Oliver, Dean

Between 1956 and 1969, Dean Oliver won eight world tie-down roping championships, dominating professional tie-down roping as no other man before or since. He also won three straight world all-around championships. Oliver, born Nov. 17, 1929, in Dodge City, Kan., was a man before he had any interest in rodeo, stemming from the “incredible sight of a man” winning $300 in a few seconds in tie-down roping at a rodeo in Idaho. Oliver wanted to get in on that kind of easy money. The sacrifices Oliver and his family made for him to become a champion included going hungry to buy a horse and one practice calf and practicing in the dark after a full day’s work. Oliver has served several terms on the association’s Board of Directors. In 1979 he was still roping and winning. He was inducted into the ProRodeo Hall of Fame in 1979.