Fat Albert

I was a dude, in it just for the fun, and didn’t ride in anything higher than NIRA sanctions. But one night in Elgin, my very first show, was kinda crazy. A retiring Darrell Royal christened the new arena with a bottle of champagne against my gate, leaving all the glass right in front of my chute. My draw was Fat Albert, named for a character in Bill Cosby’s night club routine. He was ranked 15th in the world which is not uncommon for small shows. World class outfits like the Steiner Ranch have to keep the cash flow steady. My teammates said, “He doesn’t do the normal spinning or rocking. He twists in the middle like you’re wringing out a wet dishrag and he does it with all four hooves off the ground. At the same time he kicks his hind legs backward so it launches you.” I said, “You know you’re describing a house cat, right?” All I remember from those 1.2 seconds was the gate, me face down in the “dirt”, and the clown, a young Leon Coffee, sailing over me like an olympic hurdler. Forty years later, Leon is in multiple rodeo halls of fame. In his profession they should be called balls of fame. All joking aside, we had some life altering injuries and one death. There were no flak jackets, helmets, etc, as there is now. I believe we were idiots. Handsome, charming, and toting a UT degree, but seriously, idiots.

If everything seems under control, you're just not going fast enough. - Mario Andretti