EVENTS
Bareback Bronc Rider, Champion, 1941
Rodeo Clown
Rodeo Bullfighter
An active timed-event competitor for many years, George Mills was born at Palisade, Colorado, in 1912. He entered his first professional contest in the 1930s, rode bulls and broncs for many years, and captured the bareback championship in 1941.
George Mills became a rodeo clown while still competing. He began his bullfighting career in 1937 as a last-minute substitute at the Madison Square Garden rodeo. Athletic prowess and intelligence made him a regular at the Garden and at Denver. During his career Mills partnered with John Lindsey and with Jasbo Fulkerson. A smart, nervy bull-baiter, Mills was famous for losing his pants to aggressive steers. He ended his bullfighting antics in the 1960s but continued to compete in timed events.
Bull riders loved and respected George Mills for his constant heroism. In Denver in 1945 the appreciative cowboys put together a fund to buy him a gold belt buckle. George Mills retired to his ranch in South Dakota and died in 1980.
