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Linder, Herman
Herman Linder, rancher, rodeo competitor, promoter (b at Darlington, Wisconsin 5 Aug 1907; d at Cardston, Alta, 18 Jan 2001). Born the son of a circus performer who emigrated from Switzerland to North America, young Linder rode yearling steers and unbroken range horses for amusement. From their home in Cardston, Alta, Herman and his brother, Warner, took to rodeoing in the 1920s. His first time at the Calgary Stampede, Linder won both the Canadian Bronc and Bareback Bronc Riding championships. From 1929 to 1939 he was known as "King of the Cowboys" at the Stampede, winning the Canadian all-round championship 7 times, and the North American championship 5 times in a row.
In 1936 Linder was one of 61 cowboys who staged the first rodeo cowboy strike at the Boston Gardens; the action precipitated the birth of the Rodeo Cowboys' Association, and later the Canadian Pro Rodeo Association. He later produced rodeo, including one presented at Expo 67 in Montréal. Linder was made a member of the (American) National Cowboy Hall of Fame, and an honorary chief of the Blood Indians.
