Jim Shoulders

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James A. "Jim" Shoulders (May 13, 1928 – June 20, 2007) was a Pro Rodeo Hall of Fame cowboy who has won more World Championship Rodeo Cowboy awards than any other Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association contestant.^[1] He also did advertising for Miller Lite with former New York Yankees manager Billy Martin.^[2] Shoulders helped to design Wrangler Jeans 13MWZ Cowboy Cut jeans and was a spokesman for Justin Boots. ^[3]

Shoulders won his first bull riding competition at the age of fourteen in Oilton, Oklahoma. His son, Marvin Paul Shoulders, also competed professionally in the bull riding event. His PRCA World Championships include five "World All-Around Rodeo Champion Cowboy" awards (1949, 1956, 1957, 1958, 1959),^[4] seven Bull Rider awards (1951, 1954-1959), and four Bareback Rider awards (1950, 1956, 1957, 1958).^[5] He was the first competitor to win three events at the world championships (Bareback, Bull Riding and All Around), earning him a $5,000 payday. His lifetime rodeo earnings exceeded $400,000.

He owned the bull Tornado which had thrown over 200 riders over a 14 year span before Freckles Brown successfully rode him in the 1967 Finals. ^[6]

Shoulders suffered a string of injuries that led to his retirement from active rodeo participation: he broke both arms twice; broke his collar bone three times; suffered a broken ankle; had knee repair surgery and plastic surgery to his face. He bought a 400-acre (1.6 km²) ranch in Oklahoma,^[7] became a livestock producer, and reared four children with his wife, Sharon L. Shoulders, to whom he was married in 1947. The couple resided in Henryetta, a small city in Okmulgee County in eastern Oklahoma, until his death from a heart ailment.^[8]

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