Jesse Stahl
*This date celebrates the birth of Jesse Stahl, a Black cowboy and rodeo star, in 1879.
Stahl, an inductee into the Cowboy Hall of Fame in Oklahoma City, was a major saddle bronco rider from Tennessee. Although exceptionally talented, Stahl, who had a brother, Ambrose, seldom placed higher than third at the major rodeos, mainly because he was Black. At one rodeo where he'd bested his competitors, Stahl was awarded second place. Perhaps he rode a second bronco while facing backward to mock the judges. A spectacular ride by black Stahl on a previously un-ridden bucking horse called "Glass Eye" was one of the show's highlights.
He repeated his triumph by riding another notorious bucker, "Tar Baby," backward with a suitcase in his hand. Stahl retired in 1929 and was probably the most famous Black cowboy ever. Another black cowboy, Ty Stokes, and Jesse Stahl rode a bucking horse seated back to back; it was "a suicide ride." The total attendance in 1912 was 4,000.
Some rodeo enthusiasts consider Jesse Stahl the greatest of all bronco riders, which is unsurprising considering that approximately five thousand Black cowboys rode the cattle trails in the 19th century.
The Black West by William Loren Katz.
A Touchstone Book, published by Simon & Shuster Inc.
Copyright 1987, 1996 by Ethrac Publications, Inc.
ISBN 0-684-81478-1
