EVENTS
Steer Wrestler
Born in Lometa, Texas, in 1930, Johnny Ray Hatley grew up in Uvalde, Texas, where he was an all-around athlete, playing football, basketball, and baseball, and winning a state championship in track. Following a stint in the U.S. Marine Corps, he attended Sul Ross State College and was selected for the All Lone Star Conference football team. In 1952 Hatley was drafted by the Chicago Bears and played professional and semi-pro football for three seasons.
Rodeo had remained Hatley’s favorite sport since college and in 1956 he quit football to follow the circuit full time. Over the next few years he captured the steer-wrestling honors at El Paso, Odessa, Pecos, Uvalde, and Waco, Texas; Palm Springs, California; Spokane, Washington; and Cheyenne, Wyoming. In 1957 and 1958 he placed sixth and fifth, respectively, among RCA steer wrestlers in the national standings, and he qualified for the first National Finals Rodeo at Dallas, Texas, in 1959. After one season playing football with the Denver Broncos in 1960, “Big John” sought other employment and rodeoed part time throughout the 1960s.
Johnny Ray Hatley contended in his last rodeo at Cheyenne in 1974. He entered the Texas Rodeo Hall of Fame in 1998, and was elected to the Rodeo Historical Society’s Board of Directors in 1999. He died in 2001 at Corrales, New Mexico.
