at Fort Riley. He was recruited by the Office of Strategic Services (OSS), which acted behind enemy lines; Brown was helping paratroopers. The war ended in the Summer of 1945, and Brown returned to China to finish a Red Cross-sponsored event in which U.S. pack mules that had replaced saddle-broncs and barebacks and native cattle that were rounded up for the bull ride. Brown left China with the all-around title .
1962 World Championship
Brown was injured badly in October 1962 at the rodeo in Portland, Oregon. While riding a bull name "Black Smoke" for 8 seconds, the bull flipped Brown, who fell on his head, paralyzing him.[1][2] The doctor pulled on his head and it made the feeling come back to his right side and left foot. He was operated on and put in traction for 34 days, followed by a plaster cast from the top of the waist to the top of the brow for more than 2 months. He had saved enough money to win the Championship.[3][4] His earnings in the 1962 were $18,675. During that year he won the "World Champion Bull Rider" award at the National Finals Rodeo while he was on the sidelines watching.
Tornado, the unrideable bull
Brown is remembered for riding an "unrideable" bull named Tornado in December 1967.[3] The bull, owned by Jim Shoulders, had thrown over 200 riders over a 14-year period before Brown's successful ride,[5] and was considered the ultimate challenge on the bull-riding circuit, but Brown stayed on for the 8 seconds required,[6] in front of 6,000 people. Tornado died in 1972 as unridden by 220 professional riders except for Brown, and was buried on the grounds of the Cowboy Hall of Fame, near two notable bucking horses, Midnight and Five Minutes Til Midnight.[7] Brown, this ride, and Tornado are all memorialized in Red Steagall's song, "Freckles Brown".[8]
Awards and recognition
- 1962 West Best Cowboy (World Champion) Award.
- 1972 For the 1971 Film/Television - Western Documentary - “Rodeo,” Concepts Unlimited, Inc and Contemporary Films/McGraw Hill; Gaby Monet, Producer; Carroll Ballard, Director; Freckles Brown & Larry Mahan, Actors. Bronze Wrangler at the Western Heritage Awards of the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum[9]
- 1979 ProRodeo Hall of Fame[10]
- 1983 Brown received a trophy in 1983 that is in Denver for his "life long contribution to the sport of rodeo"[11]
- 1986 Rodeo Hall of Fame of the National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum[12]
- 1993 Oklahoma Sports Hall of Fame[13]
- 2006 Cheyenne Frontier Days Hall of Fame[14]
- 2015 Bull Riding Hall of Fame[15]
- 2017 Mollala Walk of Fame[16]
Personal life
He was the youngest of 10 brothers and sisters. Brown had a wife named Edith, and a daughter named Donna Harrison, and two grandchildren.[3]
Brown had retired at age 53, and he returned home to his 600-acre ranch in Soper, Oklahoma.[6] He settled down from bull riding to work with the animals on the ranch and teach the young ones his techniques.
Brown was found to have cancer in November. He was advised to go to Houston for six weeks' radiation treatment, but was determined to go to the December finals beforehand. A man named Clem had announced at the December 1983 Finals that Brown had been diagnosed with prostate cancer. His friends gave him a fund raiser dance at the end of the Finals that would help with cost of the medical supplies he needed. By March 1983 he had returned home to give interviews.
His cancer returned in 1987, after being in remission for four years. By March 1987 he was back in hospital in Houston at the age of 66. Clem, who had announced Brown's cancer, came back at the Finals, so they had pulled together a fund raiser auction to help to pay for the medical bills again. It was going to take place on March 22, 1987. However, Brown died two days before at his ranch in Soper, Oklahoma. That Sunday the fund raiser still went on at the Holidome in McAlester, Oklahoma. US$41,000 was raised to help with Brown's medical bills.[17][18]
He was a friend and mentor to bull riding champion Lane Frost, who is buried next to him in Mount Olivet Cemetery in Hugo, Oklahoma.[8][19]
References
- ^ a b "Warren G. "Freckles" Brown (1921 - 1987) - Find A Grave Memorial". www.findagrave.com. Retrieved 17 April 2017.
- ^ herzberger, alan. "The well-told story of Freckles Brown and Tornado". Retrieved December 18, 2011.
- ^ a b c "Freckles Brown". lanefrost.com.
- ^ "Stories of the Ages | Freckles Brown: The Ride". ndepth.newsok.com. Retrieved 10 May 2017.
- ^ "Legendary Rodeo Champion Jim Shoulders, 79". 21 June 2007. Retrieved 12 January 2017 – via washingtonpost.com.
- ^ a b W. K., Stratton (May 25, 1987). "Sitting Atop A Tornado: In 1967, at 46, Freckles Brown rode the unridable bull". Sports Illustrated. Archived from the original on 2010-02-24. Retrieved 10 May 2017.
- ^ "Tornado | The Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture". www.okhistory.org. Retrieved 9 May 2017.
- ^ a b Cathy Logan, "Freckles Brown's ride on Tornado is the stuff of songs and legends", Tulsa World, January 5, 2006. [dead link]
- ^ "Western Heritage Awards". National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum. Retrieved 7 June 2017.
- ^ "Warren G. "Freckles" Brown - Pro Rodeo Hall of Fame". Pro Rodeo Hall of Fame. Retrieved 9 May 2017.
- ^ Joseph, Dana. "Freckles Brown".
{{cite web}}: Unknown parameter|dead-url=ignored (|url-status=suggested) (help) [dead link] - ^ "Rodeo Hall of Fame Inductees - National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum". National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum. Retrieved 11 May 2017.
- ^ "Freckles Brown". Oklahoma Sports Hall of Fame. Retrieved 11 May 2017.
- ^ "Cheyenne Frontier Days Hall of Fame". www.oldwestmuseum.org. Retrieved 9 May 2017.
- ^ "The Bull Riders - Class of 2015". The Bull Riding Hall of Fame. Retrieved 18 January 2017.
- ^ "Walk of Fame - Molalla Area Chamber of Commerce,OR". www.molallachamber.com. Retrieved 17 May 2017.
- ^ Bates, Weston. "The legacy of Freckles Brown". Retrieved 30 April 2010.
{{cite web}}: Unknown parameter|dead-url=ignored (|url-status=suggested) (help) - ^ "National Finals Rodeo | The Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture". www.okhistory.org. Retrieved 10 May 2017. [dead link]
- ^ "Cowboy's funeral draws throng", AP in Tulsa World, August 3, 1989. [dead link]
External links
- Freckles Brown at lanefrost.com
- The Ride - National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum Tip: If there is just blank space under the "The Ride" text on this page, you can still click in that space and watch the video.
- Ballad of Freckles Brown - Lyrics
Videos:
- Red Steagall- Freckles Brown.wmv YouTube video of Red Steagall singing his song "Freckles Brown."
- My Last Ride by Sam Hill YouTube Video