Bill Pickett Facts: Everything About The Legendary Cowboy

Bill Pickett, the famous American cowboy, was born on December 5, 1870, at Jenks Branch community in Travis County, Texas.

Bill Pickett is known for being one of the most famous rodeo cowboys of wild west America. He is credited with inventing the rodeo sport called 'bulldogging', also known as steer wrestling.

In southwestern America, a cowboy is a person who is skilled in handling and taming cattle like sheep, cows, and horses. They're all very skilled horsemen and considered to be important laborers in the cattle industry.

At the age of 18, Pickett and his brothers started a cowboy service known as the 'Pickett Brothers Bronco Busters and Rough Riders Association'.

Bill Pickett was one of the first African American cowboys to reach the height of fame and success. In 1916, Pickett retired from live performance and spent his life on a small ranch in Oklahoma.

He mastered the sport of rodeo at a very young age, which involves riding and roping skills based on the work of cowboys. It started to develop as a sport in the late 19th century in the United States, Mexico, and western Canada. Today, rodeo is a popular sport enjoyed by many people all around the world.

After learning about the interesting aspects of the life of this black cowboy star, also check out our Bruce Lee facts and Bruce Schneier facts.

Fun Facts About Bill Pickett

Bill Pickett was the one who invented a technique called bulldogging, which involves seizing a steer by its horns and wrestling it to the ground by biting its nose and lip to shock it into submission.

Bill Pickett started using this technique when he was inspired from watching bulldogs, who used the same technique to control stray cattle.

Despite the fact that his height was only 5 ft 7 in (1.7 m), he could bring a full-grown steer down from a very young age as he was very heavily muscled and weighed about 145 lb (65.8 kg).

Bill Pickett's early career began when he started to display these skills at county fairs, which attracted a lot of people's attention.

He performed under the nickname 'The Dusky Demon', and many people named him 'the bulldogger' as he was considered to be the 'world's colored champion' during that time.

During his rodeo career as a performer and entertainer, he toured through several countries like the United States, Europe, Mexico, and Canada, as well as performed for King George V and Queen Mary in England. In his career of 40 years, Bill Pickett was a very professional cowboy and a rodeo champion who rode bulls, horses, and wild broncos.

He is still considered a legendary figure in the Rodeo world.

Facts About Bill Pickett's Rodeo Career

Bill Pickett left school at a very young age to become a ranch hand. During the weekends, Bill Pickett would perform his bulldogging act and also traveled to various states like Texas, Arizona, Oklahoma, and Wyoming for performing and sporting.

Bill Pickett developed the now-famous sport of bulldogging or steer wrestling at an early age, which involved a technique wherein the rider jumps from his horse to grab the horns of a steer and bring it to the ground by biting its nose and lips.

This skill brought him steady performances, and he signed with 101 Ranch Wild West Show in 1907.

There he became a legendary performer and rodeo star as he was so good with handling every animal, whether it be wild or domesticated. The 101 Ranch Wild West Show was quite popular at the time as it also featured some famous cowboys and celebrities like Will Rogers, Buffalo Bill Cody, and Tom Mix.

This show continued to be performed in many countries, which gave Bill Pickett an opportunity to travel to various countries and perform in front of the king and queen of England.

One of his most challenging performances is considered to be the one in Mexico city which happened in 1908. In that performance, Bill Pickett rode a Mexican fighting bull for about seven minutes. Bill Pickett also appeared in silent films named 'The Bull Dogger' in 1921 and 'The Crimson Skull' in 1922.

Bill Pickett took partial retirement from show business in 1916 but continued his work as a cowboy and performer until the very end. Bill Pickett met a sad demise in April of 1932 when he suffered from a skull fracture after being kicked by a horse.

Unfortunately, he suffered some fatal injuries and died in Oklahoma after a few days.

Facts About Bill Pickett's Childhood

Bill Pickett was descended from the black slaves' community of the southwest, although at the time of his birth, the civil war had just ended, so he was born free. He spent most of his childhood in Texas, learning to ride horses and rope from a very young age.

Bill Pickett was the second child among 13 others, and his father was Thomas Jefferson Pickett. His mother was formerly known as Mary Virginia Elizabeth Gilbert and Mary Virginia Elizabeth Gilbert Pickett after marriage.

He had eight sisters and four brothers. It was a huge family. Bill Pickett only attended formal school until the fifth grade, after which he began to work on a ranch. From there, Bill Pickett's rodeo career picked up. Bill Pickett was married to Maggie Turner, who was a former slave. Bill Pickett and his wife had nine children.

Facts About Bill Pickett's Legacy

Bill Pickett was known to be a hardworking person, as he practiced the stunts he was supposed to perform with diligence and a lot of effort, physical as well.

He worked on his method of bulldogging for a long time before mastering it, which was the skill that made him a very famous Wild West American icon all over the world and a national cowboy.

In 1971, he was posthumously inducted into the Rodeo Hall of Fame of the National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum. A few years later, in 1989, Bill Pickett was the honoree of the ProRodeo Hall of Fame.

A statue of Bill Pickett was also sculpted by an artist named Lisa Perry in 1987, which illustrated the cowboy steer wrestling, or bulldogging.

His statute is installed in the Fort Worth Stockyards Historic District today. In December 1993, The United States Postal Service introduced Bill Pickett on stamps on the commemorative list of the Legends of the West, although it was later found that it was a photo of his brother, Ben Pickett.

A revised version of the stamps was later introduced in 1994, which depicted a photo of Ben Pickett from his movie poster for 'The Bull-Dogger'.

Here at Kidadl, we have carefully created lots of interesting family-friendly facts for everyone to enjoy! If you liked our Bill Pickett facts, then why not take a look at our Bryson Tiller facts or Bruce Springsteen facts.