The biggest name in American rodeo history grew up in Brooks, OR and performed in Oregon's favorite rodeos from St. Paul to Pendleton. Larry Mahan (November 21, 1943 – May 7, 2023) was a master of the three "roughstock" events (bull riding, saddle broncs and bareback riding) and won eight World Championships in two decades of competition.
Young Larry started out fast, winning his first-ever competition in calf riding. He was a talented wrestler at North Salem High School, winning two district titles. Mahan won his first professional competition in 1960, taking on the bulls in Klamath Falls. A legend was born.
Mahan pulled off firsts all the way through a career that included more than 1,200 rodeos: rides on more than 6,000 bucking horses and bulls, and earnings of a half-million dollars over ten years on the professional circuit.
He won the first championship in bull riding in his 12th year as a pro. The next year 1966, he took the All-Around world title, the first of his unprecedented 5 straight crowns, tying the legendary Jim Shoulders. No one in rodeo had ever won six would all around championships before Larry Mahan did it. Nor had anyone won five consecutive world all-around titles. Larry earned his pilot’s license so he could fly himself to events, which gave him another edge.
Slowed by injuries in 1971 and 1972 he came back in 1973 to capture the record breaking sixth world all-around cowboy title. Mahan also won two individual world championships in bull riding.
While still active in the Rodeo Mahan became a rock star, referred to as the "Elvis" of rodeo. His celebrity ranged far and wide, especially after appearing on the movie screen. “The Great American Cowboy,” in which he starred won the Academy Award as the Best Documentary Feature in 1973.
Mahan stayed in the public eye after his retirement in 1979. Larry Mahan boots and Western wear remain popular. He authored a book on rodeo and appeared professionally as a country western singer and a television commentator.
Larry Mahan is part of more than ten different halls of fame, most notable in Oregon, St. Paul and Pendleton Round-Up and the Pro Rodeo Hall of Fame.
Here is a list of his major honors:
- 1966 Rodeo Hall of Fame of the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum
- 1974 Golden Plate Award of the American Academy of Achievement
- 1979 ProRodeo Hall of Fame
- 1985 Oregon Sports Hall of Fame
- 1998 Pendleton Round-Up and Happy Canyon Hall of Fame
- 1998 St. Paul Rodeo Hall of Fame
- 1998 PBR Ring of Honor
- 2001 Ellensburg Rodeo Hall of Fame
- 2002 Cheyenne Frontier Days Hall of Fame
- 2005 Texas Trail of Fame
- 2007 Texas Cowboy Hall of Fame
- 2007 Received the Ben Johnson Memorial Award of the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum
- 2010 ProRodeo Hall of Fame Legend of ProRodeo
- 2015 Bull Riding Hall of Fame
- 2017 Molalla Walk of Fame
- 2019 PBR Ty Murray Top Hand Award