World champion bull rider Warren "Freckles" Brown was known around the rodeo circuit as "The Unsinkable Mr. Brown." During his long tenure in rodeo, he suffered several broken ribs and legs and broke his collarbone any times. He even broke his neck once, which left him partially paralyzed for a short time.
But, Freckles was sinkable. Brown was in a Houston hospital suffering from prostate cancer when his protégé, a young cowboy named Lane Frost made Freckles a promise.
"Freckles was doing real bad. Lane flew down from the rodeo in Fort Worth and stayed with Freckles in the hospital overnight. He told Freckles that he was going to win the world championship for him," said Lane's father, Clyde Frost.
Freckles Brown died on March 10, 1987, and Frost kept his promise by winning the 1987 bull riding world championship
"From the time Lane could talk, he was going to be a world champion bull rider," Clyde Frost said. "It wasn't if he was going to be champion. It was when he would become a champion."
The frost family moved from Utah to Lane, Okla., near Brown's hometown of Hugo, in 1977. This made it easier for a young cowboy to be schooled by his idol.
"Freckles was more like a grandfather to Lane than anything else. We stated up all night watching films of Freckles riding bulls,"Frost said. "Lane studies pictures of Freckles' bull riding from about the time he could talk."
Brown watched Lane ride bulls at a local arena in Soper, Okla.,later gave him pointers, and traveled to see Lane compete in the high school rodeo finals. Brown's star pupil climbed the ladder of rodeo success very fast. In 1983 Brown was there when Lane became runner-up for the Rookie of the Year title in the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association.
The two men had a lot in common, They were friendly, charming, and well-liked among peers. Each had a positive attitude ans was willing to help anybody.
Both also rode legendary bulls of their time. Brown challenged the toughest bull of his time, Tornado, while Frost's adversary was a famous bull named Red Rock.
Freckles had many years of experience before riding Tornado. He started riding bulls at the age of 16 in 1936 and won his on world bull riding title in 1946. But he didn't receive his real claim to fame until he became the first cowboy to ride the bull Tornado in 1967.
The ride was considered one of the greatest performances in rodeo history; Tornado was undefeated until then, having bucked off 220 cowboys. Brown was 46 years old, a month shy of 47, and the oldest active cowboy in the rodeo when he rode Tornado.
In 1987 a bull named Red Rock was due to retire. After the National Finals Rodeo, frost got a shot at the big bull. Frost had been slung off Red Rock's hide twice; the bull owned a perfect record of 309 wins. But Frost had Red Rock's number on his third and final ride. He stayed on the bull a full 8 seconds in June of 1988. It was the only time Red Rock was ridden in a PRCA event. Lane had accomplished a feat much like his mentor had, but Frost's Career would not last as long as Brown's.
Oh the last day of the Frontier Days Rodeo in Cheyenne, Wyo., in 1989, Frost completed a ride on a bull named K. Walsh. Lane dismounted, landing on his hands and knees. As the bull turned to leave the arena, he gored Frost in the back. The injury broke two ribs ans punctured a major artery, killing the young hero.
According to Clyde Frost, Lane had told his brother Cody that he would like to be buried next to his idol, Freckles Brown. So two bull riding world champions are buried next to each other in the Mount Olivet Cemetery in Hugo, Oklahoma.
Lane's monument is in the shape of a giant championship buckle and reads, "A Champion In The Arena, A Champion In Life," Just behind Frost's stone rises a marble monument to Freckles Brown. Freckles' likeness graces the front of the stone which includes a carving of his championship belt buckle ans the simple words below, "He Was A Legend In His Own Time."
Two striking monuments mirror two cowboys' outside careers. Visitors are always welcome at the cemetery to pay tribute to rodeo's finest. Some say if you stand there long enough, you just might be able to hear the wind carry Brown's voice, "Never a bronc who couldn't be rode; never a cowboy who couldn't be throwed."
