Coy Herman "Toots" Mansfield
COY HERMAN “TOOTS” MANSFIELD - grew up on his family ranch on the site of Mansfield Park. “I remember his mother calling him ‘Coy Herman’ and that was when she’d be calling him home from the rodeo arena,” says niece, Barbara Mazurek. “He got his Christian name from the initials of his father.” Hi father, C.H. Mansfield, died when Toots was young, but uncles Dudley and Ed and his brother, Rhea, were early influences as he honed the techniques that made him a champion. He credited Juan and Tony Salinas of Encinal, Texas with teaching him the subtleties of calf roping that took him to the seven world championships he earned between 1939 and 1950.
Toots went on to accumulate more awards, honors, saddles and buckles than any other professional tie-down calf roper. His signature “loop of victory” and the distinctive way he threw up his hands to signal a tie-down are synonymous with his skill and celebrity. Widely acknowledged as the best roper who ever lived, Toots responded, “It’s not hard. You just throw up your hands and go down and get your money.” In addition to his many honors and being inducted into the Rodeo Hall of Fame in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, in 1981, he also served as President of the Rodeo Cowboys of America and established the first successful rodeo school for aspiring young ropers in the mid 1950s. Barbara Mazurek, says, “He was such a kind man and this honor would have meant so much to him. He always said, ‘I may have lived in Big Spring, but I never forgot I came from Bandera.' ” |
2015 INDUCTEES
Clay Conoly Kelly Scott J. Griffis Smith 2014 INDUCTEES
JEHU D. "JUD" ASHMORE JOHN DOUGLAS "BUD" FITZPATRICK TODD WHITEWOOD 2013 INDUCTEES DAVID K. LANGFORD ROBERT L. MANSFIELD LARRY NOLEN GARY P. NUNN MARGARET "PEGGY" TOBIN 2012 INDUCTEES CRAIG CAMERON H. JOAQUIN JACKSON ARKEY BLUE BUDDY GROFF 2011 INDUCTEES COY HERMAN "TOOTS" MANSFIELD RICHARD S. "KINKY" FRIEDMAN LOUIS PEARCE WYMAN MEINZER MATHIAS EDWARD "SCOOTER" FRIES 2010 INDUCTEES BILL PICKETT JOSE POLICARPIO "POLLY" RODRIGUEZ RED STEAGALL BUCK TAYLOR RUDY ROBBINS DON & JUDY HICKS 2009 INDUCTEES J. MARVIN HUNTER J. FRANK DOBIE MAUDEEN MARKS "CAPTAIN" JOE BOWMAN RAY WHARTON CLEO HEARN KEVIN FITZPATRICK "EMPRESARIO" TERRY BOOTHE DR. RAUL GAONA, SR. |
