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Wednesday, April 3, 2019

Bill Pickett, An Extraordinary Black Cowboy by Sarah J. McNeal (Re-post)









Bill Pickett


Bill Pickett was born on December 5, 1870 to Thomas Jefferson Pickett, a former slave, and Mary “Janie” Gilbert near Taylor, Texas. He was the second child of 13 with an ancestry of African-American and Cherokee. He left school in the 5th grade to become a ranch hand and married Maggie Turner, once a slave and the daughter of a white southern plantation owner. They had 9 children together.

Pickett Demonstrating Bulldogging 




An extraordinary cowboy, Pickett invented the technique of bulldogging, the skill of grabbing cattle by the horns and wrestling them to the ground. Pickett had witnessed cattlemen using a trained bulldog to catch a stray steer. He figured, if the bulldog could do it, he most certainly could. He practiced this feat by riding hard, leaping from his horse, and wrestling the steer to the ground. I guess he mimicked the bulldog by biting the cow on the lip and then falling backwards. Kind of gross in my opinion, but the stunt changed over time into what is called steer wrestling which is still practiced in rodeos today, but without biting the cow’s lip. Thank goodness.




Bill Pickett A Star Of The 101 Ranch Wil West Show


Soon enough, Pickett became known for his tricks and stunts which he performed at county fairs. Along with his four brothers, Bill Pickett formed The Pickett Brothers Bronco Busters and Rough Riders Association. That’s a mouthful, for certain. His name became well known and synonymous with popular rodeos. He performed his bulldogging stunt as he traveled around Texas, Arizona, Oklahoma, and Wyoming.

I’ve talked about the 101 Ranch before because of two rodeo posters dated May 1901 that I found in my grandfather McNeal’s trunk. Well, in 1905, Pickett joined the 101 Ranch Wild West Show that featured famous cowboys like Buffalo Bill, Will Rogers, Tom Mix, Bee Ho Gray, and Lucille Mulhall. It wasn’t long before Bill Pickett became a popular member of the show and toured around the world and appeared in early motion picture shows in which he was known as “the Dusky Demon”. 







His ethnic background kept him from performing in many of the rodeos until he was forced to claim he was of Comanche heritage. In 1921 he performed the movies, The Bull-Dogger and The Crimson Skull.

He retired from the Wild West Shows, but continued ranching. In 1932, a bronco kicked Bill Pickett in the head. After lying in a coma for several days, Bill Pickett passed from this earth.






A headstone for Bill Pickett was erected beside the graves of Miller brothers who owned Ranch 101 at the Cowboy Hill Cemetery, but his actual burial place is near a 14 foot stone monument in honor of the friendship of the Ponca Tribal Chief White Eagle and the Miller Brothers on Monument Hill. The monument is also known as the White Eagle Monument to the local people and is less than a quarter mile north east of Marland in Noble County, Oklahoma.







Pickett was indicted into the National Rodeo Hall of Fame in 1971.

The United States Postal Service included Bill Pickett in its Legends of the West commemorative sheet which was unveiled December 1993. Bill Pickett’s family informed the post office they has made the stamp with the wrong image which was of Bill’s brother, a fellow cowboy star. The United States Post Office corrected the image and reissued the stamp in Bill Pickett’s honor October 1994.






The Taylor City Council announced in March 2015 that the street that leads to the rodeo arena would be named in honor of Bill Pickett.

It is always exciting to me when I learn of someone from such humble beginnings makes something of themselves and becomes an honored icon for others to look up to and emulate. Bill Pickett was such an icon.


To read more about Bill Pickett:

•           Hanes, Bailey C. (1977). Bill Pickett, Bulldogger: The Biography of a Black Cowboy. Norman, OK: University of Oklahoma Press. ISBN 0-8061-1391-X. OCLC 02632780.



•           Johnson, Cecil (1994). Guts: Legendary Black Rodeo Cowboy Bill Pickett. Fort Worth, TX: Summit Group. ISBN 1-56530-162-5. OCLC 31374075.



Diverse stories filled with heart






15 comments:

  1. What an amazing character. What storng people he and his wife must have been. I'd never heard of him. Thanks for posting this.

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    1. My nephew told me about him and I researched him some years back. I was so amazed at his ability to overcome all odds and really make something of his life.
      Thank you so much for coming, C.A.

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  2. What an interesting life Bill led and how wonderful that his accomplishments have been recognized and honored. I like the statue. I can't imagine biting a steer on the lip let alone getting that close to his face and horns. A very interesting post.

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    1. Elizabeth, I don't think I would have wanted to bite a bull on the lip or anywhere else for that matter. I would have never know about him if my nephew, Matthew, hadn't told me about him. My nephew shares an interest in rodeos and cowboys with his dad so I was glad to have his input.

      Thank you so much for your comment. I really appreciate it.

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  3. I've read about Bill Picket and other Black cowboys, who were a big part of the old west. But I have never heard about the bulldogging before!!! Can you imagine?! That takes grit. And the story about the US postal service putting the wrong image on a stamp is really something. Thankfully he had relatives still alive who could right that wrong. Thanks for bringing this remarkable man to our attention, Sarah!These real life characters are such great author-inspiration, right they?

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    1. Patti, you probably know way more about cowboys and rodeos than me. Believe me, I didn't know about bulldogging either until my nephew told me and I researched it.

      So much for the postal service, right? Good thing Bill's relatives did something about that. The man is famous, so I am certain the post office management was dismayed by the mistake.

      Yes, I agree; it is fascinating to come across these genuine characters and they do inspire us.
      Thank you so much for coming and commenting, Patti.


      So much for the postal service

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  4. What an interesting post. I've never heard of him. Thanks for sharing, and that's funny (or not so funny) about the post office stamp mistake. But I think it's easy to get some of these early pioneers confused in photos.

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    1. Kristy, it's so nice to have you visit and comment on my post. Thank you so much for your comment.

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  5. Always loved this post. Such history. Thanks for re-posting. Doris

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    1. Thank you for coming by, Doris. It was very sweet of you.

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  6. This was so interesting. Thank you for sharing for posting this.

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    1. Thank you so much for coming, Ann. It's much appreciated.

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  7. Golly, I'm a bit more than late to this post (just returning after a long haul off line), but I so very much enjoyed it that I had to reply. Yes it is more than inspiring to read about someone from the long ago past that had so many counts against them, but strived to do his part in this world and to succeed so well. Thanks for sharing such an interesting post.

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    1. Bev, I like these kinds of stories about real people who came from nothing and yet, made something of themselves in spite of everything. No whining, no victimizing, just working hard and determined to DO something. I love people like Bill.

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  8. Bill Pickett is one of my favorite real old west characters. I would have liked to have met him. Oh, the stories he would undoubtedly tell...or spin.

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