Bill Pickett

Bill Pickett was born to formerly enslaved parents in Texas and grew up working cattle on ranches across the state, where he developed an unusual and dangerous technique for subduing steers: leaping from his horse onto the animal's back, biting its lip, and wrestling it to the ground by hand — a method he adapted from watching herding dogs control cattle by biting their lips.

This technique, which became known as 'bulldogging,' evolved into the rodeo event known today as steer wrestling, one of the sport's enduring core disciplines. Pickett performed his signature move across ranches and rodeos throughout the American West and Mexico, quickly becoming a sensation.

As a Black cowboy in the deeply segregated world of early twentieth-century rodeo, Pickett was frequently barred from competing and was sometimes billed under a false Native American or Mexican identity to be allowed to perform. He nonetheless became one of the most celebrated performers with the Miller Brothers' 101 Ranch Wild West Show, touring internationally to enormous acclaim.

Pickett continued performing and ranching into his sixties, dying in 1932 from injuries sustained while working cattle. In 1971 he became the first Black cowboy inducted into the National Rodeo Hall of Fame, decades after his death finally brought overdue recognition.