01/10/07 Fort Worth history

Fort Worth History Sometimes an event is almost overshadowed by its history. I'm Jeff Keane; I'll be right back to tell you about an event with a lot of history. I just heard that the Fort Worth Stock Show and Rodeo is slated to start its 24-day run January 12th. Now, this is not an event a whole lot of the Pacific Northwest population is going to drop everything and head for Texas to see. Although there are times when you're feeding cows with snow blowing down you neck you figure you should be some place that is just a touch warmer. Maybe it was because my brother's in-laws were visiting from Texas, but for some reason I decided to learn a little more about his show. With just a touch of help from my wife, I checked out the Stock Show on the Internet. For agricultural and especially rodeo history buffs this 111-year old show is one interesting event. What is amazing is the number of firsts this production has had. The Baby Beef Clubs, a forerunner of 4-H clubs held its first annual meeting at the show. In 1918 the first indoor rodeo was presented. Two years later this rodeo also introduced Brahman bull riding as an event and started bucking horses out of side delivery chutes instead of snubbed to another horse in the center of the arena. People in 1932 heard NBC broadcast the first radio coverage of a rodeo here and 1958 the first national live televised rodeo was presented from Fort Worth hosted by Roy Rogers and Dale Evans. Now that's history that is a little more interested than what I studied in school. I'm Jeff Keane.