Ben Johnson Memorial Award
Born in 1965 at Victoria, Texas, Joe Beaver ranks among the top rodeo ropers of recent years. He entered the PRCA as a twenty-year-old in 1985, capturing the Resistol Overall and Calf Roping Rookie-of-the-Year titles, as well as the first of his five World Champion Calf Roping crowns.
Competing in calf roping, team roping and steer roping, Joe Beaver has realized his greatest success in the calf-roping event. He won both the Coors Chute-Out and Dodge Truck Series in 1987 and 1988, as well as taking the NFR average championships in calf roping in 1987, 1988, 1992 and 1996. In the latter year, Beaver also captured the calf-roping championships at Fort Worth and Houston. His skill as a team roping header, combined with his talents as a calf roper, earned him successive World Champion All-Around Cowboy laurels in 1995 and 1996.
Having earned more than $1.5 million during little more than a decade in rodeo, Joe Beaver continues to be an active and serious competitor. When he is not on the circuit, he enjoys conducting roping schools at his Huntsville, Texas, ranch.
