.
Freckles was born Warren
Granger Brown in Wheatland, Wyoming
on January 18, 1921, the youngest of 10 brothers and
sisters.
He got the nickname "Freckles" from a
dairyman he went to work for
in Tucson Arizona when he was 14.
Years later someone noted the freckles were all
gone and Freckles replied,
"The bulls knocked them all
off!"
In 1937 Freckles, at the age of 16, entered his
first rodeo in Willcox, Arizona.
His rodeo career would span 37 years,
from age 16 at that first rodeo in 1937,
to age 53 riding in Tulsa at his last
rodeo in 1974.
But it wasn't until 1941, after riding his
horse 50 miles from the ranch
where he worked to the rodeo in Cody, Wyoming,
that he won his first bull riding trophy. After his win,
he rode the horse the 50 miles back home.
Through his rodeo career he competed
in bull riding, saddle bronc riding,
bareback riding, team roping, and bull dogging.
Freckles' wife Edith was by his side through it
all, when he was stationed
at Fort Sill in W.W.II, and when he rode in rodeos in
Europe,
and when he returned to Oklahoma to raise cattle
and hay.
Lane's father, Clyde, traveled to rodeos
with Freckles,
and helped Freckles by pulling his bull rope.
Remember, Lane's father didn't ride bulls, but
competed in both
Bareback Riding and Saddle Riding Events.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Freckles and W.W.II
During W.W.II Freckles was stationed in China
serving with the
"Office of Strategic Services", now known as the
CIA.
He helped hold the "first rodeo ever held
in China" using army mules.
He also took first in saddle mule riding
and bareback mule riding!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Winning the World Championship
In 1962 Freckles won
the title "World Champion Bull Rider"
at the National Finals Rodeo while sitting on
the sidelines.
What?
Yes!
You see, in October of 1962 he was badly injured at
a rodeo in Portland Oregon.
After riding a bull named "Black Smoke" for the 8 seconds, on his dismount
the bull caught Freckles with his head and flipped him,
causing Freckles to land on the back of his head.
He was paralyzed when they got him to the First
Aid room.
A doctor there pulled on his head and feeling
returned to his right side and left foot.
(These were the days before the "Justin
Healers"!)
After an operation in a Portland hospital
he was in traction for 34 days.
It was pure misery for Freckles. After traction it
was a cast from
his waist to the top of his brow for over 2 months.
However, Freckles had won enough money
before his accident to have
his earnings be enough to win the Championship.
His earnings in 1962, to win that championship,
were $18,675.
The next time Freckles rode again was in July
of 1963,
riding one of the two bulls he drew in the rodeo.
He rode his last bull in Tulsa, at the age of 53.
"I quit because I was embarrassing the judges",
Freckles was fond of saying.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Freckles and Tornado
In 1967, at the National Finals in Oklahoma
City,
Freckles wasn't in the running for the Championship,
but perhaps he is remembered better
than the bull rider
that did win the Championship that year,
because that year Freckles rode
the "unridable" bull called Tornado.
Tornado, owned by Jim Shoulders,
was the first bull Freckles drew on the
opening night of the Finals, Dec 1, 1967.
A full house of 9000 spectators
were in the Oklahoma City's
State Fair Arena,
to see the match-up between
47-year-old Freckles and Tornado.
Tornado, in his rodeo career,
had scared his share of bull riders off,
some preferring to turn him out
rather than try to ride him.
Freckles took it as a compliment when Ken Roberts said:
"Tornado's scared a lot of guys off,
but he's going to have to buck Freckles off."
Freckles said,
"Tornado scared a lot of people off
of him.
I was real tickled when I drew him.
I was wantin' him.
I'd watched that bull for years.
Everytime anybody jumped out of there,
any time anybody drew Tornado,
I was up there watching,
looking over the chute.
When a bull bucks that good,
everything has to go right,
you gotta get tapped off right."
Tornado went high and far on his first jump
out,
something he was known to do.
He spun three or four times.
He changed his pattern on Freckles,
jumping straight ahead and then back to the right.
but nothing he did could throw the
determined man.
Freckles never heard the whistle.
The crowd went wild
and the bullfighters moved in,
that's how he knew he had him rode!
Freckles described it as:
"I just felt real good.
I got where I wanted to be,
and that's the first time I got just exactly
where I wanted to be.
Sometimes you don't feel that way.
But sometimes you feel like you can ride them
no matter what they do, but not very often.
It was just before the whistle when
I felt like I had him rode."
The first person to congratulate
Freckles was Jim Shoulders,
the owner of Tornado.
Tornado had gone unridden for 220
professional rides.
He died in 1972 and is buried near the
Cowboy Hall of Fame.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Freckles Toughest Battle
A tribute to Freckles became a tradition
each year at the Finals.
Red Stegal would sing his "Ballad of Freckles Brown"
Clem McSpadden would introduce Freckles
to the crowd, and give a little background
on his memorable ride on Tornado.
(Clem would also later give the eulogy
at both Freckles' and Lane's funerals.)
At the December 1982 Finals however,
Clem announced that Freckles had prostate cancer.
When the cancer was found in November,
Freckles was advised to go to Houston
for 6 weeks of radiation treatment.
However, Freckles wanted to go to
the Finals in December before starting treatments.
Friends threw a fund raiser-dance
at the end of the Finals for Freckles,
to help with medical expenses.
Red Stegal, Reba McIntyre and
Moe Bandy performed.
Freckles optimism shown through.
He stated,
"I don't think it's going to be no
sweat.
It's going to take some time and a lot of money.
But they think they will get it and I do to."
In March 1983 Freckles was back home
and giving interviews.
He said,
"They checked me out three weeks ago
and
said I was normal. They say it could come back
but it looks good right now.
And his positive attitude shown through
again with this quote,
"It is the same way you ride the
bulls.
You just got to believe you are going to win."
But early in 1987, the cancer returned after
Freckles took a fall from his tractor.
He had been in remission for four years.
By March of 1987, Freckles, now age 66,
was back in the hospital in Houston.
Clem McSpadden put together a fund-raiser
auction
to help pay for Freckles' medical expenses.
It was to be held March 22, 1987.
Clem stated,
"I never knew what the term
'beautiful human being' was until I met Freckles.
I have sat around in hotel rooms with Freckles and Edith.
I have stood around in rodeo arenas and marveled
at the courage that made Freckles one of history's
great bull riders.
Mostly, I just marveled at how any person
can be that thorough a gentleman.
Always smiling.
Always speaking in a low, calm voice.
Always wondering what he might do to help someone else.
Always finding time for someone else."
Sadly, Freckles died on Friday, March 20,
1987,
at his ranch in Oklahoma.
The fund raiser still took place that Sunday
at the Holidome in McAlester, Oklahoma.
It raised approximately $41,000.00
to help pay Freckles medical expenses.
It was mentioned time and time again about
Freckles' smiling generosity and
the happiness he gave to others around him.
Freckles' funeral was held Tuesday, March 24,
1987,
at the Agri-Plex Center in Hugo, Oklahoma.
About 1000 people gathered at the memorial service,
among them former bull riding champion and
owner of Tornado Jim Shoulders and
rodeo announcer Clem McSpadden,
and of course the Frost Family.
Clem McSpadden said,
"I met Freckles in 1946 at a rodeo.
We just hit it off and have been friends ever since.
He was popular because he was so nice,
and all he knew was hard work.
He was a people's hero because
he was so genuine."
Lane said,
"One thing about Freckles being
in Heaven,
it won't be so hard
when it's our time to go with
Freckles there to meet us."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Below is the poem called
"Freckles Advice"
which Lane read at Freckles funeral.
Freckles Advice
Though Freckles is an angel now,
he ain't
forgot his friends.
He drops to earth and hangs around behind the buckin' pens.
He pulls a rope or just makes sure a rider gets bucked free.
So I took it as an honor, the day he spoke to me...
"I saw you ride your bull today. You sure did yourself
proud.
You had him by the short hairs, I could feel it in the crowd!"
"I really should be thankful that I even stayed
aboard.
You could'a done it better, Freckles...I'm lucky that I scored!"
"Hey don't be puttin' yourself down! You know you did
okay.
The time will come when you look back and hunger for today
When everything was workin' right and judges liked your style,
Your joints were smooth, your belly flat and girls liked your smile.
"Cause in between the best you rode and the last one
that you'll try
You'll face your own mortality and look it in the eye.
There ain't no shame admittin' you ain't what you used to be,
The shame is blamin' Lady Luck when Father Time's the key!
So if they know you came to ride and always did your best
Then hang your ol' spurs up with pride, 'cause that's the acid test
And, say some gunsel offers you a 'Geritol on Ice,'
Just grin 'im down, 'cause you don't have to ride Tornado twice!"
©Baxter Black
A private burial followed at Mount Olivet Cemetery.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Lane Frost and Freckles
"Freckles was more like a
grandfather to
Lane than anything else",
says Lane's father Clyde.
"We would stay up all night watching films of
Freckles riding bulls.
Lane studied pictures of Freckles
bull riding from about the time
he learned to talk.
Freckles would come to watch Lane
ride at the local arenas, giving him pointers,
and also traveled to see Lane compete in the
High School Finals."
"We would have rather Lane
not chose to ride bulls,"
Lane's Mom adds,
"but since he did we were glad
he chose Freckles as a role model.
Lane admired Freckles from the time
he was little.
And Freckles was probably as close
to our family as anyone."
Before Freckles died on
March
20, 1987,
when he took a turn for the worse in the Houston
hospital,
Lane flew down to Houston from Fort Worth,
and stayed with Freckles overnight.
Lane made Freckles a promise that he would win the
World Championship for him that year.
In Dec. 1987 Lane Frost kept that promise.
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