Bio
Known for throwing a small, “wedding ring” loop, Jake McClure was a rodeo innovator. Born in 1902 near Amarillo, Texas, he grew up on a ranch near Lovington, New Mexico, where he rode horses and roped anything that would run.
Around 1924, Jake McClure began rodeoing, riding rough stock and roping. He soon concentrated on calf roping, gaining his first important win at San Antonio in 1928. From that year through 1938, he was the man to beat at Cheyenne, Pendleton, all the major venues, and many smaller ones. All the other ropers of the day soon picked up his roping style–throwing a small, hard loop.
Soft-spoken Jake McClure was known on the circuit as “the gentleman roper.” He always wore a necktie in the arena. McClure used his winnings to buy and stock a 16-section spread near Lovington. Injured in a roping accident at the ranch in 1940, he died shortly afterward.
