Earl Thode was much more than a prominent Casa Grande rancher in the 1930s and ’40s. The quiet, unassuming South Dakota native also was the first World Champion All-Around Cowboy selected by the Rodeo Cowboys of America. Earl Ernest Thode was born Dec. 7, 1900, the fourth son of a western South Dakota rancher near Belvidere, S.D. His father, Hans Thode, was a bronc rider and horse racer and made sure his boys got an early start in ranch life. Earl and his brothers broke horses for cattle work from an early age, according to “Short Stories of the Southwest,” a narrative by Dan Woods, a longtime neighbor of Thode’s in Casa Grande. Thode was breaking broncs before he was in his teens, both for his father and for neighboring ranchers. He entered his first rodeo, along with his brothers, at age 20 and competed at local fairs and other events. He surprised the old-timers that year by winning the prestigious White River Roundup, considered one of the top 10 rodeos in the country at the time, claiming first in saddle bronc riding and roping and being declared all-around cowboy. He won another major rodeo two years later, winning saddle bronc riding and steer wrestling at Belle Fourche, S.D. He continued competing locally on weekends through 1927 before turning pro to take advantage of his obvious talent. He won his first saddle bronc riding title as a pro in 1927 at the Cheyenne (Wyo.) Frontier Days, according to his biography on the World of Rodeo website. He is described there as “admittedly the best of the early-day bronc riders to use the fore-and-aft, full-stroke spurring style now required by saddle bronc riding contest rules ... (Thode) may have been the best ever in the event.” Thode won three more saddle bronc titles at Cheyenne Frontier Days, still a record at the event. He won world saddle bronc riding titles in 1929 and 1931. According to Woods’ account, Thode turned to professional rodeo for his livelihood in the tenuous pre-Depression years because there was more money to be made there than in any other pursuit he could find. “I was just another good bronc rider out of a job,” Thode reportedly told Woods...
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I actually knew Earl Thode when he had his ranch in Vernon, Az. My brothers worked for him and he was a good friend. He made me feel so special because when he would get a new cutting horse he told the men that I got to ride it first. And he made the biggest dagwood sandwiches I'd ever seen. Most of my good, sweet memories of Vernon are of the times I spent with Earl and my brothers on his ranch. It was a really sad night when he passed away.
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