Back to all
National Rodeo Hall of Fame
Inducted in 2002
Jimmy Schumacher
EVENTS
Bull Rider
Bareback-Bronc Rider
Rodeo Clown and Barrelman
Born at Prescott, Arizona, in 1920, James William “Jimmy” Schumacher left high school at age 16 and joined the Clyde S. Miller Wild West Show and Rodeo. He joined the Cowboy Turtle Association as well in 1936 and soon commenced rough stock competition. He captured the bull riding title at Calgary in 1945, and took the bareback event in 1946 and 1947 at the same venue.
Schumacher began traveling with rodeo clown and bullfighter Jasbo Fulkerson, inventor of the arena barrel, in 1946, and this association marked a turning point in his career. With Fulkerson’s untimely death in 1949, Jimmy became an arena barrelman himself. He pursued this occupation for 26 years, working great rodeos like Madison Square Garden, Fort Worth, Houston, Denver and Prescott. Schumacher’s experience and insight resulted in his 1953 invention and patenting of the so-called “walking” barrel, a bottomless design that allowed greater mobility in the arena. His reputation for skill and daring were such that he was selected as barrelman at the National Finals Rodeo nine times (1960 and 1962-1969).
Jimmy Schumacher retired from the arena in the early 1970s. He was inducted by the Pro Rodeo Hall of Fame in 1979. He and his wife reside in Las Vegas, Nevada
EVENTS
Bull Rider
Bareback-Bronc Rider
Rodeo Clown and Barrelman
Born at Prescott, Arizona, in 1920, James William “Jimmy” Schumacher left high school at age 16 and joined the Clyde S. Miller Wild West Show and Rodeo. He joined the Cowboy Turtle Association as well in 1936 and soon commenced rough stock competition. He captured the bull riding title at Calgary in 1945, and took the bareback event in 1946 and 1947 at the same venue.
Schumacher began traveling with rodeo clown and bullfighter Jasbo Fulkerson, inventor of the arena barrel, in 1946, and this association marked a turning point in his career. With Fulkerson’s untimely death in 1949, Jimmy became an arena barrelman himself. He pursued this occupation for 26 years, working great rodeos like Madison Square Garden, Fort Worth, Houston, Denver and Prescott. Schumacher’s experience and insight resulted in his 1953 invention and patenting of the so-called “walking” barrel, a bottomless design that allowed greater mobility in the arena. His reputation for skill and daring were such that he was selected as barrelman at the National Finals Rodeo nine times (1960 and 1962-1969).
Jimmy Schumacher retired from the arena in the early 1970s. He was inducted by the Pro Rodeo Hall of Fame in 1979. He and his wife reside in Las Vegas, Nevada
