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Packard

Donald Packard Collection

Donald Packard Collection,

2 folders
Location: 0165
Accession #: 90.32; 90.57

Introduction

The photographs in this collection are of Bill Pickett, well-known African-American bulldogger of the early rodeo. The collection is open for viewing, but we are not allowed to duplicate them in any manner because they originate from another collection not associated with the Museum.

Biography

No biographical information about Mr. Donald Packard is included in the

 

collection. He generously donated these copy photographs to the Museum for research purposes only. Some of these same photographs can be found in the other collections.

Willie M. “Bill” Pickett:

Pickett was born on December 5, 1870 or 1871 in the Jenks-Branch community of Travis County, Texas. He was the second of 13 children born to Thomas Jefferson Pickett, a former slave, and Mary Gilbert. Pickett attended school through the fifth grade, after which he took up hard ranching work.

He invented the technique of bulldogging, the skill of grabbing cattle by the horns and wrestling them to the ground. Pickett’s method for bulldogging was biting a cow on the lip and then falling backwards. This method eventually lost popularity as the sport morphed into the steer wrestling that is practiced in rodeos today. Pickett and his brothers started their own company, the Pickett Brothers Bronco Busters and Rough Riders Association, to offer their services as cowboys. He also made a

 

living demonstrating his bulldogging skills and other stunts at county fairs.

In 1905, Pickett joined the 101 Ranch Wild West Show that featured the likes of Buffalo Bill, Will Rogers, Tom Mix, and Lucille Mulhall. He was headlined as the “Dusty Demon.” Colonel Zack Miller of the 101 Ranch described Pickett as “…the greatest sweat-and-dirt cowhand that ever lived, bar none.” He was such a popular performer that he also appeared in some early motion pictures.

In 1932, Bill Pickett was kicked in the head by a horse while working horses at the 101 Ranch and died of his injuries eleven days later on April 4, 1932, at the age of 61. Will Rogers announced his funeral on the radio. He is buried north of Marland, Oklahoma.

Pickett was named to the National Cowboy Hall of Fame in 1971 and was the first black honoree to that organization. He was enshrined in the ProRodeo Hall of Fame in 1989.

Sources:
Powell, Lee. “Bill Pickett: An Unlikely Rodeo Pioneer,” , December 3-9, 2004.

Scope & Content Note

The collection with accession #90.32 contains two photographs and two negatives of the same photograph. The photographs are of Bill Pickett. All photographs and negatives are restricted and cannot be duplicated. The collection with accession #90.57 contains five photographs and three negatives of Bill Pickett. One photograph includes Bob Crosby. All of the photographs and negatives are restricted and cannot be reproduced.

Subject Terms

Personal Names:
Pickett, Bill, ca.1860-1932

Subject Headings:
Cowboys
Miller Bros. & Arlington 101 Ranch Real Wild West (Organization)
Photographs

Processing Information

These collections were accessioned on December 20, 1990. Librarian Karen Spilman wrote the scope and content note in March 2003. The current finding aid was written and posted online by archivist/librarian Laura Anne Heller in November 2009.

Preferred Citation

Donald Packard Collection, Box ##, Folder ##, Dickinson Research Center, National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.

Container List

All Series

Series 1: Donald Packard Collection
Photographs have been cataloged in the Image Archive Database; no images will accompany these records.
Box/Folder # Accession # Folder Title/Description
1/6 90.32.1 Bill Pickett (1870-1932). 1900 ca. Glass Plate Store, publisher. Photograph, b&w, 8×10 in. Restricted; Cannot reproduce; Copy from the Willie Bea Royal Collection.
90.32.1N Bill Pickett (1870-1932). 1900 ca. Glass Plate Store, publisher. Safety film negative, b&w, 4×5 in. Restricted; Cannot reproduce; Copy from the Willie Bea Royal Collection.
90.32.2 Bill Pickett (1870-1932). 1900 ca. Glass Plate Store, publisher. Photograph, b&w, 8×10 in. Restricted; Cannot reproduce; Copy from the Willie Bea Royal Collection.
90.32.2N Bill Pickett (1870-1932). 1900 ca. Glass Plate Store, publisher. Safety film negative, b&w, 4×5 in. Restricted; Cannot reproduce; Copy from the Willie Bea Royal Collection.
1/7 90.57.1 Bill Pickett(1870-1932)[sitting on a cotton wagon, a woman and girl are standing next to wagon], 1908. Glass Plate Store, publisher. Photograph, b&w, 8×10 in. Restricted; Cannot reproduce; Copy from the Willie Bea Royal Collection.
90.57.1N Bill Pickett(1870-1932)[sitting on a cotton wagon, a woman and girl are standing next to wagon], 1908. Glass Plate Store, publisher. Safety film negative, b&w, 4×5 in. Restricted; Cannot reproduce; Copy from the Willie Bea Royal Collection.
90.57.2 Bill Pickett throwing a steer with his teeth at 101 Ranch. 1900 ca. Glass Plate Store, publisher. Photograph, b&w, 8×10 in. Restricted; Cannot reproduce.
90.57.3N Bill Pickett and 6 cowboys sitting on horseback with a herd of cattle in background. 1900 ca. Glass Plate Store, publisher. Safety film negative, b&w, 4×5 in. Restricted; Cannot reproduce.
90.57.4-1 Bill Pickett and 3 cowboys sitting on horseback in an arena; The cowboy on left is Bob Crosby. 1900 ca. Glass Plate Store, publisher. Photograph, b&w, 8×10 in. Restricted; Cannot reproduce.
90.57.4-2 Bill Pickett and 3 cowboys sitting on horseback in an arena; The cowboy on left is Bob Crosby. 1900 ca. Glass Plate Store, publisher. Photograph, b&w, 8×10 in. Restricted; Cannot reproduce.
90.57.4N Bill Pickett and 3 cowboys sitting on horseback in an arena; The cowboy on left is Bob Crosby. 1900 ca. Glass Plate Store, publisher. Safety film negative, b&w, 4×5 in. Restricted; Cannot reproduce.
90.57.5 Bill Pickett bulldogging, Sheepshead Speedway Stampede 1916. Photograph, b&w, 3.25×4 in. Copy photograph. Restricted; Cannot reproduce.

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