The Active Historian

Paul Raymond “Mike” Hastings was born in 1891 in Casper, Wyoming. He was the son of Louise and D.A. Hastings.

Mike Hastings would go on to become known as the ‘Tarzan’ of bulldoggers in the rodeo world, while others referred to him as the ‘king of bull-doggers.’ He realized he had a knack for bulldogging and chose to pursue this event as his main event. He competed for the two decades and often placed near the top at rodeos.

As a young man he worked as a lumberjack and broke wild horses. The physical aspects of the jobs made him strong which translated over to his rodeo career.

In 1910, Mike Hastings went to a rodeo at Laramie, Wyoming. He competed in bronc riding, calf roping, and steer wrestling for the first time. He was working as a factory hand in Split Rock, Wyoming.

In 1914, Mike Hastings married Eloise “Fox” in 1914. They both traveled on the rodeo road for several years, but they eventually filed for divorce in 1929.

In 1916, Mike Hastings set the world record for bulldogging at New York with a 12 second run. This record stood for four years until it was broken by Slim Caskey.

At the 1922 Bozeman Roundup, Mike Hastings competed in the wild cow milking contest and bulldogging. He and Hugh Strickland placed second in the wild cow milking contest. Mike placed fifth in bulldogging behind Buck Lucas, Jack Coates, Frank McCarroll, and Yakima Canutt.

In 1923, several cowboys and cowgirls competed in Tom Burnett’s rodeo at the Triangle Ranch. Hugh Strickland was the arena director. In the bulldogging event, day money was $50, $30, and $20 with 50, 30, and 20 percent of half of the entrance fees. On the first day Mike Hastings placed first, Paddy Ryan took second, and Roy Quick placed third. On the second day, Mike Hastings took first, Rube Roberts took second, and Shorty Kelso placed third. In the Final Round, Mike Hastings took first, Slim Caskey took second, and Rube Roberts placed third.

In 1925, Mike Hastings won the bulldogging event at the Pendleton Roundup.

In 1927, he was named the ‘world’s champion bulldogger’ at the Chicago Rodeo.

When he wasn’t on the road competing, he was on the road working as a stock foreman for Gene Autry and Colonel W.T. Johnson.

In 1940, Mike Hastings decided to retire from rodeo competition. He went on to serve as the Forman of the Cimarron Ranch in Brewster, New York for the next 25 years.

Mike Hastings passed away in 1965 at the age of 74.

In 1974, Mike Hastings was inducted into the National Rodeo Hall of Fame at the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum.

Concluding Thoughts

I hope you enjoyed reading about Mike Hastings and will join me next time as we continue ‘breaking trail.’ Do you have a story you want to know more about? Send me an email on my contact page and I’d love to feature it!

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Sources

Secondary Sources

Books

Richard Rattenbury. “Arena Legacy: The Heritage of American Rodeo.” [Pages: 12-13, 148, 153, 201-202, 251-252]

Websites

“Mike Hastings.” National Rodeo Hall of Fame. National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum.

Primary Sources

“Paul Raymond Hastings.” The National Archives At St. Louis; St. Louis, Missouri; World War Ii Draft Cards (Fourth Registration) For the State of New York; Record Group Title: Records of the Selective Service System; Record Group Number: 147; Box or Roll Number: 259.

Census Records

“Paul Hastings.” 1900 United States Federal Census. 1900; Cheyenne Ward 2, Laramie, Wyoming; Roll: 1827; Page: 4; Enumeration District: 0037.

“Paul R Hastings.” 1910 United States Federal Census. 1910; Split Rock, Natrona, Wyoming; Roll: T624_1747; Page: 1a; Enumeration District: 0101; FHL microfilm: 1375760.

“Paul Hastings.” 1920 United States Federal Census. 1920; Portland, Multnomah, Oregon; Roll: T625_1498; Page: 12B; Enumeration District: 7.

“Michael Hastings.” 1930 United State s Federal Census. 1930; Fort Worth, Tarrant, Texas; Page: 19A; Enumeration District: 0072; FHL microfilm: 2342130.

“Paul Hastings.” 1950 United States Federal Census. National Archives at Washington, DC; Washington, D.C.; Seventeenth Census of the United States, 1950; Year: 1950; Census Place: Brewster, Putnam, New York; Roll: 3519; Page: 87; Enumeration District: 40-20C.

Photographs

Mike Hastings Bulldogging. Early 20th century. Ralph R. Doubleday. Halftone with applied color. Amon Carter Museum of American Art. Fort Worth, Texas. P1976.48.178. (Public Domain)

Newspapers

“The Fourth Day At Lethbridge Fair Was Good.” Calgary Canadian (Calgary, Alberta, Canada), July 29, 1918.

“Champion Bulldoggers Are Entered In Contests.” The Hutchinson News (Hutchinson, Kansas), July 21, 1919.

“World’s Most Famous Riders and Ropers Winter In Fort Worth.” Fort Worth Star-Telegram (Fort Worth, Texas), January 23, 1921.

“Increasing Crowds Are Coming In.” Bozeman Daily Chronicle (Bozeman, Montana), August 4, 1922.

“Thrills and Dangers Aplenty in Riding and Roping World.” The Wichita Eagle (Wichita, Kansas), April 22, 1923.

John W. Naylor. “Fort Worth Rodeo Winners Fail To Capture Prizes In Triangle Ranch Events.” Fort Worth Star Telegram (Fort Worth, Texas), April 29, 1923.

“Feats and Thrills at Rodeo.” Kansas City Journal (Kansas City, Missouri), October 12, 1923.

“Rodeo Cowboy Throws The Marquis’ Steer.” Sunday Mirror (London, London, England), July 6, 1924.

“The Marquis Loses.” Daily Mirror (London, London, England), July 7, 1924.

“The picture above…” The Grand Island Independent (Grand Island, Nebraska), May 22, 1925.

“Hastings One Of Rodeo’s Greatest.” Morning Examiner (Bartlesville, Oklahoma), June 3, 1925.

“The Wichita Frontier Day Celebration and Rodeo.” The Wichita Eagle (Wichita, Kansas), July 12, 1925.

“Oh, See the Pretty Depot.” The Daily Tribune (Wisconsin Rapids, Wisconsin), August 18, 1925.

“Champions Flock In For Roundup.” The McCook Daily Gazette (McCook, Nebraska), September 28, 1925.

“Wrestling Steers Dangerous Sport.” Baraboo News Republic (Baraboo, Wisconsin), June 16, 1926.

“Wellesley Girl’s Feat Ends In Court.” The Republican (Springfield, Massachusetts), November 4, 1927.

“Peppered Bull.” El Paso Herald (El Paso, Texas), November 4, 1927.

“World Famed Bulldoggers Arrive Here.” Norfolk Daily News (Norfolk, Nebraska), August 6, 1929.

*All newspaper clippings in this blog post were pulled from newspapers.com. All digitized primary sources were found on ancestry.com unless stated otherwise. I am not affiliated with either website. I just wanted to let you know where I found my digitized sources.

*Blog Cover Photo: “The Marquis Loses.” Daily Mirror (London, London, England), July 7, 1924.