It is said that William Pickett (one of the first great rodeo cowboys) invented bulldogging, also known as steer wrestling, by observing cattle dogs.
William (Will, Bill) Pickett was born of black and Indian descent in Texas on December 5, 1870. At an early age, he went to work on a ranch. He soon learned how to bulldog (wrestle to the ground) a steer by jumping off his horse onto the back of the animal, grabbing its horns, twisting its neck and biting its lower lip. Some sources say he got the bulldogging idea after watching how cattle dogs brought down unruly steers by grasping their noses in their teeth. (I'm assuming these cattle dogs were bulldogs because of the name and because of the way they were used in the past in the blood sport of bull-baiting.)
Pickett soon started his own business, claiming to specialize in catching and taming wild cattle. To help supplement his income, he would demonstrate his bulldogging skills at county fairs and other public events. He entered his first rodeo in 1888, and in 1905, he joined the 101 Ranch Wild West Show and traveled all over America and in Mexico, South America, Canada and England - there were times he was forced to identify himself as Indian or Mexican because blacks were banned from the rodeo. He was given the nicknames "The Bull-Dogger" and "The Dusky Demon", and was billed as "the world's colored champion" in death defying feats of courage and skill.
Pickett died in 1932 after being kicked in the head by a horse. In 1971, he was inducted into the Rodeo Hall of Fame, and in 1989, he was inducted into the Pro Rodeo Hall of Fame.
Steer wrestling continues today (minus the lip biting), but like other rodeo events, it is under fire by animal rights advocates.
