Warren G. Brown

Warren Granger "Freckles" Brown (January 18, 1921 – March 20, 1987) was a hall of fame American rodeo cowboy from Wheatland, Wyoming. His career spanned from 1937 to 1974, competing in bull riding, saddle bronc riding, bareback bronc riding, team roping, and steer wrestling. He was the World Bull Riding Champion in 1962. Brown was inducted into the ProRodeo Hall of Fame in Colorado Springs, Colorado, for bull riding in 1979. He was also inducted into the inaugural class of the Bull Riding Hall of Fame in Fort Worth, Texas, in 2015. Brown was most famous for riding Tornado, who had an undefeated record of 220 riders. Brown was also a close friend and mentor of Lane Frost.

Warren G. "Freckles" Brown
Born(1921-01-18)January 18, 1921
Wheatland, Wyoming, U.S.
DiedMarch 20, 1987(1987-03-20) (aged 66)
Soper, Oklahoma, U.S.
NationalityAmerican
Awards1962 RCA World Champion Bull Rider

Early career

Brown began competitive rodeo in Willcox, Arizona in 1937, at the age of 16. In 1941, he won his first bull riding trophy by riding his horse to Cody, Wyoming, before riding back again.

World War II

Brown enlisted to join the U.S. army, and undertook basic training in Fort Sill. He studied horseshoeing while stationed at Fort Riley. He was recruited by the Office of Strategic Services (OSS) and "did his part by helping to train Chinese paratroopers in secret".[1] The war ended in the summer of 1945, and Brown "returned to China to compete in a Red Cross-sponsored event in which U.S. pack mules were used in place of saddle-broncs and barebacks and native cattle were rounded up for bull riding. Brown left China with the all-around title".[1]

1962 World Championship

Brown was injured badly in October 1962 at the rodeo in Portland, Oregon. While riding a bull name "Black Smoke" for 8 seconds, the bull flipped Brown, who fell on his head, paralyzing him.[2] The doctor "pulled on his head and feeling returned to his right side and left foot". He was operated on and put in traction for 34 days, followed by a plaster cast "from his waist to the top of his brow for over 2 months". He had saved enough money to win the Championship.[3][1] His earnings in 1962 were $18,675. Brown competed in the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association (formerly the Rodeo Cowboys Association).[4].During that year he won the World Bull Riding Championship at the National Finals Rodeo (NFR) while he was on the sidelines watching.

Tornado, the unrideable bull

Brown is remembered for riding an "unrideable" bull named Tornado in December 1967.[3] The bull, owned by Jim Shoulders, had thrown over 200 riders over a 14-year period before Brown's successful ride,[5] and was considered the ultimate challenge on the bull-riding circuit, but Brown stayed on for the 8 seconds required,[6] in front of 6,000 people. Tornado died in 1972 as unridden by 220 professional riders except for Brown and two others, and was buried on the grounds of the Cowboy Hall of Fame, near two notable bucking horses, Midnight and Five Minutes Til Midnight.[7] Brown, this ride, and Tornado are all memorialized in Red Steagall's song, "Freckles Brown".[8]

Awards and recognition

Personal life

He was the youngest of 10 brothers and sisters. Brown had a wife named Edith, and a daughter named Donna Harrison, and two grandchildren.[3]

Brown had retired at age 53 to his 600-acre ranch in Soper, Oklahoma.[6] Brown was found to have prostate cancer in November 1982. He was advised to go to Houston for radiation treatment, but was determined to go to the December finals beforehand, where a dance was held to raise funds to support his treatment. By March 1983 he had returned home to give interviews.

His cancer returned in 1987, after being in remission for four years. Another fundraiser was planned for March 1987, but Brown died two days before at his ranch in Soper, Oklahoma. The fund raiser went forward nevertheless and US$41,000 was raised to help with Brown's medical bills.[17][18]

He was a friend and mentor to bull riding champion Lane Frost, who is buried next to him in Mount Olivet Cemetery in Hugo, Oklahoma.[8][19]

References
  1. "Stories of the Ages | Freckles Brown: The Ride". ndepth.newsok.com. Retrieved May 10, 2017.
  2. herzberger, alan. "The well-told story of Freckles Brown and Tornado". Retrieved December 18, 2011.
  3. "Freckles Brown". lanefrost.com. Archived from the original on November 14, 2016.
  4. "History of the PRCA". Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association. Archived from the original on August 11, 2020. Retrieved September 18, 2021.
  5. "Legendary Rodeo Champion Jim Shoulders, 79". June 21, 2007. Retrieved January 12, 2017 – via washingtonpost.com.
  6. W. K., Stratton (May 25, 1987). "Sitting Atop A Tornado: In 1967, at 46, Freckles Brown rode the unridable bull". Sports Illustrated. Archived from the original on February 24, 2010. Retrieved May 10, 2017.
  7. "Tornado". The Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture. Retrieved May 9, 2017.
  8. Cathy Logan, "Freckles Brown's ride on Tornado is the stuff of songs and legends", Tulsa World, January 5, 2006.
  9. "Western Heritage Awards". National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum. Retrieved June 7, 2017.
  10. "Warren G. "Freckles" Brown - Pro Rodeo Hall of Fame". Pro Rodeo Hall of Fame. Retrieved May 9, 2017.
  11. Joseph, Dana. "Freckles Brown". Archived from the original on June 16, 2013. Retrieved June 8, 2019.
  12. "Rodeo Hall of Fame Inductees - National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum". National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum. Retrieved May 11, 2017.
  13. "Freckles Brown". Oklahoma Sports Hall of Fame. Retrieved May 11, 2017.
  14. "Cheyenne Frontier Days Hall of Fame". www.oldwestmuseum.org. Retrieved May 9, 2017.
  15. "Bull Riding Hall of Fame inductees". Bull Riding Hall of Fame. Retrieved August 19, 2023.
  16. "Walk of Fame - Molalla Area Chamber of Commerce, OR". www.molallachamber.com. Archived from the original on July 28, 2017. Retrieved May 17, 2017.
  17. Bates, Weston. "The legacy of Freckles Brown". Archived from the original on June 16, 2013. Retrieved January 7, 2018.
  18. "National Finals Rodeo | The Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture". www.okhistory.org. Retrieved May 10, 2017.
  19. "Cowboy's funeral draws throng", AP in Tulsa World, August 3, 1989.

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