Carney, Paul

Paul Carney grew up working with stock and took great pride in breaking horses. His interest in school was mostly confined to sports and he was known to skip school to attend a rodeo or stock show. Every year he attended Cheyenne (Wyo.) Frontier Days, and at age 17 placed second in the bronc riding there. Carney rode everything that bucked — bareback horses, saddle broncs and bulls — and was a winning steer wrestler. In 1936 Carney won the Madison Square Garden bull riding title. The following year he took the Garden’s trophies in bull riding and saddle bronc riding, with second place in bareback riding. That same year he earned his first world bareback riding championship. His world all-around title followed in 1939. Carney, born Sept. 21, 1912, in Galeton, Colo., was a natural leader, popular with his peers and with sponsors. He died June 24, 1950. He was inducted into the ProRodeo Hall of Fame in 2001.