Jim Shoulders

Jim Shoulders is one of the most famous all-time rodeo champions. With an unparalleled record of 16 Rodeo Cowboys Association (RCA) championships from 1949-1959, Shoulders was a slim-hipped, tall cowboy that was known for using his instincts and lightening reflexes to win championships and break rodeo records.

Shoulders' 16 RCA World Championships include five All-Around Cowboy awards (1949, 1956, 1957, 1958, 1959), seven Bull Rider awards (1951, 1954-1959), and four Bareback Rider awards (1950, 1956, 1957, 1958).

Collected with his awards, he suffered a string of injuries that would retire him: both arms broken twice, three broken collar bones, broken ankle, knee surgery and facial plastic surgery.

Born and raised near Tulsa, Shoulders did not have a ranch background. Having watched his brother Marvin compete in several local rodeos, Shoulders decided to try it for himself at age 14. His first time out of the chute, he won $18 at a rodeo in Oiltown, Oklahoma.

After graduation from Tulsa East Central High School, he scored his first national triumph in 1947 at Madison Square Garden in New York at age 19. Two years later, he earned his first RCA title as All-Around Cowboy. By 1960, at age 32, he had earned more than $400,000 riding bulls and bareback broncs.

He later became involved with rodeo as a stock producer, but now spends his time on his ranch in Henryetta, Oklahoma. Shoulders was born on May 13, 1928.