Bill Text: TX HCR47 | 2019-2020 | 86th Legislature | Enrolled
Bill Title: Paying tribute to the history of the Texas Prison Rodeo.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 2-0)
Status: (Passed) 2019-05-24 - Signed by the Governor [HCR47 Detail]
Download: Texas-2019-HCR47-Enrolled.html
| H.C.R. No. 47 | ||
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| WHEREAS, For more than 50 years, the Texas Prison Rodeo stood | ||
| as a beloved institution known throughout the Lone Star State and | ||
| beyond; and | ||
| WHEREAS, Established in 1931, the Texas Prison Rodeo took | ||
| place annually at the Texas State Penitentiary at Huntsville, with | ||
| the event traditionally being held on each Sunday in October; the | ||
| rodeo was created by state prison system general manager Marshall | ||
| Lee Simmons to serve as a source of income for the penitentiary and | ||
| to provide entertainment for prisoners, employees, and their | ||
| families, but its popularity immediately exceeded all | ||
| expectations; the competition soon grew to become one of the | ||
| largest sporting events in Texas and helped reveal rodeo's | ||
| widespread appeal among the general public; and | ||
| WHEREAS, "The Wildest Show Behind Bars" was held on the | ||
| baseball field outside the "Walls" Unit during its early years; in | ||
| 1950, a $1 million open-air arena with a capacity of over 20,000 was | ||
| constructed; the new venue was able to accommodate more people, and | ||
| attendance continued to surge, totaling close to 100,000 during | ||
| peak years; the profits from ticket sales helped fund education, | ||
| recreation, and medical programs for inmates across Texas; and | ||
| WHEREAS, In the early 1950s, the rodeo began featuring | ||
| celebrity entertainers during intermission; a host of legendary | ||
| stars took the stage through the decades, including Johnny Cash, | ||
| Willie Nelson, Loretta Lynn, Dolly Parton, and George Strait; in | ||
| addition, many inmates demonstrated their dancing and musical | ||
| talents for the thousands of spectators who filled the venue; and | ||
| WHEREAS, Above all else, the prison rodeo highlighted the | ||
| exceptional riding and ranching skills possessed by numerous | ||
| individuals in the corrections system; vying for the "Top Hand" | ||
| award, inmates from various units in Texas participated in tryouts, | ||
| and between 50 and 100 of the best contestants got the chance to | ||
| show their abilities in Huntsville each year; they took part in | ||
| standard rodeo events, such as bull riding, horse racing, and | ||
| bareback bronc riding, as well as in a number of novelty | ||
| competitions; these included wild cow milking, bull dogging, and | ||
| the perennial favorite, "Hard Money," in which participants tried | ||
| to snatch a tobacco sack filled with cash from between the horns of | ||
| a rampaging bull; the winners of these challenges were regarded | ||
| with great esteem, and those who didn't qualify had other | ||
| opportunities to get involved by serving as staff members or | ||
| assisting in making the uniforms worn by the competitors; and | ||
| WHEREAS, The end of the rodeo came in the mid-1980s, after the | ||
| arena was deemed structurally unsafe and it was decided that | ||
| repairs were too costly to undertake; the final Texas Prison Rodeo | ||
| took place on October 26, 1986, and the facility then remained empty | ||
| and unused for a quarter century until being demolished in 2012; and | ||
| WHEREAS, From the time of its establishment during the Great | ||
| Depression to its conclusion five and a half decades later, the | ||
| Texas Prison Rodeo was an unforgettable chapter in the saga of the | ||
| Lone Star State, and this fascinating event is indeed deserving of | ||
| special recognition; now, therefore, be it | ||
| RESOLVED, That the 86th Legislature of the State of Texas | ||
| hereby pay tribute to the history of the Texas Prison Rodeo. | ||
| Bailes | ||
| ______________________________ | ______________________________ | |
| President of the Senate | Speaker of the House | |
| I certify that H.C.R. No. 47 was adopted by the House on April | ||
| 18, 2019, by the following vote: Yeas 147, Nays 0, 2 present, not | ||
| voting. | ||
| ______________________________ | ||
| Chief Clerk of the House | ||
| I certify that H.C.R. No. 47 was adopted by the Senate on May | ||
| 9, 2019, by a viva-voce vote. | ||
| ______________________________ | ||
| Secretary of the Senate | ||
| APPROVED: __________________ | ||
| Date | ||
| __________________ | ||
| Governor | ||
