Even though the sport of rodeo has been around almost forever, the National Finals Rodeo, or NFR as it is commonly called, has a much more recent history. The first National Finals Rodeo was held at the Dallas State Fair Grounds in 1959, and since then, the NFR has gone through many interesting changes including a name change in 2001 to the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo.

Said to have been the brain-child of South Dakota legend Casey Tibbs, the idea behind the first ever National Finals Rodeo was to bring together the bets rodeo athletes and the toughest livestock in the world. Many now-famous cowboys competed at that first NFR including Tibbs, Jim Shoulders, Jim Bynum, Jack Buschbom and Dean Oliver. No one quite knew what to expect but hoped for the best since this was the first ever world championship of rodeo. The cowboys who entered competed for the first NFR purse of $50,000!

Shoulders, still considered the most successful cowboy ever with 16 world titles, placed in six bull riding rounds in 1959, walking away with the NFR prize money and the world championships. In 1979, Jim Shoulders was honored in the inaugural class of the Pro Rodeo Hall of Fame in Colorado Springs, Colorado. Placing sixth in the rankings, Tibbs rode in his final saddle bronc riding world championship during that 1959 National Finals Rodeo. Today Tibbs is remembered as the first cowboy to capture the hearts and attention of the media. Tibbs was also inducted into the Hall of Fame, with the additional honor of being depicted in the museum's signature statue