Tex Austin
Encyclopedia
John Van "Tex" Austin was an American
rodeo promoter, known as the King of the Rodeo or "Daddy of the Rodeo" because of his efforts to popularize the rodeo outside of its core American West demographic.
He owned the Forked Lightning Ranch in New Mexico. From 1925 to 1929 he was promoter, manager and director of the Chicago Roundup.
Austin's birth name in St. Louis, Missouri
was Clarence Van Nostrand. In 1908 he left St. Louis and adopted a new persona changing his name (and usually was called Tex Austin) and saying that he was raised on a cattle ranch in Victoria, Texas
. He worked at the L.F.D. Ranch in Roswell, New Mexico
and then at a ranch at Las Vegas, New Mexico
.
He claimed to have worked for Don Luis Terrazas
, the Chihuahua cattle baron of the Creel-Terrazas Family
. In 1910 he was a captain under Francisco Villa in Madero
's revolutionary forces against Diaz
.
His first produced rodeo was in El Paso, Texas
. In 1918 in Wichita, Kansas
he produced the first indoor rodeo. (This fact is disputed. The Southwestern Exposition and Livestock Show, held in Fort Worth in February, 1918, also claims to be the first indoor rodeo.)
In 1920s Austin put together a rodeo and played in Chicago Stadium
, New York's Madison Square Garden
(1922), and in Hollywood.
He even took his rodeo to the newly opened Wembley Stadium in London
, in 1924.. Austin took to Britain such rodeo stars as: Ike Rude, Manerd Gayler, Dave Campbell and Rube Roberts. The rodeo was challenged by animal rights activists attempting to get a court order barring the rodeo on the basis of animal cruelty. The Wembly rodeo, in which Austin lost $20,000, was to cause Parliament
to pass the Protection of Animals Act 1934
which made it an offense to rope an untrained animal or to ride one using a cruel appliance such as a strap cinched tight around its genitals. Tex Austin returned to London with his rodeo in 1934 and they performed before the king and queen. Bronc riders including Herman Linder, Frank Sharp and Pete Knight
rode in the 1934 London rodeo; the featured bucking horse of the show was the legendary Midnight.
guest ranch.
In 1925 he bought land in the old 5500 acres (22.3 km²) Pecos Pueblo Grant for a guest ranch called Forked Lightning Ranch. The main ranch house was one of the first works of John Gaw Meem
. The ranch is now part of the Pecos National Historic Park. Austin would hold cattle drives between the ranch and Las Vegas, New Mexico
recruiting city folk back east to participate in the drives. The ranch was later owned by Buddy Folgeson and the actress Greer Garson
.
After losing the ranch in the Great Depression
Austin retired to Santa Fe with his wife Mary Lou McGuire of Albuquerque. They opened a restaurant in Santa Fe called "Tex Austin's Los Rancheros."
He committed suicide in 1938 a few weeks after getting diagnosis that he was going blind. He died of carbon monoxide
inhalation while he was in his car at his home. Photographs of his rodeo days were found stacked on the couch of his home.
in 1976.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
rodeo promoter, known as the King of the Rodeo or "Daddy of the Rodeo" because of his efforts to popularize the rodeo outside of its core American West demographic.
He owned the Forked Lightning Ranch in New Mexico. From 1925 to 1929 he was promoter, manager and director of the Chicago Roundup.
Austin's birth name in St. Louis, Missouri
St. Louis, Missouri
St. Louis is an independent city on the eastern border of Missouri, United States. With a population of 319,294, it was the 58th-largest U.S. city at the 2010 U.S. Census. The Greater St...
was Clarence Van Nostrand. In 1908 he left St. Louis and adopted a new persona changing his name (and usually was called Tex Austin) and saying that he was raised on a cattle ranch in Victoria, Texas
Victoria, Texas
Victoria is a city in and the seat of Victoria County, Texas, United States. The population was 60,603 at the 2000 census. The three counties of the Victoria Metropolitan Statistical Area had a population of 111,163 at the 2000 census,...
. He worked at the L.F.D. Ranch in Roswell, New Mexico
Roswell, New Mexico
Roswell is a city in and the county seat of Chaves County in the southeastern quarter of the state of New Mexico, United States. The population was 48,366 at the 2010 census. It is a center for irrigation farming, dairying, ranching, manufacturing, distribution, and petroleum production. It is also...
and then at a ranch at Las Vegas, New Mexico
Las Vegas, New Mexico
Las Vegas is a city in San Miguel County, New Mexico, United States. Once two separate municipalities both named Las Vegas, west Las Vegas and east Las Vegas , divided by the Gallinas River, retain distinct characters and separate, rival school districts. The population was 14,565 at the 2000...
.
He claimed to have worked for Don Luis Terrazas
Luis Terrazas
Luis Terrazas, born José Luis Gonzaga Jesús Daniel Terrazas Fuentes , was a Mexican politician, businessman, rancher and soldier. He was a pivotal figure in the history of the state of Chihuahua from the middle of the 19th century through the outbreak of the Mexican Revolution...
, the Chihuahua cattle baron of the Creel-Terrazas Family
Creel-Terrazas family
The Creel-Terrazas family is a powerful and wealthy family based in the Mexican state of Chihuahua.- Events: During the rule of President Porfirio Díaz and the Mexican Revolution, this family was part of the científico faction. The científicos were conservative civilian technocrats and...
. In 1910 he was a captain under Francisco Villa in Madero
Francisco I. Madero
Francisco Ignacio Madero González was a politician, writer and revolutionary who served as President of Mexico from 1911 to 1913. As a respectable upper-class politician, he supplied a center around which opposition to the dictatorship of Porfirio Díaz could coalesce...
's revolutionary forces against Diaz
Porfirio Díaz
José de la Cruz Porfirio Díaz Mori was a Mexican-American War volunteer and French intervention hero, an accomplished general and the President of Mexico continuously from 1876 to 1911, with the exception of a brief term in 1876 when he left Juan N...
.
His first produced rodeo was in El Paso, Texas
El Paso, Texas
El Paso, is a city in and the county seat of El Paso County, Texas, United States, and lies in far West Texas. In the 2010 census, the city had a population of 649,121. It is the sixth largest city in Texas and the 19th largest city in the United States...
. In 1918 in Wichita, Kansas
Wichita, Kansas
Wichita is the largest city in the U.S. state of Kansas.As of the 2010 census, the city population was 382,368. Located in south-central Kansas on the Arkansas River, Wichita is the county seat of Sedgwick County and the principal city of the Wichita metropolitan area...
he produced the first indoor rodeo. (This fact is disputed. The Southwestern Exposition and Livestock Show, held in Fort Worth in February, 1918, also claims to be the first indoor rodeo.)
In 1920s Austin put together a rodeo and played in Chicago Stadium
Chicago Stadium
The Chicago Stadium was an indoor sports arena and theater in Chicago. It opened in 1929, and closed in 1994.-History:The Stadium hosted the Chicago Blackhawks of the NHL from 1929–1994 and the Chicago Bulls of the NBA from 1967–1994....
, New York's Madison Square Garden
Madison Square Garden
Madison Square Garden, often abbreviated as MSG and known colloquially as The Garden, is a multi-purpose indoor arena in the New York City borough of Manhattan and located at 8th Avenue, between 31st and 33rd Streets, situated on top of Pennsylvania Station.Opened on February 11, 1968, it is the...
(1922), and in Hollywood.
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, in 1924.. Austin took to Britain such rodeo stars as: Ike Rude, Manerd Gayler, Dave Campbell and Rube Roberts. The rodeo was challenged by animal rights activists attempting to get a court order barring the rodeo on the basis of animal cruelty. The Wembly rodeo, in which Austin lost $20,000, was to cause Parliament
Parliament of the United Kingdom
The Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the supreme legislative body in the United Kingdom, British Crown dependencies and British overseas territories, located in London...
to pass the Protection of Animals Act 1934
Protection of Animals Act 1934
The Protection of Animals Act 1934 was an act of the British parliament effectively making rodeo, as it then existed, illegal in England, Scotland and Wales...
which made it an offense to rope an untrained animal or to ride one using a cruel appliance such as a strap cinched tight around its genitals. Tex Austin returned to London with his rodeo in 1934 and they performed before the king and queen. Bronc riders including Herman Linder, Frank Sharp and Pete Knight
Pete Knight
Pete Knight is the name of:* Pete Knight , World Champion Rodeo Bronc Rider and international superstar of Rodeo* William J. Knight , American test pilot, astronaut and politician nicknamed "Pete"...
rode in the 1934 London rodeo; the featured bucking horse of the show was the legendary Midnight.
New Mexico
In the early 1920s he was involved with the Vermejo Park RanchVermejo Park Ranch
The Vermejo Park Ranch is a ranch owned by Ted Turner in northeastern New Mexico and southern Colorado that is said to be the largest privately owned, contiguous tract of land in the United States....
guest ranch.
In 1925 he bought land in the old 5500 acres (22.3 km²) Pecos Pueblo Grant for a guest ranch called Forked Lightning Ranch. The main ranch house was one of the first works of John Gaw Meem
John Gaw Meem
John Gaw Meem IV was an American architect based in Santa Fe, New Mexico. He is best known for his instrumental role in the development and popularization of the Pueblo Revival style...
. The ranch is now part of the Pecos National Historic Park. Austin would hold cattle drives between the ranch and Las Vegas, New Mexico
Las Vegas, New Mexico
Las Vegas is a city in San Miguel County, New Mexico, United States. Once two separate municipalities both named Las Vegas, west Las Vegas and east Las Vegas , divided by the Gallinas River, retain distinct characters and separate, rival school districts. The population was 14,565 at the 2000...
recruiting city folk back east to participate in the drives. The ranch was later owned by Buddy Folgeson and the actress Greer Garson
Greer Garson
Greer Garson, CBE was a British-born actress who was very popular during World War II, being listed by the Motion Picture Herald as one of America's top ten box office draws in 1942, 1943, 1944, 1945, and 1946. As one of MGM's major stars of the 1940s, Garson received seven Academy Award...
.
After losing the ranch in the Great Depression
Great Depression
The Great Depression was a severe worldwide economic depression in the decade preceding World War II. The timing of the Great Depression varied across nations, but in most countries it started in about 1929 and lasted until the late 1930s or early 1940s...
Austin retired to Santa Fe with his wife Mary Lou McGuire of Albuquerque. They opened a restaurant in Santa Fe called "Tex Austin's Los Rancheros."
He committed suicide in 1938 a few weeks after getting diagnosis that he was going blind. He died of carbon monoxide
Carbon monoxide
Carbon monoxide , also called carbonous oxide, is a colorless, odorless, and tasteless gas that is slightly lighter than air. It is highly toxic to humans and animals in higher quantities, although it is also produced in normal animal metabolism in low quantities, and is thought to have some normal...
inhalation while he was in his car at his home. Photographs of his rodeo days were found stacked on the couch of his home.
Legacy
He was inducted into the National Cowboy Hall of FameNational Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum
The National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum is a museum in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, with more than 28,000 Western and American Indian art works and artifacts. The facility also has the world's most extensive collection of American rodeo, photographs, barbed wire, saddlery, and early rodeo trophies...
in 1976.