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Chris Shivers

{{short description|American bull rider}}

{{Infobox sportsperson

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| fullname = Christopher Lee Shivers

| nickname = Chris

| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1978|12|30}}

| birth_place = Natchez, Mississippi, U.S.

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| height = {{Height|ft=5|in=5}}

| weight = {{convert|145|lb|kg}}

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| sport = Rodeo

| event = Bull riding

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| yearsactive = 1997 - 2012

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| highestranking = 2000 and 2003 PBR World Champion

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Christopher Lee Shivers (born December 30, 1978) is an American former professional rodeo cowboy who specialized in bull riding, and competed on the Professional Bull Riders (PBR) circuit. He turned pro in 1997, and won the PBR world championship in 2000 and 2003.

In 2023, Shivers was ranked No. 6 on the list of the top 30 bull riders in PBR history.{{cite web|title=PBR Top 30|url=http://pbr.com/pbrtop30|website=Professional Bull Riders|access-date=August 20, 2023|archive-date=August 20, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230820062010/https://pbr.com/pbrtop30/|url-status=dead}}

Background

Chris Shivers was born on December 30, 1978, in Natchez, Mississippi.

Career

Shivers has twenty-two career Bud Light Cup Series (BLC) and Built Ford Tough Series (BFTS) wins. The BLC was the name of the PBR's elite series from 1994 through 2002. The BFTS was the name from 2003 through 2017.

Shivers has recorded the following history-making firsts: the first PBR bull rider to win more than $300,000 in prize money in one year (1998); the first PBR bull rider to reach the $1 million mark (2001), the $2 million mark (2003) and the $3 million mark (2006); the first PBR bull rider to register 13 90-point rides in one season (1998); the highest marked ride in PBR history (96.5 points - twice) (a record later broken by José Vitor Leme); and the first bull rider to win three consecutive Bud Light Cup events (2000).

Shivers is the second man to win multiple PBR world titles, after Adriano Morães (1994, 2001).

Shivers rode with a cowboy hat for most of his career. However, after a wreck fractured his nose at the 2009 BFTS season opening event in Baltimore, Maryland, he rode with a helmet for the remainder of his career.{{cite web |last1=Branch |first1=John |title=On Rodeo Circuit, Cowboy Hats Are Being Replaced by Helmets |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/10/sports/othersports/10helmets.html |website=The New York Times |access-date=January 7, 2020 |date=January 9, 2009}}{{cite web |title=Shivers Shows His Old Form at Unfinished Business {{!}} |url=https://wranglernetwork.com/news/shivers-shows-his-old-form-at-unfinished-business/ |website=Wrangler Network |access-date=January 7, 2020 |date=June 2, 2015}} He had suffered multiple head and facial injuries throughout his career, but only made a helmet a permanent part of his riding gear after this specific injury.

=Career highlights=

  • National High School Finals Rodeo qualifier (1996)
  • First PBR bull rider to register 13 90-point rides in one season (1998)
  • First bull rider in PBR history to win more than $300,000 in a single season (1998)
  • First PBR bull rider to earn $1 million (2001), $2 million (2003) and $3 million (2006)
  • First PBR bull rider to earn $1 million World Champion bonus (2003)
  • 94 career 90-point bull rides (most of any rider in PBR history)
  • Tied PBR record high-mark ride (96.5 points in 2000 Tampa Open & 2001 PBR World Finals) (Record for highest-marked ride in PBR history later broken by Jose Vitor Leme with 98.75 points in 2021)
  • 22 career Bud Light Cup/Built Ford Tough Series wins
  • 15-time PBR World Finals qualifier (1997–2003, 2005–2012)
  • 3-time Mossy Oak Shootout winner:
  • $5,000 in Fort Worth, Texas; 2000
  • $10,000 in Billings, Montana; 2000
  • $25,000 in Reno, Nevada; 2006

=Awards=

  • 1996 Louisiana State High School Bull Riding Champion
  • 1999 Lane Frost/Brent Thurman Award (96 points on Trick or Treat)
  • 2000 Copenhagen Master Pro Series Champion
  • 2000 PBR Touring Pro Division Champion
  • 2000 PBR 90-Point Club Champion
  • 2001 Lane Frost/Brent Thurman Award (96.5 points on Dillinger)
  • 2012 Lane Frost/Brent Thurman Award (90.75 points on Shepherd Hills Sod Buster)
  • 2-time PBR World Champion (2000, 2003)

=Championships=

Retirement

Shivers announced that the 2012 PBR season would be his last.{{cite web|title=Shivers: 'This is it for me. It's my last year.'|url=https://pbr.com/news/2012/02/shivers-this-is-it-for-me-it-s-my-last-year/ |website=Professional Bull Riders|date=February 15, 2012 |access-date=June 4, 2017}} He retired after the World Finals that year. His final earnings during his 16-year PBR career total nearly 3.3 million dollars.{{cite web |title=PBR Rider {{!}} Chris Shivers |url=https://pbr.com/athletes/riders/profile/93/ChrisShivers |website=Professional Bull Riders |access-date=March 22, 2021}} He was inducted into the PBR's Ring of Honor in 2013.

=Unfinished Business=

On May 30, 2015, Shivers came out of retirement for one more ride at "Unfinished Business" (a special event featuring several PBR legends coming out of retirement to attempt one final bull, held during the PBR's J.W. Hart Challenge at the Wise County Sheriff's Posse Arena in Decatur, Texas). There, he rode a bull named Black Cat for 88.5 points and split the event win with J.W. Hart (whose 88.5-point ride came aboard King Buck).{{cite web|title=Ring of Honor members discuss coming out of retirement|url=https://pbr.com/news/2015/05/ring-of-honor-members-discuss-coming-out-of-retirement/ |website=Professional Bull Riders|date=May 31, 2015 |access-date=June 4, 2017}} Shivers and Hart were the only two PBR legends to ride their bulls for the full eight seconds in the event.

Honors

  • In 2013, Shivers was inducted into the PBR Ring of Honor.{{cite web|title=PBR Ring of Honor|url=https://pbr.com/heroes-legends#ring|website=Professional Bull Riders|access-date=August 18, 2023}}
  • In 2017, he was inducted into the Bull Riding Hall of Fame.{{cite web|title=Bull Riding Hall of Fame inductees|url=https://thebullridinghof.com/pages/inductee-list|website=Bull Riding Hall of Fame|access-date=August 19, 2023}}
  • In 2023, he was ranked No. 6 on the list of the top 30 bull riders in PBR history.

Personal life

In 2001, Shivers married his girlfriend, Kylie Morphis. They have three children. In 2019, Kylie was awarded the PBR Sharon Shoulders Award.{{cite web |title=Tears of joy as Kylie Shivers receives Sharon Shoulders Award |url=https://pbr.com/news/2019/11/tears-of-joy-as-kylie-shivers-receives-sharon-shoulders-award/ |website=Professional Bull Riders |date=November 5, 2019 |access-date=February 22, 2020}} The Shivers family resides in Jonesville in Catahoula Parish, Louisiana.{{cite web |title=World champion Chris Shivers signs autographs, ropes stubborn bulls in Mobile |url=https://www.al.com/sports/2014/04/world_champion_bull_rider_sign.html |website=al |access-date=February 22, 2020 |date=April 7, 2014}}

References

{{Reflist|2}}

External links

  • [https://web.archive.org/web/20190510185603/https://www.pbr.com/rider/93/shivers-chris Chris Shivers on PBR.com]

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Category:1978 births

Category:Living people

Category:People from Jonesville, Louisiana

Category:People from Natchez, Mississippi

Category:Bull riders

Category:Professional Bull Riders: Heroes and Legends

Category:Bull Riding Hall of Fame inductees