By Chris Coon
Managing Editor,
New Mexico Farm and Ranch Magazine

The founding members of the Aggie Rodeo Team were the inaugural inductees to the NMSU Rodeo Hall of Fame during ceremonies at Dickerson’s Barn in Las Cruces.

The Aggie Rodeo Team originated in 1942 and had 13 members. Giles Lee, one of the original team members, said he and others organized the first team in March of 1942 just in time to go compete at a rodeo in Tucson hosted by the University of Arizona.

“In May of that year, we hosted our first rodeo here in Las Cruces at the Salt Cedar Arena, which was located a few miles north of campus,” said Lee.

Lee recalled that teammates F.C. Stover, Pee Wee Smith and Jim Rush, won the calf roping, saddle bronc riding and bull riding events respectively, at the first rodeo hosted by the Aggies. The team was put on hold soon after that rodeo for the next few years as most of the team joined the armed forces to fight in WWII.

“Later in ‘42, most of us, that were able, went to the service and most of us were discharged in 1945 or 1946,” said Lee. “Several of us came back to Las Cruces, activated the rodeo club and built an arena south of campus. We were called the Aggie Rodeo Association.”

Lee said the only college teams in the southwestern area at that time were the University of Colorado, University of Arizona, Canyon Texas, and New Mexico A&M (now called New Mexico State University). This resulted in several open rodeos including a Rodeo Cowboy Association sanctioned event in 1947 that hosted RCA members, college students and locals. “That was one of the largest rodeos,” said Lee.

Lee’s college career ended in 1948 and he was the all-around contestant at both rodeos he attended that year. One was at Canyon Texas, the other was in Las Cruces.

NMSU was one of the 13 original schools which formed the National Intercollegiate Rodeo Association (NIRA) in 1949.

Frank DuBois, the founder of the DuBois Rodeo Scholarship program for the NMSU Rodeo Team, credits Lee with originating the idea for the NMSU Rodeo Hall of Fame.

“I’ve always kept up with (NMSU Rodeo) history and thought it should be preserved,” said Lee.

In 2004, Jerry Schickedanz, former Dean of the college of agriculture and home economics at NMSU, appropriated a space for the hall of fame next to the rodeo coach’s office in Neal Hall, and supporters are hopeful at some point a larger shrine will be available. Lee noted that several other colleges have quite elaborate halls of fame and that given the rich and successful history of the Aggie rodeo program, there is no reason the same should not happen at NMSU.

“There have been 23 national champions come from NMSU,” said Lee.

Inaugural Aggie Hall of Fame Inductees:

Lewis “Cowboy” Cain – Engle
El Ray Fort – Lovington
Giles Lee – Lovington
Bob Malcolm – Ozona, Texas
Bill Maxwell – Albuquerque
Buster Miller – Alamogordo
Smokey Nunn – Deming
Pat Patterson – Oakdale, Calif.
Owen “Bud” Prather – Las Cruces
Jim Rush – Deming
Eldon “Pee Wee” Smith – Ozona, Texas
F.C. Stover – Tularosa
Bob White – Dalhart, Texas