Hailing from Fort Pierre, South Dakota, Tibbs has been described as being to rodeo what Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig were to baseball, and what Jack Dempsey and Muhammad Ali were to boxing.
in 1949, at the age of 19, Tibbs became the youngest competitor to win the PRCA saddle bronc-riding crown. Between 1949 and 1955, he won a total of six PRCA saddle bronc riding championships, plus two all-around cowboy championships and a bareback riding championship.
Tibbs was one of the founders of the Rodeo Cowboys Association, dedicated to improving the image of the cowboys and professional rodeo. For many years, he also wrote a syndicated newspaper column, “Let’er Buck,” for Rodeo Sports News. He also wrote and starred in the movies “Born to Buck” and “Young Rounder,” and starred in the movie “Bronc Busters.” In 1958, Tibbs appeared on the television show, “This is Your Life,” with Ralph Edwards. That year he also took a rodeo troop to the World’s Fair in Brussels, Belgium. In 1973, his troop introduced rodeo to the Japanese with 162 performances.
In August of 1989, Tibbs was awarded the golden boot from the Motion Picture and Television Relief Fund for his contribution to the industry. A larger-than-life bronze statue of Casey riding the famed bucking horse Necktie was dedicated in August of 1989 at the Pro Rodeo Cowboy Hall of Fame in Colorado Springs, Colorado.
