BILLINGS — Eight gold buckles, a signature celebration that changed rodeo culture and a candid message for the sport he loves — Fred Whitfield brought all of it to Billings on Saturday for Montana's Pro Rodeo Hall and Wall of Fame induction ceremony and auction, helping the organization push its scholarship total past $850,000.
Whitfield, a seven-time tie-down roping world champion with one more in the all-around, was the special VIP guest of the evening, and a familiar face to many in the crowd.
"I've rodeoed in and out of Montana quite a bit and, I mean, I've got a few friends here," Whitfield fondly told MTN Sports.
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That was clear from all the hands Whitfield shook on Hall of Fame Night. The cowboy arrived loaded not only with gold buckles, but a flair for entertainment dating back to the early 1990s, when he began winning titles and celebrating smooth runs inside the arena.
"Coming along as a young African American kid and starting to excel in sports, I just figured out I had to do something to get the crowd into it, you know? It was about that time to liven rodeo up a little bit," Whitfield said.
His trademark move: “raising the roof” after stopping the clock in lightning-quick times.
"It caught on like wildfire," Whitfield recalled.
He first unveiled the celebration on pro rodeo's grandest stage in Las Vegas.
"It was at the National Finals Rodeo. I think I'd won a couple go-rounds and I was pretty pumped," he said.
Whitfield is also well aware of Montana's only tie-down world champion, Miles City's Haven Meged, and the historic season Meged put together.
"2019 … he won the rookie of the year, won the average at the Finals … he got the trifecta that year. And I think the only (other) time that's ever been done is when Joe Beaver did it," Whitfield said.
Speaking of Beaver, one of Whitfield's favorite stories goes back to 1989, when Montana rodeo legend Bill Parker gave Beaver a call about a young competitor.
"He said, 'Hey, there's a skinny Black kid up here about to have a match roping. If you don't want to lose your money, that guy's name is Fred Whitfield; you better bet on him.' And I ended up winning quite a bit of money that day and I got to be pretty good friends with Bill Parker also," Whitfield said.
He also shared candid thoughts on the state of rodeo today, particularly when compared to other high-paying professional sports.
"I'll be honest with you, it's came a long way but it hasn't risen to the cost of inflation,” Whitfield explained. “Something else that'll probably get me in a bind, but I don't rodeo anymore, so I can speak the truth, right? We need to work on outside sponsors.”
Whitfield added that in his opinion, the more contestants speak up, the more profitable the sport will become — raising more than the roof.
