Legendary Cowboy Bill Pickett's Saddle Found?
Tuesday May 29, 2007
Elizabeth Meaders, a collector of African American memorabilia may just have stumbled across a fascinating find that has some interesting implications for the rodeo world, a worn leather saddle embossed with the name of Bill Pickett.
For those of you who don't know who Bill Pickett is, he was a legendary Texas cowboy who is credited with inventing the sport of bulldogging or steer wrestling. Pickett was one of thousands of African American cowboys who worked on ranches in the Old West (the contributions of whom are vastly under recognized). He is arguably the most famous Black cowboy of all time and the first black cowboy film star. (Read the story from the New York Daily News).
The saddle has yet to be identified and will be authenticated (or not) on the PBS series History Detectives sometime in September.
Pickett was inducted in to the National Cowboy Hall of Fame in 1971 and the ProRodeo Hall of Fame in 1989.
About Rodeo will be waiting and watching for the conclusion of this exciting story.
For those of you who don't know who Bill Pickett is, he was a legendary Texas cowboy who is credited with inventing the sport of bulldogging or steer wrestling. Pickett was one of thousands of African American cowboys who worked on ranches in the Old West (the contributions of whom are vastly under recognized). He is arguably the most famous Black cowboy of all time and the first black cowboy film star. (Read the story from the New York Daily News).
The saddle has yet to be identified and will be authenticated (or not) on the PBS series History Detectives sometime in September.
Pickett was inducted in to the National Cowboy Hall of Fame in 1971 and the ProRodeo Hall of Fame in 1989.
About Rodeo will be waiting and watching for the conclusion of this exciting story.