Snyder, Smoky

Truly one of the all-time greats, Smoky Snyder of Cripple Creek, Colo., won five world bull riding championships and two world bareback titles. Snyder, born June 1, 1908, began his rodeo career at age 15 when he won the bareback riding in Hussar, Alberta. He became one of the first cosmopolitan cowboys ever in professional rodeo. In 1934, he won the Australian bareback riding championship and later that year won bull and bareback riding trophies in London. He also traveled the circuit in Canada and the United States. A compact 145-pound man, Snyder was exceptionally strong. Eyewitnesses report seeing him perform 20 chin-ups with one arm. He competed until an injury forced him into retirement in 1946. Snyder was killed in an auto accident in 1965. He was inducted into the ProRodeo Hall of Fame in 1979.