Jim Shoulders

Shoulders was a giant in and out of the arena, winning 16 world titles and becoming a household name in the process. A city kid with no livestock background, Shoudlers’ career began in 1942 at the young age of 14, when he witnessed and entered his first rodeo. In his first outing, Shoulders won the bull riding competition in Oilton, Oklahoma, along with $18. Shoulders continued his professional career as the winningest cowboy of all time in the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association (PRCA) where he won 16 world championships. This included the world all-around rodeo cowboy championship five times (1949, 1956-1959), world champion bareback rider title four times (1950, 1956-1958) and world champion bull rider title seven times (1951, 1954-1959). Injuries put an end to his rodeo career in 1970, and he retired to his ranch in Oklahoma with his wife Sharon where together they raised four children. While Shoulders hung up his spurs, he remained connected to the industry as a stock contractor, while also running a rodeo school. Shoulders quickly became a celebrity outside of the Western world while doing promotional work for brands like Wrangler, who had signed him in 1948, and Justin Boots, in addition to appearing on television for Miller Lite beer alongside baseball legend Billy Martin. He was inducted into the Pro Rodeo Hall of Fame in 1979 and today is the only cowboy ever to be inducted into the Madison Square Garden Hall of Fame. Shoulders was also an avid supporter of the PBR over the years, lending his knowledge and experience to the organization. In 2007, Shoulders passed away at the age of 79. His 58-year partnership with Wrangler was the longest sports licensing endorsement in the history of sports, and his legacy is honored with the aforementioned Jim Shoulders Lifetime Achievement Award.