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July 7, 2025: Jake McClure
Howdy folks, it’s the second week of July 2025 and welcome to This Week in The West.
I’m Seth Spillman, broadcasting from the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum in Oklahoma City.
On this podcast, we share stories of the people and events that shaped the history, art and culture of the American West—and those still shaping it today.
If you could pinpoint our museum’s birthday, it would be November 11, 1955. That was the first full board of trustees meeting held in Oklahoma City, as well as the dedication of the site where our building now stands.
One of the first orders of business was to name the first five inductees of what was then called the Cowboy Hall of Fame.
First was Theodore Roosevelt, whose adventures as a North Dakota rancher were just part of his colorful life.
Then, Will Rogers. Of course, you couldn’t have the Hall of Fame without Oklahoma’s favorite son, a lasso-twirling cowboy.
Next was Charles Russell, the legendary Western artist and a cornerstone of our art collection, and Charles Goodnight, famous cattle drive drover and inventor of the Chuck Wagon.
And finally, Jake McClure.
You know.. Jake McClure. You don’t know Jake McClure?
Well, on today’s episode, we get to the bottom of the least known member of our inaugural class, rodeo cowboy Jake McClure, who died this week, July 9, 1940.
McClure was born in 1903, and by the tender age of two, he was already showing signs of what would become a legendary career.
According to family lore, as a toddler, he carried around a clothesline like a lasso. By five, he was roping anything that moved—cats, dogs, chickens, goats, even the neighbor kids. His father had different dreams, hoping Jake would outgrow this obsession and pursue an education. But the rope had already taken hold.
At 16, McClure left school behind and hit the rodeo circuit, attempting to make a name for himself as a roper. From California to New York, he was chasing calves and championships, developing a revolutionary style that would come to define him. Unlike the big, sweeping loops many cowboys used at the time, Jake favored a smaller loop, and he threw it fast, like a stone skipping across water. That unique technique, combined with uncanny timing, enabled McClure to rise to the top of the rodeo world in the 1930s.
The book “13 Flat,” a history of the early days of roping, tells the story of McClure’s friendship with Will Rogers. As the tale goes, Rogers was late to the Frontier Days Rodeo in Prescott, Arizona and missed McClure winning the calf roping event in 15 seconds flat.
Rogers grabbed the microphone and challenged McClure to do it again – and for every calf he brough down in under 15 seconds, Rogers would give him $100.
Seven calfs went down quick and there would have been an eighth, if McClure’s hand hadn’t gotten caught between the rope and his saddle horn, nearly tearing off his finger.
The crowd roared, Rogers laughed and when asked to give a speech, all McClure could say was “I guess you know I didn’t win this money making speeches,” before walking away.
In 1930, McClure was crowned all-around champion at the prestigious Pendleton Round-Up. Two years later, he took home the Arizona State Championship. McClure set a record in average calf roping time at the Billings, Montana Rodeo in 1934, roping three calves in an average of 14 seconds each.
In 1937, he won a title in Phoenix, and in 1939, he won the all-around title at the Houston Rodeo.
He set another world record of 12 seconds flat in calf roping at a 1934 rodeo in London, England.
Another reason he stood out was not just for what he did, but for how he did it—with humility, grace, and a necktie. Yes, McClure was known for dressing sharply, often wearing a tie.
McClure took his rodeo winnings and invested in land. He put together 16 sections—over 10,000 acres—becoming not just a rodeo star but a successful rancher in his home state of New Mexico.
McClure’s hometown of Lovington has never forgotten him. Today, the Lea County Fair & PRCA Rodeo is still held in the Jake McClure Arena, named in his honor. That arena has seen generations of cowboys come and go—one of those being Jake Barnes, a seven-time world champion team roper and McClure’s great-nephew.
Barnes told the Team Roping Journal about his namesake in 2021: “My Great Uncle Jake McClure was my Grandma Jane’s brother. They say he was a real classy guy who dressed sharp and always wore a necktie when he roped. And he had that unique little loop—smaller than standard, but man, was it fast.”
Barnes grew up hearing stories about Uncle Jake and later competed in the very arena named after him.
“When I think back on getting to rope in that Jake McClure Arena in Lovington, it gives me goosebumps,” Barnes said. “I’m proud to be named after him. Sure wish I could have known him.”
Jake McClure’s life story was a short one, however.
In July 1940, while working on his ranch, he was riding a horse that began to pitch. McClure jumped clear, but the horse reared again and fell on McClure.
McClure had a head injury and endured several operations. He never regained consciousness and died on July 9. He was only 36 years old.
McClure is also a charter member of the National Rodeo Hall of Fame here at The Cowboy, as well as a member of the ProRodeo Hall of Fame.
And with that, we’ve thrown our last loop on another episode of “This Week in The West.”
Our show is produced by Chase Spivey and written by Mike Koehler.
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We leave you today with the words of Willard Porter, author of “13 Flat,” the book recounting the early days of roping. “All the hands knew that McClure was the greatest living professional roper in the sport of rodeo. They knew that his Sunday lick was a small speed loop. But could he do the impossible? Could he, the grinning cowboys wondered, catch a calf with a loop no rounder than a chuck wagon skillet? … A spontaneous cry of amazement rippled across the field. McClure had done it!”
Much obliged for listening, and remember, come Find Your West at the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum.
