[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 153 (2007), Part 13]
[House]
[Pages 17689-17690]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                         HONORING JIM SHOULDERS

  (Mr. BOREN asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. BOREN. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to celebrate the life of Jim 
Shoulders, a favorite son of Oklahoma who called my district home. He 
passed away on June 20 at the age of 79.
  Mr. Shoulders rode his way to legendary status as a cowboy on the 
backs of bucking broncos and snorting bulls. Known as the ``Babe Ruth 
of rodeo,'' Mr. Shoulders dominated the professional rodeo circuit 
during the 1940s and 1950s, rounding up seven world titles in bull-
riding, four world crowns in bareback-riding, five all-round world 
championships, and three consecutive rodeo triple-crowns.
  As great as he was during his prime, his humility always shown 
through. He liked to downplay his skills by saying that ``all there is 
to bull-riding is to put one leg on each side of the bull and make an 
ugly face for 8 seconds.''
  Mr. Shoulders burst into the rodeo world in the 1940s, at the age of 
14. While working the wheat harvest, he decided to take a break to 
watch a minor league rodeo nearby. He resolved to try it for himself 
and won the event as well as $18. Between that $18 start in the minor 
league rodeo and his elections to the Oklahoma Hall of Fame, the 
Oklahoma Sports Hall of Fame, and the Pro-Rodeo Hall of Fame, he won an 
unprecedented 16 world championships. He is also the only professional 
cowboy to be honored in the Madison Square Garden Hall of Fame.
  But the tough old cowboy was not only known for his exploits in the 
rodeo, he was also loved for his candid

[[Page 17690]]

sense of humor, humbleness, loyalty, and toughness, everything 
Oklahomans are proud to be known for.
  I stand today to honor and celebrate the life of Jim Shoulders, a 
great cowboy, a great Oklahoman, and a great man.

                          ____________________