Whitfield started with basics in Texas

Thursday, Nov. 30, 2000 | 11:49 a.m.

PRCA

If those neighbors who thought he was nuts could see him now.

Way back when Fred Whitfield and his brother, Anthony, were tearing up a tiny Texas town called Cypress on a couple of renegade Shetlands, Fred had a dream.

He was only 5 when he and Anthony rummaged through a junkyard for ropes to play cowboy with. They pulled the cords off vacuum cleaners, and tied hondas in the ends of extension cords. Their miniature mounts drank out of an old bathtub they salvaged from the same dump, and they fed the ponies in troughs that were actually just treadless tires.

"We didn't have saddles," said the newly crowned 1999 World All-Around Champion of those memorable good old days. "It was five miles to the 7-11, and we'd make at least three trips a day. We'd hang out and drink Slurpees, then, right before dark, we'd ease back to the house. We didn't have a worry in the world."

The Whitfield brothers and their sister, Tammy, who died in a 1989 car accident, were raised by their mom, Joyce, after she and Willie Whitfield divorced when Fred was 9.

Times were a little tough, but the kids didn't care because Joyce was a model mom.

"She worked hard and did it all," said the 6-3, 215-pound Whitfield. "She even baked on the side; whatever it took to take care of her kids. We were pretty poor, really. Thank God we didn't want for a whole lot."

Even then, money wasn't his motivator, success was. No sacrifice was too big if it was made in the name of the dream. With $217,819 in 1999 earnings ($191,727 of which was earned en route to his fourth world calf roping championship), Whitfield became the first black world champion all-around cowboy in the history of professional rodeo.

"This all-around title ranks right up there with my first calf roping championship (in 1991)," said Whitfield, 32, who was the 1990 overall and calf roping PRCA/Resistol rookie of the year. "I'm not going to put one title ahead of another, because when you're the world champion it means you're the best in the world, and that's as good as it gets.

"I'm very proud that I've accomplished something no one else has ever done, and I've done it twice. I was the first African-American world champion calf roper, too. I have black people tell me all the time, 'You're the only reason I like rodeo.' That makes me feel good inside, and it brings more people to the sport.

"But overall, from the fans' standpoint, I don't think skin color has anything to do with it."

Whitfield, who set the 84-second NFR calf roping average record in 1997, won his third NFR average championship in 1999.

"Winning the average was the icing on the cake," he said. "I came here with the intentions of winning it, and I got it done.

"Calf roping has taken over the National Finals, and all the guys should be commended for that. Our event has stolen the show the last three years."

That has a lot to do with the roof-raising Whitfield and 1997-98 world champ Cody Ohl.

"Cody's a great athlete. He's a winner, and he always has been. He ropes as good as anybody to ever pick up a rope, in my opinion. But with the lead I had coming in, I didn't have to take a lot of chances and Cody did."

Whitfield, who said the 1999 NFR game plan going in was to "go tie 10 down and see what happened," didn't win a round for the first time in 10 straight NFR appearances. But he didn't outdraw anyone. Nonetheless, he never compromised his composure or let the pressure distract him, and he placed in seven of the 10 NFR rounds at the '99 championship event.

"I've stayed competitive and I've stayed focused. There's a big feeling of relief and I'm glad it's over, it's been a long season. But I'd like to win two more gold buckles next year. I'm not going to go home, turn the horses out and go to sleep. If there are fans out there who didn't get to see me at the National Finals, I'll be there to thrill 'em at their hometown rodeo in 2000," Whitfield said.