Fred Whitfield (born August 5, 1967) is an American former professional rodeo cowboy who specialized in tie-down roping. He won eight Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association (PRCA) world championships and three National Finals Rodeo (NFR) aggregate titles. Seven of those titles were World Tie-Down Roping Championships and one was the World All-Around Cowboy Championship. He is one of a very few black professional cowboys and by far the most successful. Whitfield was elected to the ProRodeo Hall of Fame in 2004.
Early life
Fred Whitfield was born in Hockley, Texas on August 5, 1967, to Willie and Marie Whitfield. He was raised in Cypress, Texas, just north of Houston, in a violent, extremely poor home. His mother bore five children, but two were placed for adoption because she could not afford to take care of them. Whitfield was raised with a brother and a younger sister. Their father was an alcoholic who regularly abused their mother. Twice, she shot him after he beat her. In the mid-1970s, Willie Whitfield was sent to prison for killing a man in a dispute over a woman. The younger Whitfield was relieved that his father was no longer in the house.
Marie Whitfield supported the family by cleaning the house of their white neighbors, Don and Joanne Moffitt. Their son Roy was seven years older than Whitfield. Despite the age difference, Roy Moffitt took Whitfield under his wing. When Whitfield was six, Moffitt taught him to rope. They often practiced on dogs, chickens, cats, and, occasionally, Whitfield's younger sister. The Moffitt family allowed Whitfield to use their horses and equipment to compete in youth rodeos, and often paid his entry fees. Whitfield specialized in tie-down roping. In this event, a calf is released from a chute. After a short head start, a cowboy on horseback lassos the calf. The cowboy then dismounts, throws the calf to the ground, and ties any three of the calf's legs together. The competitor with the fastest time wins.
As a teenager, Whitfield worked as a horse-trainer for a local rancher and competed in amateur rodeos, including the Bill Pickett Invitational Rodeos (a rodeo circuit intended for African-American competitors). He graduated from high school in 1986.
Rodeo career
Whitfield joined the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association (PRCA) in 1990. This allowed him to compete in PRCA-sanctioned rodeos. His early years were difficult. The PRCA membership was overwhelmingly white; fewer than 5% of competitors were black. Cowboys were expected to provide their own equipment and have access to livestock. Few black men had those resources, limiting their ability to break into the sport. His peers - and the crowds - were not always receptive to the idea of a black cowboy. Others were disgusted that Whitfield often dated white women. Crowds sometimes yelled racist remarks when he competed. Some white cowboys tried to incite him to fight. He said that the disapproval "just fuels me. Any chance I get to kick their a– in competition, I’m going to do it."
Professional cowboys earn money when they are among the top finishers at a rodeo event. In many cases, a win will earn them no more than $1,000. Each dollar of prize money earned at PRCA-sanctioned events is counted towards qualification in the annual National Finals Rodeo (NFR). In his rookie year, Whitfield was one of the top-15 highest earners in calf roping, making him the second first-year competitor to ever qualify for the NFR. Whitfield won the NFR in 1991 in tie-down roping. He was the second black man to win an NFR title, and first to win a timed event title.
In 1989, Whitfield was jailed overnight for brawling with a black man at a bar near a Bill Pickett rodeo in California. His opponent sliced him across the left cheek; the cut required over 30 stitches to close. Whitfield responded by beating the man with a tire iron.
In 1996, Whitfield brawled with three white bull riders. When they taunted him with their supposed connections to organized crime, Whitfield hired bodyguards. They accompanied him to the NFR, where he again won the world championship.
The following year, Whitfield set an aggregate record in the NFR. He scored a combined 84 points in the ten rounds. In the ninth round, Whitfield became the second of three men to break the single-run world record. Blair Burk's run lasted only 7 seconds, beating the previous 7.1 second record. Whitfield competed minutes later and finished in 6.9 seconds. His record lasted only another few minutes, before Jeff Chapman finished a tenth of a second faster.
Whitfield won the World All-Around Cowboy Championship in 1999.