Willie M. "Bill" Pickett (December 5, 1862 - April 2, 1932) was a cowboy and rodeo performer. December 5 is the 339th day (340th in leap years) of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1862 was a common year starting on Wednesday (see link for calendar). ... April 2 is the 92nd day of the year (93rd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar, with 273 days remaining. ... 1932 (MCMXXXII) was a leap year starting on Friday (the link will take you to a full 1932 calendar). ... A cowboy (Spanish vaquero) tends cattle and horses on cattle ranches in North and South America. ... Steer roping Rodeo is a traditional folk North American sport with influences from the history of Mexican vaqueros (cowboys) and American cowboys. ...

Pickett was born in the Jenks-Branch community of Travis County, Texas. He was the second of thirteen children born to Thomas Jefferson Pickett, a former slave, and Mary "Janie" Gilbert. The family's ancestry was black, white and Cherokee Native American. The Travis County Courthouse Travis County is a county located in the state of Texas. ... For other uses, see Cherokee (disambiguation). ...

Pickett attended school through the fifth grade, after which he took up ranching work. He invented the technique of bulldogging, the skill of grabbing cattle by the horns and wrestling them to the ground. Pickett's method for bulldogging was biting a cow on the lip and then falling backwards. This method eventually lost popularity as the sport morphed into the steer wrestling that is practiced in rodeos today. This page needs to be merged with steer wrestling. ...

In 1890 Pickett married Maggie Turner, a former slave and daughter to a white southern plantation owner. The couple had nine children. Pickett and his brothers started their own company, the Pickett Brothers Broncho Busters and Rough Riders Association, to offer their services as cowboys. Pickett also made a living demonstrating his bulldogging skills and other stunts at county fairs. In 1905, Pickett joined the 101 Ranch Wild West Show that featured the likes of Buffalo Bill, Will Rogers, Tom Mix and Zach and Lucille Mulhall. Pickett was a popular performer who toured around the world and appeared in early motion pictures. Pickett was shown in a movie created by Richard E. Norman. Pickett's ethnicity resulted in him not being able to appear at many rodeos. He often was forced to claim that he was of Comanche heritage in order to perform. Buffalo Bill Cody Buffalo Bill (February 26, 1846 – January 10, 1917) was born William Frederick Cody in the American state of Iowa, near Le Claire. ... Will Rogers. ... Thomas E. Mix (January 6, 1880 – October 11, 1940) was an American film actor, the star of many early Western movies. ... Lucille Mulhall (October 21, 1885–December 21, 1940) was a well known cowgirl and Wild West performer. ... Comanche territory. ...

Pickett continued to work his entire life. He also served as deacon of Taylor Baptist Church. In 1932, he was kicked in the head by a horse while working horses at the 101 Ranch and died of his injuries a few days later, at the age of 62. Will Rogers announced his funeral on the radio. (The birth date, death date, and age at death given in this article are not consistent among themselves.) Will Rogers. ...

Pickett was named to the National Cowboy Hall of Fame in 1971 and was the first black honoree to that organization. He was enshrined in the Pro Rodeo Hall of Fame in 1989. Bronze Wrangler The National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum is a museum and art gallery, in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, housing one of the largest collections of: Western, American cowboy, American rodeo, and American Indian; art, artifacts, and archival materials, in the world. ... 1971 (MCMLXXI) was a common year starting on Friday (the link is to a full 1971 calendar). ... The Pro Rodeo Hall of Fame is dedicated to the preservation of Rodeo artifacts and continued interest in the sport. ... 1989 (MCMLXXXIX) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

In 1994, the United States Postal Service honored Pickett as one of twenty "Legends of the West" pictured in a series of stamps. Unfortunately, the stamps used a picture which many reference works identified as Bill Pickett but was in fact his brother Ben. The Postal Service recalled the series to correct the error. 1994 (MCMXCIV) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar, and was designated the International year of the Family. ... A USPS logo A USPS truck in San Francisco A smaller truck (a Long Life Vehicle or LLV) used in suburban areas The United States Postal Service (USPS) is an independent establishment of the executive branch of the United States government (see 39 USC Â§ 201) responsible for providing postal service...

Another controversy that still rages is a claim that steer wrestling was independently developed in Canada by the Canadian black cowboy John Ware and possibly predates Pickett. An 1892 Calgary gymkhana lists a demonstration of steer wrestling by John Ware on its program. On the other hand it is claimed that Bill Pickett was steer wrestling as early as 1881. John Ware (c. ...

References

• Powell, Lee (Dec. 3-9, 2004). Bill Pickett: an unlikely rodeo pioneer. The Sports Page, p. 3.
• Carnes, Mark C., Betz, Paul R., ed. "American National Biography". Oxford University Press.