Tommy Steiner

Stock Contractor • Inducted 1996

A second-generation stock contractor, Tommy Steiner of Austin, Texas, began his rodeo career as a 10-year-old doing rope tricks off the back of a horse he had trained. The Steiner Rodeo Company was on the road by 1945, one of the first PRCA stock contracting companies in central Texas. Steiner rodeos were known for elaborate grand entries, fast colorful productions, beautiful parade horses and the finest equipment and stock. The company formed a partnership with Hollywood cowboy Wild Bill Elliott in the 1950s, allowing Steiner to have contact with much larger rodeos. The Steiner Rodeo Company has long been known for outstanding stock, including Savage 7, the PRCA Bull of the Year in 1981; 11 Red Lightning, the 1978 Bull of the Year; 6 Black 6, the 1975 Bull of the Year; and Stormy Weather, Bareback Horse of the Year in 1975. More than 400 Steiner animals have been selected for the NFR since its inception in 1959. Steiner died Sept. 20, 1999, at the age of 73.

Born: 1926 in Austin, Texas
Died: September 20, 1999 in Austin, Texas