You may not know his name, but if you have ever been to a rodeo and have seen the sport of steer wrestling, you have seen the living legacy of Bill Pickett. A skilled cowboy, a movie star, and a fearless spirit are just some ways to describe Bill Pickett. Many Texans have been inspired by the sturdy and hardened image of the Texas cowboy throughout history and Bill Pickett is no exception. Bill Pickett saddled up his ambitions and put his own cowboy skills to work. Bill Pickett may not be well-known nationally, but his legacy is alive and well throughout his native Williamson County and across Texas.
Bill Pickett was born in 1870 outside of Jenks Branch, a freedmen’s colony, located about five miles southeast of modern-day Liberty Hill. He was the second of 13 children born to Thomas Jefferson Pickett, a former enslaved man, and Mary Gilbert. Pickett had four brothers and eight sisters. The Pickett family’s ancestry became an important part of Bill’s career—the family being of both African American and Cherokee descent. By 1888, the family settled in Taylor, Williamson County.
Bill grew up in the heyday when cattle drives consistently drove through his native Williamson County. He was too young to join those drives, but watched many cowboys hit the Chisholm Trail. African Americans made up almost one-third of the cowboys who went up the Chisholm Trail. Bill Pickett would become Williamson County’s best-known cowboy of any race.
In the late 1880s, Taylor and Williamson County had recently ended their successful era of cattle drives which had brought considerable wealth into the area and had started on a new successful venture—a cotton boom. Bill completed the fifth grade and then worked as a ranch hand at the Sparks Ranch near Thrall. There, the tough Texan honed his cowboy skills and tricks.
Bill was especially intrigued by the way a bulldog could catch a stray steer. Bulldogs would bite the lip of any steer to get the steer’s attention and guide them back to the herd. Bill Pickett invented the technique of “bulldogging”—the skill of springing off his horse, grabbing a steer by the horns, twisting their neck, biting its nose or its upper lip, and making the steer fall to the ground on one side. Bill’s bite-’em-down technique may not be used anymore, but bulldogging gave way to the modern sport of steer wrestling found in any rodeo today.
Perfecting his bulldogging technique as well as his roping and riding skills, Bill started his performing career traveling around to local country fairs. The four Pickett brothers established “The Pickett Brothers Bronco Busters and Rough Riders Association” and claimed “catching and taming wild cattle a specialty.” Traveling about in Texas, Oklahoma, Arizona, and Wyoming with his family, Bill did his bulldogging act. The name Bill Pickett soon became synonymous with successful rodeos.
In 1905, Bill made his home in Oklahoma and joined the 101 Ranch “Wild West Show” that included Buffalo Bill Cody and Will Rogers. Performing under the name “The Dusky Demon,” Bill was part of the show for more than 25 years. He performed around the world, including in England, Canada, South America, Mexico City, and New York City and for England’s King George V and Queen Mary.
Left Bill Pickett on horseback Right the famous Bill Pickett statue in the Fort Worth Stockyards.
Bill became a movie star during this time and is credited with being the first Black cowboy star. The Richard E. Norman Studios featured Bill in “The Crimson Skull” and “The Bulldogger”.
Although a bonafide star, Bill Pickett often faced discrimination for being Black and was barred from performing. Relying on his Cherokee family ancestry, Bill was often advertised to be of Native American, Comanche, or Mexican descent to appease certain audiences and performance bans. Yet, Bill used his inspiring toughness and determination to cement himself as one of the most famous Black cowboys.
In 1932, Bill was kicked in the head by a horse and died at the 101 Ranch.
Bill Pickett was the quintessential Black cowboy whose legacy lives on in his family, rodeos, in Williamson County, and even in popular culture. In 1971, Pickett was inducted into the Rodeo Hall of Fame of the National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum. In 1989, Pickett was inducted into the Pro Rodeo Hall of Fame. From “Baywatch” to “The Simpsons”, Bill Pickett is often mentioned in film and television whenever a character references a Black cowboy.
To follow in his footsteps, you only need to travel back to some of the very same places Pickett lived and showed off his tough Texan determination. Bill Pickett was first memorialized in statue form in the Fort Worth Stockyards in 1987 by Artist Lisa Perry. The North Fort Worth Historical Society presented Perry’s statue of Pickett to the city of Fort Worth. About 30 years later—in 2017—the Bill Pickett Statue was erected at Second and Main Streets in downtown Taylor. Commissioned by the McCrory-Timmerman Restoration Project, the statue was created by local artist Adam Davenport.
In December of 2022, Bill Pickett was honored with a cenotaph at the Texas State Cemetery in Austin. Danni Royal, niece of Bill Pickett, stated, “Many, many years ago, my mom would say to me ‘if you knew who you were, if you knew your history, you would stand and you would walk differently.’” Royal recalled, “’You would talk differently because you stand on the shoulders of greatness… Never allow anyone to tell your story. You tell your story.’’
Bill Pickett is still telling his own story. Gerald Anderson, the grandnephew of Bill Pickett, founded the Bill Pickett Educational Foundation in Bill’s honor. The foundation provides community support to families in Taylor including a holiday toy drive that benefits 250 children and families. Taylor youth can also experience special trips provided by the foundation and participate in a youth rodeo in Taylor every June. Anderson sums up the importance of Bill Pickett, “Most people who know who Bill Pickett is realize how important he was to our history, not just to cowboy history, but American history.” Bill Pickett was a tough Texan who left a legacy that continues to show the determination and the unbreakable spirit of a cowboy who looked fear in the face and decided to bite ‘em down.
