The rodeo world has lost an icon with the passing of Mr. Larry Mahan.
American former rodeo cowboy Larry Mahan. On the National Finals Rodeo (NFR) Pro Rodeo Tour, he has won six world all-around championships and two world bull-riding championships. In 1979, the ProRodeo Hall of Fame awarded him first place in the all-around division. In 2010, he was also recognized as a ProRodeo Legend.
In Salem, Oregon, on November 21, 1943, Larry Mahan was born. At the age of 14, he began competing in professional rodeo. He began competing in the Rodeo Cowboys Association (RCA) in 1963. Later, in 1975, the group adopted the name Professional Rodeo Association (PRCA). From 1966 through 1970, he won the world all-around championship five times in a row. In 1973, he claimed his sixth crown. The Great American Cowboy, which won the 1974 Academy Award for Documentary Feature, focused on his comeback in 1973 and his fight with Phil Lane.
He frequently won in the RCA’s bronze saddle, bareback, and bull riding events. He set a record by playing in three NFR competitions in a single calendar year. He was the high-stakes bull riding winner in 1965 and became the first individual to earn more than $50,000 in a single season in 1967. The 1970 season brought in over $280,000 for him. Despite winning the all-around championship in 1973, he had a difficult decade in the 1970s because of injuries.
Mahan won six all-around championships, but not the final two. It wasn’t until 1979 that Tom Ferguson won his sixth consecutive championship that his five-peat streak was ended. Ty Murray tied Ferguson’s record of six straight championships in 1994, breaking it. Mahan and Ferguson had previously held the record. With his seventh title in 1998, Murray caught up to both of them, and he now holds the record with seven all-around victories. After that, Murray was referred to as the “King of the Cowboys.” Trevor Brazile defeated them all in 2010 to win his ninth all-around championship. Basile won his 14th all-around championship in 2018. In 1965 and 1967, Mahan won the title of world champion bull rider.