Bob Askin
Bob Askin was a prominent rodeo cowboy, born on May 9, 1900, in Rochester, New York, and later raised in South Dakota and Montana. He developed a passion for ranching and rodeo from a young age, honing his skills as a rider and roper. By his teenage years, Askin had gained a reputation for breaking and taming horses, eventually competing in local rodeos where he excelled, notably winning the bronc riding title at the 1915 Fourth of July celebration in Miles City, Montana.
His rodeo career flourished in the 1920s, marked by significant achievements including winning the bronc riding championship at the first international rodeo in London in 1924. Known as "The Man from Ismay," Askin transformed bronc riding techniques and became a legendary figure in the sport. He retired from rodeo in 1934 after a successful career spanning 25 years, but remained engaged with the rodeo community until his death in 1973. In recognition of his contributions to the sport, he was posthumously inducted into the Rodeo Hall of Fame in 1978, solidifying his legacy as one of the greatest bronc riders of his time.
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Subject Terms
Bob Askin
Cowboy
- Born: May 9, 1900
- Birthplace: Rochester, New York
- Died: October 8, 1973
- Place of death: Miles City, Montana
Sport: Rodeo
Early Life
Bob Askin was born on May 9, 1900, in Rochester, New York, where his father was a railroad engineer. When Bob was five years old, his family moved to South Dakota, where he saw the famous Buffalo Bill’s Wild West show. That exciting performance by cowboys, cowgirls, American Indians, and sharpshooters thrilled Bob and made him want to become a cowboy.
Bob got his wish in 1909, when the family moved to a government homestead near Ismay, in southeastern Montana. Ismay was in the heart of ranching country, and Bob and his eight siblings were soon spending most of their time on horseback. They rode to and from their one-room school, which was open about three months a year. They also helped with the ranch chores, and like all youngsters in the West, played many games on horseback.
The Road to Excellence
Bob had a natural talent with animals and was an outstanding roper and rider by his early teens. Besides working for the family, he was hired by the biggest ranchers in the area to break and tame horses. Bob was so talented that he went from ranch to ranch, breaking horses no one else could handle, and earning higher wages than regular cowboys.
Bob’s success in riding wild broncs led people to hold special contests where he matched his skills against older cowboys. Long before organized rodeos came to rural communities like Ismay, the local people gathered around, making a circle with their horses and wagons to form a little arena where the cowboys could ride. The only prizes were usually pride and “bragging rights.” Bob entered his first real rodeo when he was fifteen at the 1915 Fourth of July celebration in Miles City, Montana. Most Western cattle towns had big celebrations on Independence Day, and Miles City was no exception. People came from all over the area to join the festivities and watch the contests. Bob won the bronc riding, the first of his many rodeo championships.
Before World War I, rodeo was not a very big sport. Most rodeos were held in the far West during the summer months. Bob entered and won many of those local rodeos and continued working on ranches the rest of the year.
The Emerging Champion
In 1917, Bob joined the United States Army and was sent to Camp Lewis, Washington. There, the seventeen-year-old soldier stayed aboard several notorious bucking horses that no cowboy had ever ridden. He became more famous than ever. After the war, Bob came home to find that a terrible winter and a depression had about ruined the big cattle ranches. Needing to earn a living, he decided to try a rodeo career. He soon became the toughest bronc rider in the business and was seldom bucked off.
Bob’s first big break came in 1924, when he was among the top cowboys and cowgirls invited to compete at the first international rodeo, in London, England. There, Bob won the bronc riding and was named the world’s champion. After the rodeo, many of the participants stayed in Europe to compete and give exhibitions. Touring Europe was quite an experience for a young man like Bob, who had spent most of his life in the far western United States.
Also in 1924, Bob married Helen Fulton, who was from Ismay. During the next seven years, Bob won almost every important bronc riding championship in the United States. It is impossible to know all of them because there are no official records from those years. The Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association (PRCA) was not formed until 1936. The National Finals Rodeo (NFR) did not start until 1959.
Bob won at some very big rodeos in the 1920’s and early 1930’s. He won the bronc riding title at the famous Pendleton Roundup in 1925. In 1927 and 1928, he was named the world’s champion of bronc riding at Madison Square Garden, the site of the most important rodeo in the country at the time. At these and other rodeos in the United States and Canada, he also won money in bull riding and calf roping. Today, few cowboys win money in three such different events.
In Canada in 1926, Bob caused a bucking horse named Midnight to become famous. Bob rode Midnight to the championship at Montreal, but the next week at Toronto, Midnight was the winner. By bucking off Bob Askin, the number-one bronc rider in the world, Midnight became a legend and is still remembered today.
Continuing the Story
By that time, Bob was known far and wide as “The Man from Ismay,” the most famous citizen of his tiny Montana hometown. In winning his many championships, he also changed his sport. Many cowboys copied Bob’s style of spurring broncs from front to back. He was also one of the first successful rodeo cowboys to use small spurs instead of the big Mexican-style spurs that had been used since the 1800’s.
Although he was only thirty-four at the time, Bob retired from rodeo in 1934, having ridden bucking broncs for twenty-five years. He and Helen remained at Ismay, where they raised three sons and two daughters and later enjoyed thirteen grandchildren. Bob never lost interest in rodeo, and from 1968 until his death in 1973, he attended every NFR. There he got to know the contestants and thrilled a whole new generation of cowboys with his tales of the olden days.
Summary
Bob Askin was one of the most famous rodeo cowboys of his era, and the winner of almost every important rodeo championship of the 1920’s. His success changed the style of bronc riding. He was so beloved that the National Cowboy Hall of Fame at Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, issued a special bulletin announcing his 1973 death in Miles City, Montana. Sadly, he did not live to enjoy his greatest honor. In 1978, he was elected to the Rodeo Hall of Fame as the greatest bronc rider of his day.
Bibliography
Allen, Michael. Rodeo Cowboys in the North American Imagination. Reno: University of Nevada Press, 1998.
Fredriksson, Kristine. American Rodeo from Buffalo Bill to Big Business. College Station: Texas A&M Press, 1985.
Wooden, Wayne S., and Gavin Ehringer. Rodeo in America: Wranglers, Roughstock, and Paydirt. Lawrence: University Press of Kansas, 1996.