“That night Myrtis rode about 20 seconds – and he rode Yellow Fever. And the people in the town complained that they missed the best part of the rodeo because he was only rode after everyone was gone.”
Harold Case was speaking about his years as a Rodeo Cowboy. He learned from one of the best, one Myrtis Dightman, the first black rider to make it to the National Rodeo Finals. He was in Galveston to talk about his time travelling the rodeo circuit from the late 40’s through the 1970’s. The reason he came was to support his friend Tom Linton and his cowriter, Chris O’Shea Roper as they promote their book, Legacy of the Early Gulf Coast Cowboys.
He told of being inducted into the Cowboy Hall of Fame in 2010 and being followed onto the stage by an elderly gentleman who had been watching him for some time. Once onstage, he and the elderly gentleman reached for the mic at the same time . The elderly gentleman got the mic and said, “See this man here? I messed him out of a lot of money. I held the whistle on him and a lot of other black cowboys. Sometimes he should have one first or second and I would give him a third or fourth. Sometimes I wouldn’t give him nothin’. Mr. Cash, would you please forgive me?”
In those days, black cowboys slept in their cars for lack of a motel that would accept them and went without a meal for lack of a restaurant that would serve them. Black and white cowboys were friends; they worked together, they helped each other out. It w3as the towns they passed through where the prejudice lived.
He told us about Willie Thomas, who won over 20 buckles and was named All Around Cowboy from 1953 to 1969; and his friend Jim Shoulders who also won All Around Cowboy multiple times from 1949 and on through the late 50’s.
After Myrtis made that famous ride on Yellow Fever, “…the organizers said that any time a Black Cowboy rode after the rodeo, there would have to be two white cowboys who also rode and the rodeo cowboys didn’t like that. So that’s what got the Blacks to be able to ride in the regular rodeo
Myrtis made it to the National Rodeo Finals seven times, but they never would let him win it. He did make third place one year and he is now in the Cowboy Hall of Fame in Fort Worth Texas.[sic] the only person, black or white, who never won the Nationals but is in the Hall of Fame in Colorado Springs, Colorado. “
The book, Legacy of the Early Gulf Coast Cowboys, is beautifully illustrated by Joseph A Hoover. It follows the cowboys of Southeast Texas and Louisiana, from the Revolutionary War up to current times; examining the Celtic heritage that played such a large part in this part of history as well as taking a close look at the Coastal Prairie and the cattle that populated it. It is a fascinating read from a master storyteller.
Harold Cash
Myrtis Dightman Willie thompson
