WILLCOX Cowboy Hall of Fame inductees
Fred Davis (131)
1951 -
2022 COWBOY HALL OF FAME
Fred Davis was a town kid till he was four years old. He was bornin in 1951 to Houston and Bennie Davis in Douglas Arizona. He and his two sisters moved to the ranch in 1955, when their parents bought the old Clark Ranch near Tombstone. Here they were surrounded by family as his Grandad and his uncle were on nearby ranches.
Fred was raised on the Davis Ranch working cattle with his dad. They raised Hereford cattle. These Herefords were gentle, not wild. When they were working cattle Fred, was always asked to hold the cuts as they were sorted out of the herd. His job was to keep the cuts away from the main herd. Again, these gentle old Hereford cows just stood around doing nothing. Fred said, “It got pretty boring.”
Fred went to Tombstone High School which was 12 miles down the road. He played basketball for a couple of years and football for one year. He also played the saxophone in the band. Fred said, “I didn’t have to study much. I went to class and paid attention and got good grades. But that wasn’t the way it was in college.”
It was during his freshman year of high school when Fred started team roping. His first arena event was the high school rodeo. He roped with Robbie Sproul and they won seventh. In those days you could use two loops at each end and Fred said,” We used all four loops on both steers, but we got two steers down.”
Fred first learned ranch roping from his dad, Houston, who was good roper, but not a rodeo roper. Friends like Robbie Sproul, Bill James and Bob Straub introduced him to the rodeo arena. Bob Straub was a real cowboy that had came to work on the Davis ranch. Bob Straub worked for them for 20 years and was the header for Fred. There is no telling how many steers these two roped together in the practice pen.
Upon graduation from high school Fred went to college in Cal Poly. Fred wanted to be a vet, but flunked his first test and changed his major to Ag business management. He said, “We did rope a lot.” He was around people like Tom Ferguson, John Miller and Reg Camarillo. (All future world champion ropers). From Cal Poly he went to Arizona State University for 2 ½ years and roping was beginning to get more serious. He started in the amateur rodeos and lots and lots of Jackpots around Phoenix. Life was good: roping every day, going down the road, and riding good horses. But Fred’s dad’s health was getting bad. And Fred said, “I came home.”
Fred was now back on the ranch doing more and more to help his dad. But in the middle of all this he had met, Peggy Draper. They were married in 1972 and lived on the Escondido Ranch, where he had his own cow herd. He and Peggy have two children. Marlo and Jared.
In 1977, Fred’s parents moved to town and Fred and Peggy moved from the Escondido Ranch to the Davis Ranch where Fred had grown up. And now Fred was in charge of everything. He was ranching full time, but the rodeo bug still had a strong pull on him.
In 1976, Fred got his Pro Rodeo Permit and filled it quickly. Now a pro rodeo cowboy he entered the Salinas California rodeo. Salinas is one of the most iconic rodeos in the PRCA. Back in the day, at this rodeo, you roped four steers with a score line of 35 feet. You’d better “Cowboy Up” because this rodeo was going to test your horsemanship, your horse’s power and your ability to handle a rope under extreme pressure. Fred won fourth and this win gave him the confidence that he could play with the “Big Boys.”
To go down the road he needed help. Fred’s dad would stay home to check waters and make sure things were not coming apart, so Fred could go to the rodeos. He would come home to check on things and then he’d be back on the road. In 1980, Scott Larimore asked Fred to rope with him at the National Finals rodeo in Oklahoma City. As for his team roping career, his crowning achievement was winning the 25th Anniversary of the Oakdale ten steer. The Oakdale ten steer is one of the biggest team ropings in the world. In 1980, they won $5,300 dollars and Fred said, “I thought there would never be another poor day.”
Back at the ranch Fred was busy making changes and improvements. He introduced Brahma bulls into his Hereford herd and then crossed the F-1 heifers with Beefmaster bulls.
He also put in 17 miles of pipelines, drilled new wells and added solar everywhere. Things were going great until the drought hit and then it was a scramble to survive. But Fred has survived. He said, “This is the greatest lifestyle in the world. There is nothing like riding a good horse on a crisp morning. I like working cattle: sorting and branding. I like raising good horses.”
Fred has served his industry well. He is currently on the board of directors for the Cochise/Graham Cattle Growers and served a term as President. He was also on the Arizona Cattle Growers board for a term. He is currently chairman of the Whitewater Draw Natural Resource Conservation district and served on the Cow Punchers reunion board. Last year he and Peggy were inducted into the Arizona Farm and Ranch Hall of Fame.
Tonight, Fred Houston Davis joins his uncles Ben Snure and Ralph Cowan as well as his cousin Rick Snure as a member of the Willcox Cowboy Hall of Fame.
Please Welcome Fred Houston Davis