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| ISBN-13: | 9781623681494 |
|---|---|
| Publisher: | Triumph Books |
| Publication date: | 04/01/2004 |
| Sold by: | Barnes & Noble |
| Format: | eBook |
| Pages: | 256 |
| File size: | 7 MB |
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They Call Me Sid Rock
Rodeo's Extreme Cowboy
By Sid Steiner, James Pomerantz
Triumph Books
Copyright © 2004 Sid Steiner and James PomerantzAll rights reserved.
ISBN: 978-1-62368-149-4
CHAPTER 1
Creating an Image
Let me start by saying that I am a vain person. I mean, I really do care how I look. That's something I don't think most guys would admit, but what the hell, we might as well tell the truth here. I can remember picking my clothes out the night before school in the fifth grade. Shane was the exact opposite. Mom would just throw him whatever she grabbed, and he would wear it — not me though. I had an image to keep. I was also a big fan of the saying: look good, feel good, do good.
When I first started to rodeo, I pretty much played by the rules. By that, I mean looking like a PRCA cowboy was supposed to look. The longer I rodeoed, the more I saw how everyone looked alike. I had always looked up to the Brian Bosworths, the Jim McMahons, and the Dennis Rodmans of the world. After going to rodeos for a while, I began to feel like a sellout. I wasn't being true to myself. I was wearing this stuff because I felt like I had to, not because I wanted to. So, after a while, I decided I was going to be myself at all costs. I knew a lot of people wouldn't like it, and I would be talked about, but hey, any publicity is good publicity, I thought.
Gradually, I started to wear wilder shirts, wild boots, and then wild pants. The wilder my clothes got, the more people started paying attention. I even started to listen to the music I really liked: rock 'n' roll and rap. I remember this new guy had an album out that mixed both kinds of music. Maybe you've heard of him — Kid Rock? I bought his album in Salinas, California, one day and I was sitting around my truck digging my new CD. A bunch of guys came over and couldn't believe what I was listening to. I told them this was Kid Rock. They sat and listened and began to think this was some pretty good stuff. After a few songs I told those guys this Kid Rock is one bad-ass dude. Shit, they ought to call me Sid Rock. Everyone cracked up laughing and went to telling everybody. The nickname was started as a joke, but caught on quickly and stuck. I have to say I always did like that name.
At the Finals in 2000, I fully transformed myself into the role of Sid Rock. Did I mention I always loved to play dress up? It was the perfect opportunity to dress like a rock star and kick some ass at the rodeo. Contrary to what a lot of people thought, though, I would never trade substance for style. What I mean is that I didn't just want to look good, I wanted to do good looking good. The two had to go hand in hand. If I had not done well in the 2000 Finals, I would have been a joke, but I did do well. I placed in seven of ten go-rounds, won the third go-round, and got out of there with $43,000. Not bad for a rock star playing rodeo, huh?
Needless to say, not everyone loved Sid Rock. The PRCA received its share of hate mail on me. People were saying that I was not what rodeo was all about and they should do something about me. Some old cowboys even called some of the judges at the Finals and told them to screw me around. (Like I needed any help from those guys.) I thought it was great though — creating a controversy, that is. I remember telling reporters, when they asked about the commotion, that I'm not for everybody to love, but somebody will love me. The hype got even bigger when I appeared on the cover of the ProRodeo Sports News, the publication of the PRCA, with no shirt and a red fur coat. It sounds like a fashion faux pas, but it really turned out pretty good. I was pictured standing with my dog, Bosworth. The caption read, "Waddup, Dawg?" People were pissed; they threatened to cancel their subscriptions if they ever saw me on that magazine again. I never told Bosworth though; I figured it would hurt his feelings. He has always been so proud of that picture.
I signed on with Wrangler that spring. As far as sponsorships go, Wrangler has been one of the big dogs of rodeo. To be honest though, they were the last deal I wanted to go with. I was the edgy cowboy with the wild clothes. Shit, I was Sid Rock. I always figured they would just tone me down, but in the negotiations, they told me Wrangler wanted to tap into a new generation, a younger generation, generation X. They said they wanted me on board to help style this new line of clothing called 20Xtreme. This would be a takeoff of their 20X line that they had for a while. So let me get this straight: I'm going to have my own line of clothes and some greenbacks to put in my pocket? How much better could this be? I was going to be the cowboy that made Wrangler hip and mainstream. Now let me tell you future athletes out there to always get these things in writing. Every time I made suggestions on wilder, hipper clothes, they were just swept under the rug. The only way I could figure out to look edgy was to wear all black. Now I don't know if you have ever been to Nampa, Idaho, in midsummer, but it's extremely hot, especially if you're wearing black. I fried my ass off that summer trying to look cool. It crossed my mind at one time to just drop the ego and put on the bulldogger plaid shirts. I just chalked those thoughts up to a mild heat stroke and stayed with the black.
We found out Jamie was pregnant that summer and decided to head home until next year. By the time 2002 rolled around, Sid Rock was ready to make a splash again. Fortunately, things went well and I was headed back to the Finals in 2002. I couldn't wait. Sid Rock loves Las Vegas. I was determined not only to look good, but to win a world title. I sent all of my Wranglers to Trish Townsend, my brother's stylist, and told her to make them look wild. I had met one of my favorite actors, Mickey Rourke, in Los Angeles, while getting a tattoo. (That's another long story I won't get into.) He had some jeans on that had been cut up and had some material added on the legs to make bell-bottoms. They looked cool as hell so I told Townsend to do that to mine. My wardrobe turned out great and so did the Finals. I was ecstatic to win that world title for a lot of obvious reasons, but one reason was to let all the critics know that I wasn't all about my look; turns out Sid Rock was a cowboy too.
CHAPTER 2The Family Lineage
Before indoor plumbing, automobiles, airplanes, and Thomas Casper Steiner, Buck was born. Buck Steiner began a three-century life a few miles east of Austin in Cedar Creek, Texas, on December 2, 1899. Buck's reign did not end until May 2001. Buck Steiner was my great-grandfather.
Buck never enjoyed what we consider a formal education. He always told me he had a high-third-grade education. At six years old, he could pick more cotton than any 10-year-old in the county. He learned the cowboy ways at an early age and grew up hard and mean. Drafted into World War I, Buck was denied actual entry to the armed forces because of a severely broken leg from a bull riding accident. Buck survived by breaking horses for 50 cents a day.
Buck had leveraged enough money to start his own construction business in the early twenties. After hard times in Texas claimed the 17 homes under construction that he was overseeing, he turned to the American creed of supply and demand. Bankruptcy in Texas was not an option. When the banks called in their loans, foreclosure and restitution were the only options. Buck, a big man at well over 6' tall and 200 pounds, had lost his first battle. He was broke and owed banks from Austin to Houston. Buck began selling whiskey.
Over the years, Buck developed a lasting friendship with Frank Hammer. Hammer was a Texas Ranger and the one associated with the relentless pursuit and capture of Bonnie and Clyde. Buck's relationship with Hammer opened many doors in the turbulent times of the Texas twenties. Through those open doors, he drove the trucks loaded with illegal liquor. Buck's Austin connections gave him the access to the governor's mansion, and my great-grandfather catered many of the lavish parties. New relationships through those parties bore new business opportunities. Buck amassed four warehouses in Austin over a five-year period during the twenties. The warehouses were used solely for the storage and distribution of illegal beer and spirits. The sheriff's department was paid to keep its distance. Parties at the State Capitol and the surrounding political residences were all catered by Buck Steiner. He partnered with Benny Binion, the hotel and casino founder. During those days in Texas, Binion covered the Fort Worth area and Buck handled the Austin area. They were sales distributors, and their territories were to be respected.
Buck hated the label of bootlegger. Bootlegger was a term derived from the days of smuggling moonshine in the hollow of a man's boot. Buck was a whiskey broker. The underlings that delivered the alcohol were bootleggers. Men learned quickly not to refer to Buck Steiner as a bootlegger. Buck met with the nation's major distributors on a monthly basis in Miami. Also present at these meetings was Al Capone.
Buck always tried to shield the family from his associations. I can recall very little of Buck discussing his days running liquor. The connections could never benefit the members of Buck's family and could only harm them. Buck never spent a day of his life trying to impress anyone.
The whiskey and beer came to Texas on bobtail cattle trucks. The deliveries and transportation of the illegal alcohol were facilitated by the participation of many Texas law enforcement officials. The consumption of alcohol was not considered a felony by most of the adult population. Most Texans consumed alcohol regardless of the law.
Federal attempts to pursue and arrest the bootleggers and brokers proved almost futile. On one occasion, Buck's shipments of whiskey were being tailed through Mississippi by a convoy of federal agents. Rather than risk the potential legal entanglements, Buck and his drivers steered three oversized cattle trucks, loaded with whiskey, into the Mississippi River. The agents stood helpless as the evidence disappeared. The whiskey trade made Buck financially secure.
When the Eighteenth Amendment was repealed in 1933, Buck had eased himself out of the whiskey business and into the land business. He also started a rodeo company named the Steiner Rodeo Company. In the years following prohibition, Buck was most likely the only man to describe Al Capone as a really nice guy and great fun to be with. Buck was never indicted for any crimes.
Buck and Viola Strosser, a beautiful brunette, married in 1920. We always called my great-grandmother "Mamoo." Buck and Mamoo had two children. Myrtle Irene was born in 1921. Thomas Casper Steiner Jr. was born in 1926. My grandfather's initials were T.C., and we called him Teece. Teece entered the air force at age 17 in 1944. Myrtle Irene was killed in an apartment fire in South Carolina. She was 22 at the time of her death and married to a serviceman. Buck never got over Myrtle Irene's death. It just made him harder. Buck and Mamoo separated when Teece was 15 because of Buck's infidelity. They remained separated for more that 40 years without a divorce. Buck always took financial care of Mamoo and had regrets until the day he died about the way he treated her. There were always questions about why the pair never formally divorced. Mamoo could have achieved financial independence in a divorce settlement with Buck. As the years passed, Buck kept Mamoo on an allowance and always made certain her financial needs were met, but he called the shots.
When Teece left for the air force, Mamoo was devastated. Her marriage collapsed, her daughter had died, and her son was leaving for the military, all within two years. She looked at her son just before he left for military service and asked what she should do.
"When I get back from the air force, I want everything to be just the same as I left it," Teece stated.
"You know," Mamoo said years later, "I just never asked again."
Buck ran for Travis County sheriff in Austin during the Depression. Although he garnered little support, Buck was a colorful candidate. Clad with twin .45 caliber, pearl-handled pistols, Buck campaigned, oblivious to the rreservations of the voters. Even in Texas, skepticism followed political candidates packing pistols. At the Nighthawk Restaurant in Austin, Buck was asked to remove the weapons while in the restaurant. He ignored the request of the restaurant owner. Persisting with his sidearms, Buck exclaimed, "Goddamn, boys, have you seen the election returns? A guy with no more friends than I have better carry guns with him!"
In the thirties Buck opened Capital Saddlery. The shop was located in downtown Austin, three blocks from the State Capitol. Capital Saddlery made custom saddles, boots, luggage, and assorted leather goods. The Lavaca Street location was an old firehouse. Renovated over the years, the saddle shop became known for quality products, employing more than 50 boot- and saddle-makers at any given time. Capital Saddlery supplied all the saddles and boots for the Sears and Roebuck catalogs, as well as the Montgomery Ward catalogs. The saddle shop became home for Buck. A recluse, he lived in a single room on the ground floor of the saddle shop for more than 50 years. The room had a single bed, a small refrigerator, and one tiny bathroom. He had amassed a fortune in land and lived like he was broke. Money was never anything to be enjoyed by Buck. Money could be hoarded, but not enjoyed. Buck vowed never to go broke again after the construction debacle.
Land deals grew in size with each year. The early Steiner Ranch emerged below Mansfield Dam on Lake Austin. Sixty-five hundred acres were purchased in Bastrop, Texas, some 30 miles east of Austin. Buck grew wealthier and meaner. He once buried one hundred thousand dollars in cash to avoid detection by the IRS. The money was put in coffee cans and buried on the Bastrop ranch. When the money was retrieved, Buck realized he hadn't taken into consideration the effects of decomposition. The bills had virtually disintegrated over time. My grandfather, Teece, was able to bring the bills to a Treasury Department office for verification and was reimbursed for $85,000. Buck's only comment was that the federal government had screwed him out of fifteen grand.
Buck owned apartment buildings in Austin during the forties. He once tossed a tenant out for filling his apartment with whores. The tenant had not heeded the repeated requests to cease. The man's name was John Overton. Overton and his brothers had formed a little gang. The Overton Gang robbed banks. They vowed to kill Buck. Buck put up a sign in the window of Capital Saddlery inviting the Overtons to stop in for a visit anytime. They never came. Some wondered silently. Some knew. Buck was that mean. Even mean people cringed when the subject turned to my great-grandfather.
The Steiner Rodeo Company was growing as well. Buck started it as a wild west show. Buck, as the front man for the rodeo company, was a nightmare to deal with. Teece was summoned by Buck to take over the business after Teece left the service. Teece wanted to go to college, but Buck insisted that he return to Austin and help with the businesses. Buck told his son that he was dying and did not know how much longer he would live.
Teece was as friendly as his father was mean. Teece was tall, athletic, and handsome. When Teece left the air force, he abandoned his dreams of law school to help Buck in his dying years. Teece didn't know that Buck's dying years would last more than half a century. In fact, Buck outlived Teece. Teece was well-suited to run the rodeo company. The established accounts welcomed his demeanor with open arms after years of dealing with Buck. Teece was an accomplished rodeo contestant. He rode bulls and bareback horses, but cut his competition days short to focus on the rodeo company.
Teece was a man who knew what he wanted, but also knew the right way to get it — unlike his father, who would stop at nothing to get what he wanted. One incident happened in 1958 when the Steiner Rodeo Company was contracted to produce a major rodeo in Cuba. The rodeo took place just weeks before Castro took over the country. The rodeo animals were sent to Havana by ship, and the cowboys and our family flew over. The rodeo spanned more than a month, but with the turmoil in the country, the crowds were not what was expected. After the rodeo, Teece sent his family, the rodeo contestants, and the personnel to the airports for the flight home. He went alone to collect his contracted money, knowing something could go wrong. The government paid Teece $50,000 in cash that was put in a brown paper bag. (Today, that would be like running around a foreign country with half a million dollars in cash.) The Cuban government had a cab waiting to take Teece to the airport. The cab driver drove around in circles for almost an hour. Teece knew something was wrong and reached in his pocket, opened his knife, and put it to the throat of the cab driver. Teece always laughed when he told that story and said it was amazing how fast the driver's sense of direction came back. Sometimes even the kindest people have to do what it takes to get by.
(Continues...)
Excerpted from They Call Me Sid Rock by Sid Steiner, James Pomerantz. Copyright © 2004 Sid Steiner and James Pomerantz. Excerpted by permission of Triumph Books.
All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
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Table of Contents
Contents
Foreword by Jim McMahon,Acknowledgments,
Introduction by James Pomerantz,
1. Creating an Image,
2. The Family Lineage,
3. The NFR, Round One, 2002,
4. Establishing Grit,
5. The NFR, Round Two, 2002,
6. Steiners, Schools, and Sports,
7. The NFR, Round Three, 2002,
8. Rodeo, Bulldogging, and a Commitment,
9. The NFR, Round Four, 2002,
10. Jamie,
11. The NFR, Rounds Five and Six, 2002,
12. Life on the Water,
13. The NFR, Rounds Seven and Eight, 2002,
14. The Rodeo Life,
15. The NFR, Round Nine, 2002,
16. One Brother,
17. The NFR, Round 10, 2002,
Epilogue. One-on-One with Sid,
Appendix. Standings for the 2002 Wrangler National Finals in Steer Wrestling,