Sul Ross legend dies in California

Avalanche reports

Harley May, a 1951 Sul Ross State University graduate and a founder of the National Intercollegiate Rodeo Association (NIRA), died Oct. 28 at his home in Santa Ana, Calif., from amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (Lou Gehrig’s Disease). He was 82.

A private memorial service was planned by his family. A memorial will be held Dec. 10 at the National Finals Rodeo in Las Vegas.

May left a legacy not just at Sul Ross but also at other universities: He was one of the first college-educated rodeo cowboys, using the NIRA as a springboard after winning men’s all-around collegiate titles in 1949 (the association’s first season), 1950 and 1951. He also won titles in bareback riding in 1949, bull riding in 1949-50, and saddle bronc riding in 1950-51.

In 1952 as a rookie in the pro ranks, he won the first of three Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association steer wrestling titles. He would claim the steer wrestling gold buckle again in 1956 and 1965. May competed in professional rodeo until the late 1970s and, at age 50 in 1976, barely missed qualifying for the National Finals.

He was a charter member of the PRCA Hall of Fame, inducted in 1979.

During his professional career, May was the first to place in the top 15 in all seven rodeo events at one time or another.

In all his years of competing, May won 44 saddles and more than 200 buckles, including championships at the Cheyenne (Wyo.) Frontier Days; Madison Square Garden Rodeo (New York); San Antonio Stock Show & Rodeo; and the Calgary (Alberta) Stampede.

He was a recipient of a Distinguished Alumni Award in 1987 and served as Sul Ross rodeo coach from 1995-98. He and his wife, Lynn, also raised paint horses while living in Alpine.

The couple moved to Oakdale, Calif., the self-styled “Cowboy Capital of the World,” from 1956 to the early 1980s. Among friends in Oakdale who expressed sadness at May’s passing was Jim Charles, 72, an eight-time NFR qualifier in bull riding. He said of May: “He was like my father. We traveled together for 20 years. He could bulldog better than anybody.” The Mays moved to Santa Ana in 2007.

“Harley was a man’s man. He had a strong work ethic and believed everyone should pull their own weight,” said Lynn May, his wife of 18 years. “He was a true all-around cowboy. There was nothing he could not do with livestock.”

May was born June 2, 1926, in Deming, N.M., and competed in youth rodeo events starting at age 11. After graduating from Deming High in 1943, he served three years in the Army Air Corps. After his discharge in 1946, May enrolled at New Mexico A&M College (now New Mexico State University), then transferred to Sul Ross in 1949. He graduated with a B.S. degree in range animal husbandry.

In 1959, May helped organize the PRCA’s first National Finals Rodeo. After roughly three years of debate by rodeo organizers and major players, the “World Series of Rodeo” became a reality. But not everyone favored a national finals.

“For two long sessions, we argued long and hard about the concept,” said May, president of the cowboys association at the time. “The older board members were really against having a rodeo where entries were limited. In the end, the vote was five for and five against, and I got to cast my only vote in my four-term reign as president.”

Despite the first-year obstacles, the NFR — sponsored by the city of Dallas and the State Fair of Texas — was a success. May competed in the inaugural rodeo and subsequently held several positions with the association. He was president from 1957-59 and was chairman of the competition committee from 1985-99. May also led the RCA delegation to the White House in 1959 and presented the NFR’s ceremonial first ticket to President Dwight D. Eisenhower.

May is survived by his wife, Lynn; a brother, Ross May of Deming, N.M.; a sister, Norma Gaby of Tucson, Ariz.; a half-sister, Madeleine Hutchins of Aztec, N.M.; his stepmother, Elizabeth May of Aztec, N.M.; and numerous extended family members.

For more information, visit www.caringbridge.org/visit/harleymay.

The Modesto (Calif.) Bee, NIRA and PRCA contributed to this report.

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Avalanche staff

Sul Ross legend dies in California

Avalanche reports