Ty Murray

Ty Monroe Murray (born October 11, 1969) is a former rodeo cowboy.

Murray was born in Phoenix, Arizona, to Joy and Butch Murray. [imdb name|0615312] He has two sisters, Kim and Kerri. Murray's father, Butch, was a former rodeo hand and his mother, Joy, was a young rider in the National Little Britches Rodeo Association.

Murray decided he wanted to be a rodeo champion at the age of two, and his father taught him the fundamentals on the back of his pet dog. The early training paid off and Murray won his first Buckle at the age of 5. At the age of 9, Murray rode his first bull, winning the competition. A few weeks later he competed and won his first Junior Rodeo Championship with a broken jaw. For nine years in a row, Murray was the Arizona All-Around Junior Rodeo Champion.

Larry Mahan was so impressed with the young rider that he took him on as his protege.

Murray competed in the Arizona National High School Rodeo Association events, winning All-Around title. He went to Odessa College, made the Dean's List, and competed Rodeo for the College. When he turned 18, he joined the PRCA.

Murray became the youngest ever PRCA All-Around Rodeo Cowboy, and is in the "Guinness Book of Records".

Murray won the World All-Around Rodeo Champion title seven times, (1989-1994, 1998) being the top money earner in bareback, saddle bronc and bull riding events for those years. Murray is the only man to have ever attained that many "All-Around Cowboy" titles.

Additionally, Murray won the PRCA World Bull Riding Championship title in 1993 and 1998.

After tearing his PCL in his right knee, and later in his left knee, Murray had both knees reconstructed in 1995. He was out of Rodeo for a year. During that time he bought a 2000 acre (8 km²) ranch in Stephenville, Texas. In 1996, 6 weeks after his return to rodeo, he damaged his shoulder during a bull ride in Del Rio, Texas; he had surgery which laid him off for another year, costing him a major sponsor. His comeback in 1997 was astonishing — then he broke his shoulder at the PBR event in St. Louis, laying him off for another year. After a total of three years off, Murray came back in 1998 to win the PRCA All-Around Championship for the record 7th time, as well as his second PRCA World Champion Bull Rider title. He also qualified for the PBR Finals in 1998, and finished 20th in the PBR world standings overall that year.

In 1999, Murray met singer/songwriter Jewel Kilcher, whose father had been an Alaska All-Around Rodeo Champion, and they became a couple. The two recently married on a beach in the Bahamas. Murray joined the PBR full-time in 1999 (after dividing his time between the PBR and PRCA in the years prior). He and Jewel wrote the hit "Til We Run Out Of Road" about Murray and Cody Lambert, and Jewel also mentioned him, though not by name, in her song "Stephenville, TX." She appears with him in one of the "Man Law" commercials (see below). Murray was the reserve world champion (2nd place) bull rider in the PBR in the years 1999, 2000, and 2001. In 2002, Murray retired from rodeo.

Murray was featured in the Miller Lite "Man Laws" series of commercials, [ [http://www.manlaws.com Miller Lite > Home of the Original Lite Beer ] ] and is a frequent announcer on televised PBR Bull Riding events. He took product endorsement deals to the next level, when he refused to sign for less than his perceived value. Ty's hiring of an agent made it acceptable for his fellow cowboys to hire agents, and paid endorsements have become a lucrative adjunct to a cowboy's yearly earnings.

Murray was a close friend and traveling partner of Lane Frost, and was there when he died in the arena. Murray nearly quit rodeo in his grief, but he pulled himself together and went on to become the "King of the Cowboys."

Currently, he is the president of the PBR. He took over the role of president after former PBR president Tuff Hedeman left in the summer of 2004.

On August 7, 2008 Ty married longtime girlfriend Jewel. The couple share a 2,200-acre central Texas ranch.

Television and film appearances

In 2007, Murray, along with his wife Jewel, appeared in the ABC reality television series , featuring a dozen celebrities in a stock car racing competition. In the first round of competition, Murray matched up against skateboarder Tony Hawk and actress Krista Allen.

In August 2007, he was back on television when CMT created "Ty Murray’s Celebrity Bull Riding Challenge". Murray attempted to teach nine celebrities the art of bull riding. [cite web | url = http://www.registerbee.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=DRB/MGArticle/DRB_BasicArticle&c=MGArticle&cid=1173352327754 | title = Reality TV vet tries his hand at rodeo | author = Susan Elzey | accessmonthday = August 10 | accessyear = 2007 | date = August 10, 2007]

In January 2008, he appeared as himself in an episode of . [cite web |title = "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation" Bull (imdb.com)| url = http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1166835/ | accessmonthday = January 1 | accessyear = 2008]

References