EVENTS
Steer Wrestler
Calf Roper
Steer Roper
Rodeo Manager
Born at Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania, in 1926, Lex Connelly went west to Wyoming with his family when a child. At age 17 he competed at Cody, Wyoming, in team roping and calf roping. After attending New Mexico Military Institute on a polo scholarship, he joined the Marines and saw action in World War II.
In 1945 Connelly started rodeoing full time, competing for 11 years. In 1951 he won the steer-wrestling title at Madison Square Garden. Connelly intended to rodeo until age 30 and to invest his winnings in his own rodeo company. He succeeded in the 1960s, partnering with Ed Rutherford in Golden State Rodeo.
Lex Connelly was general manager of the National Finals Rodeo during the 1960s. In 1970 he became manager of San Francisco’s Cow Palace, home of one of America’s biggest rodeos. He died in a plane crash in 1984.
