Bill Teague
Calf Roper
1932-Living
According to Bill Teague, the first time that he attended the West Of the Pecos Rodeo, “the sun was quite small and there was no moon at all.” The date was July 4, 1940. His father George and brother Earl were entered as contestants, but Bill was only 8 years old and a little young to compete.
The Teague Family was all there and they stayed at the Triangle Tourist Courts on the East side of Pecos. It wasn’t the Hilton, but they enjoyed their stay. Every year this was their family vacation.
Bill remembers that Lloyd Jenkins of Ft. Worth was the Stock Contractor in 1940. Mr. Jenkins furnished the livestock for several years. In 1942, Bill roped a calf for exhibition riding a Shetland mare that was not much larger than the calf. The first time Bill entered the West of the Pecos Rodeo was in 1943. He was in the ribbon roping with his brother, Earl, mugging for him. They won second place in the first go-round. Bill was hooked on the rodeo life from that day forward and competed until 1970.
What Bill remembers most about those early days was the experience of seeing and meeting some of the great legends of the early days of rodeo. Bill was fortunate enough to win the calf roping at Pecos two times. He placed some in the team roping but never won the average.
Bill’s rodeo career grew through the traditional route: competing in the American Junior Rodeo Association, High School and College Rodeos and finally Professional Rodeo. After graduating from college, Bill started teaching in Crane, Texas, and competed during the summer months. He taught for 37 years and still competes in some local team roping events. Bill won a number of rodeos but says the two most memorable are the Cheyenne Frontier Days Steer Roping and the West of the Pecos Rodeo 4th of July Calf Roping.
Bill’s wife, Patsy, and children, Billy and Teree, are always very supportive of his love of rodeo and are some of his most vocal fans.