Myrtis Dightman
{{short description|American bull rider|bot=PearBOT 5}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Myrtis Dightman
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| birth_name =
| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1935|5|7}}
| birth_place = Houston County, Texas, United States
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| other_names = "Jackie Robinson of Rodeo"
| known_for = Rodeo
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| occupation = Bull rider
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| spouse = Fannie Mae (div.)
| children =
| parents = Odie Dightman and Ada Lee Polk
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Myrtis Dightman (born May 7, 1935) is an American former professional rodeo cowboy who specialized in bull riding. He is a ProRodeo Hall of Fame inductee. Known as the "Jackie Robinson of Rodeo", Dightman was the first African-American to compete at the National Finals Rodeo.
Early life
Dightman was born on May 7, 1935, on a 4,000-acre ranch in Houston County near Crockett, Texas.{{cite news |last1=Wallace |first1=Christian |title=The Jackie Robinson of Rodeo |url=https://www.texasmonthly.com/articles/black-cowboy-the-jackie-robinson-of-rodeo/ |access-date=July 24, 2018 |website=Texas Monthly |date=July 2018}} His father worked for rancher Karl Leediker.
Career
Dightman started his career in rodeo in Houston. In 1964, he became the first black cowboy to compete at the National Finals Rodeo (NFR). He qualified for the NFR in 1966, 1967, 1968, 1969, 1970, and 1972.{{Cite news|url=https://www.texasmonthly.com/articles/black-cowboy-the-jackie-robinson-of-rodeo/|title=The Jackie Robinson of Rodeo|date=2018-06-22|website=Texas Monthly|access-date=2018-07-07}} In 1967, he had the best year-end finish of his career by placing third in the Rodeo Cowboys Association (RCA) world standings.{{cite web|title=ProRodeo - Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association|url=http://www.prorodeo.com/|website=www.prorodeo.com|access-date=3 February 2017}} In 1971, he won Cheyenne Frontier Days.{{cite web |title=History of the PRCA |url=https://www.prorodeo.com/prorodeo/rodeo/history-of-the-prca |website=Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association |access-date=September 18, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200811190559/https://www.prorodeo.com/prorodeo/rodeo/history-of-the-prca |archive-date=August 11, 2020}}
Dightman was hired to do stunts and play as himself in the rodeo movies J.W. Coop (1972) directed by Cliff Robertson, and Sam Peckinpah's Junior Bonner (1971).{{cite web |title=J W Coop (1971) Full Cast & Crew |url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0067258/fullcredits/?ref_=tt_ov_st_sm |website=IMDB |access-date=31 July 2018}}
Dightman was a big influence on Charlie Sampson. In October 2006, a benefit concert featuring Michael Martin Murphey and Don Edwards was held to raise funds for a bronze statue in his honor. The statute was placed at the entrance of the Porth Ag Arena in Crockett, Texas. This rodeo arena hosts the annual Labor Day Rodeo that bears his name.{{cite web |title=Myrtis Dightman Hall of Fame Rodeo |url=https://rodeosusa.com/rodeos/myrtis-dightman-hall-fame-rodeo/ |website=Rodeo USA |access-date=1 August 2018}}{{cite news |last1=Boney |first1=Jeffrey |title=Texan Myrtis Dightman, Sr. Inducted into Bull Riding Hall of Fame |url=http://forwardtimes.com/texan-myrtis-dightman-sr-inducted-bull-riding-hall-fame/ |access-date=1 August 2018 |website=Houston Forward Times |publisher=Houston Forward Times |date=June 1, 2016 |ref=houstonforwardtimesdightman}}{{cite web |last1=Wallace |first1=Christian |title=On the Enduring Legacy of the Black Cowboy |url=http://www.amtrakthenational.com/on-the-enduring-legacy-of-the-black-cowboy |website=Amtrak The National |publisher=Ink |access-date=1 August 2018 |ref=AmtrakthenationalBlackCowboy}}
Honors
- 1970 Calgary Stampede Guy Weadick Award{{cite web |title=Guy Weadick Award Winners |url=https://www.calgarystampede.com/heritage/guy-weadick-award |website=Calgary Stampede |access-date=April 8, 2020 |archive-date=May 13, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200513112341/https://www.calgarystampede.com/heritage/guy-weadick-award |url-status=dead }}
- 1997 Rodeo Hall of Fame of the National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum{{Cite news|url=https://nationalcowboymuseum.org/rodeo-hall-of-fame/5237/|title=Rodeo Hall of Fame Inductees|website=National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum|access-date=17 May 2017}}
- 2001 Texas Rodeo Cowboy Hall of Fame{{cite web|url=https://texasrodeocowboy.com/inductees/?orderby=title&order=ASC|title=Inductees|website=Texas Rodeo Cowboy Hall of Fame|access-date=3 February 2017}}
- 2003 National Multicultural Western Heritage Museum{{cite web|url=https://nmwhm.org/hall-of-fame-inductees/|title=Inductees|website=National Multicultural Western Heritage Museum and Hall of Fame|access-date=3 February 2017}}
- 2003 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}}
- 2011 Texas Cowboy Hall of Fame{{Cite web|url=https://www.tchof.com/post/myrtis-dightman|title=Myrtis Dightman|date=November 19, 2010 |publisher=Texas Cowboy Hall of Fame {{!}} Fort Worth Texas|access-date=17 May 2017}}
- 2016 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}}
- 2016 ProRodeo Hall of Fame{{cite web|url=https://www.prorodeohalloffame.com/inductees/notableslifetime-achievement/myrtis-dightman/|title=Myrtis Dightman|website=ProRodeo Hall of Fame|access-date=18 January 2017}}
References
{{Reflist|30em}}
External links
- [https://web.archive.org/web/20110317150839/http://www.texnews.com/texsports97/bull111197.html Bull rider paved way for blacks in rodeo arena]
- [http://www.texasinformer.com/Community/personalitiesMyrtisDightmanSr.htm Maxine Session. Myrtis Dightman, SR. the man behind the Crockett, Texas Rodeo and Trail Ride. Texas Informer]
- [https://web.archive.org/web/20120930230628/http://movies.nytimes.com/person/259586/Myrtis-Dightman/filmography Myrtis Dightman Filmography]
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{{Use American English|date=May 2020}}
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Dightman, Myrtis}}
Category:People from Crockett, Texas
Category:African-American sportsmen
Category:Sportspeople from Texas
Category:ProRodeo Hall of Fame inductees
Category:Professional Bull Riders: Heroes and Legends
Category:21st-century African-American sportsmen
Category:20th-century African-American sportsmen