Professional Cowgirl Lucyle Richards Archive of Photographs and Related Artifacts 

35 items acquired from the personal archive of Lucyle Richards.

Born in Pushmataha Co., OK ca 1909, Richards began performing at local rodeos at the age of 13. By the 1930s, Richards was considered one of the most beautiful of all of the professional cowgirls. She became a rodeo star in 1929 in Col. W.T. Johnson's Dallas Rodeo in trick & bronc riding and won the World Champion Saddle Bronc riding competition in Chicago. She went on to compete in many other rodeos in the U.S. and abroad, including Tex Austin's London Rodeo and the Wild Australian Stampede in Melbourne. Richards also became an accomplished aviatrix during the 1930s, obtaining a pilot's license and serving as a ferry pilot for the U.S. World War II effort.

Richards was married several times throughout her life, and in 1941, she was arrested and charged with the murder of her intended fourth husband, Frank Y. Dew. After testifying that she shot him in self-defense, the charges were dropped. Despite this controversy, Richards continued to compete in saddle bronc riding during the 1940s-1950s, and she won her last championship at age 42, the Girls Rodeo Association saddle bronc title of 1951. After retiring in 1960, Richards became a policewoman in Yoakum, TX, and in 1987, she was inducted into the National Cowgirl Hall of Fame.

This archive includes 25 photos ranging in size from 2 x 3 in. to 11.5 x 19.5 in., with many shots of Richards posed with or riding horses, plus several images of her with colleagues and friends at rodeos, including a portrait of the World Series Rodeo Contestants at Madison Square Garden, 1933, and a group shot of participants at a rodeo in London, 1934. A shot of Richards in an aviator hat & goggles is included, along with signed photos from rodeo stars, including Harry Knight, Alice Greenough Orr, and former husband T.J. Richards, who was killed in a 1940 plane crash. The lot also features: Richards' 1935 rodeo contract for a show in Texas; id pass; membership card; silk scarf featuring cowboy at center; 2 rodeo ribbons; Richards' police badge and name tag; and 3 newspaper articles.

Some of the photos were once mounted in album because remnants of original mounts still attached to versos.