EVENTS
Steer Roper, Champion, 1957-1958, 1961
Born at Graham, Oklahoma, in 1927, Clark McEntire grew up in ranching country. His father, John Wesley McEntire, was a top rodeo hand in the early years of the sport. At age 12, Clark McEntire entered his first amateur roping in Ada, Oklahoma, and he turned professional in 1942.
In his teenage years Clark McEntire contested in calf roping, bulldogging, and steer roping at all of the West’s major rodeo venues. He won the Pendleton roping in 1947 and by 1949 was ranked fifth in the nation in steer roping. His superior skills brought him the RCA championship in that event in 1957, 1958, and 1961 and the IRA title in 1947.
Rodeo Sports News in 1965 described this disciplined performer as a man who “ropes with a cold consistency, born of unrelenting practice.” Fellow hands nicknamed him “Ropentire.” Since retiring from the arena, Clark McEntire has lived in Stringtown, Oklahoma.
