Bill Price Collection

There is no available biographical information about Bill Price associated with this collection’s accession records. Below, a couple brief biographies are included of persons included in the photographs.

Toots Mansfield Toots Mansfield was born on May 15, 1914, in Bandera, but raised in Big Spring, Texas. His father had a ranch near Bandera, but he died when Mansfield was only four years old. When he was old enough he helped his mother run the ranch. After he graduated from school he went to work for his uncle, Ed Mansfield, and began roping. In 1937, he went to work for Juan Salinas of Encinal, Texas, and his real education in “how to rope” began in all seriousness. Salinas and his brother, Tony, saw that Mansfield was mounted on good horses, including a bay gelding, Honey Boy.

He was the Rodeo Cowboy Association’s World Champion calf roper in 1939 and followed it with Championships in 1940-41, 1943, 1945, 1948, and 1950. He won the Madison Square Garden calf roping seven times: 1940, 1942-43, and 1945-48. At this time, this feat was a record only to be topped nineteen years later.

Mansfield was a master at handling calves on the ground and his skills led him to establish the first successful rodeo school for aspiring ropers in his home town of Big Spring, Texas, in the mid-1950s. For thirty days, the eager ropers had to be serious about the business of roping as he trained them eight hours a day.

In roping Mansfield was considered one of the very best of all time on the ground. He had an inordinate amount of consistency and plenty of speed plus he seldom made a mistake. He always dismounted close to his horse and would grab the rope as a guideline either to the calf’s foreleg or flank. He was limber and loose-jointed, had immense hands, and never seemed to have a problem picking a calf up and laying it down. He rode many horses during his long roping career but his first horse Honey Boy he considered to ‘have it all’. “He had speed, calf sense, good break from the box, and a good stop,” said the Mansfield. Other horses he rode were Old Roan, Pelota, Smokey, Old Quaker, Grey Eagle, and Tinker T. Matched ropings were one of his specialties and more spectators certainly bet on Toots than against him.

In addition to his roping expertise Mansfield became President of the Rodeo Cowboys Association in 1945 when the Cowboy Turtle Association changed its name. He held that leadership role for the next six years. He passed away December 16, 1998, after experiencing a stroke.

Mansfield was inducted into the Pro Rodeo Hall of Fame in 1979, the Rodeo Hall of Fame at the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum in 1981, and the Texas Rodeo Hall of Fame in 2006.

Sources: Woerner, Gail Hughbanks. “Big Spring’s World Champion Calf Roper.” Behind the Chutes and Elsewhere. “Toots Mansfield.” Texas Rodeo Hall of Fame, Pecos, Texas. “Toots Mansfield.” Rodeo Honoree Vertical File. Dickinson Research Center.

Everett Shaw “Everett Shaw was born on a farm on Hogshooter Creek near Nowata, Oklahoma, on June 7, 1908. After a childhood on the farm he entered rodeo as a successful calf roper in the early 1920s, but by the end of his career he had become a living legend in steer roping. Nevertheless, he won the tough and prestigious calf roping competition at Madison Square Garden in 1934, 1936, and 1939.

“When Shaw decided to focus his career on steer roping, he showed his true skills, capturing the Rodeo Cowboys Association’s national title of Champion Steer Roper in 1945, 1946, 1948, 1951, 1959, and 1962. The Oklahoma cowboy beat the time of great ropers that included New Mexico-born World Champion Cowboy “Wild Horse” Bob Crosby, as well as Oklahoma-born cowboys Ike “Jitney” Rude (Mangum, 1894-1985) and Shoat Webster (Lenapah, 1923- ), all of whom were among rodeo’s toughest competitors.

“Athletic ability aside, Everett Shaw made an enormous contribution to the sport of rodeo when, in 1936, he took part in the founding of the Cowboys Turtle Association, a rodeo performers’ union that demanded and received increased prize purses for competition. This insured that future competitors would receive an equitable share of the considerable profits made by rodeo producers. Shaw served on the union’s board of directors a total of twenty terms.

“After winning his last roping event in 1977, Everett Shaw retired to his ranch near Stonewall, Oklahoma. In May 1979 the Oklahoma State Senate passed a special resolution commending him as one of Oklahoma’s greatest cowboys. On November 11, 1979, he passed away.”

In 1980, Everett Shaw was inducted into the Rodeo Hall of Fame at the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum.

– The above entry, “Everett Shaw (1908-1979)”, is from the Oklahoma Historical Society’s Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture, and was written by Dianna Everett.

Reference: “Everett Shaw.” Rodeo Honoree Vertical File. Dickinson Research Center.