Rodeo Hall of Famer Roy ‘Super Looper' Cooper dies in house fire at 69
DECATUR, Texas (KAMR/KCIT) – Roy 'Super Looper' Cooper, a rodeo legend and a member of the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association Hall of Fame, died Tuesday in a house fire at his home in Decatur, Texas. He was 69.
'The rodeo world has lost a legend,' the PRCA stated in an announcement following Cooper's death.
Cooper was inducted into the ProRodeo Hall of Fame in 1979, only a few years after the Rookie of the Year title in 1976. During his career, he won seven individual event world championships, the PRCA noted. He was also one of only 10 people to win three world titles in one year, winning the tie-down roping, steer roping and All-Around titles in 1983.
His roping skills are also what earned him the nickname 'Super Looper,' his Hall of Fame bio explains.
New Mexico Sports Hall of Fame inducts new members to 2024 Hall of Fame Class
In addition to his honors with the ProRodeo Hall of Fame, Cooper has been honored in the Rodeo Historical Society's Rodeo Hall of Fame, the Oklahoma Sports Hall of Fame, the Texas Rodeo Hall of Fame and the Lea County Sports Hall of Fame. In 2024, when he was inducted into the New Mexico Sports Hall of Fame, the organization called him one of 'the most significant former athletes in the state of New Mexico's History.'
PRCA added that Cooper also went on to host an annual junior world roping championship for over 40 years.
Childress cowboy, 2008 world champion to be inducted into ProRodeo Hall of Fame
Officials in Wise County, Texas, confirmed Cooper's death Wednesday after a fire tore through his Decatur home the night before, the Wise County Messenger reported. The cause of the fire was not immediately disclosed.
His son, Tuf Cooper, also a professional rodeo competitor, shared a statement on Cooper's passing, the Fort Worth Star Telegram reported.
'We're all in shock and at a loss for words from this tragedy at the moment,' Tuf Cooper said.
Country legend George Strait, whom Cooper has called 'one of his very best friends,' said Cooper was one of his heroes in a tribute posted to social media.
'We lost our good friend and my hero Roy Cooper yesterday. He's with our Lord And Savior Jesus Christ now,' Strait wrote. 'God please be with the Cooper family and friends. We'll miss you amigo. I'll come find you one day.'
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Indianapolis Star
an hour ago
- Indianapolis Star
Braylon Mullins helps Indiana All-Stars get best of Kentucky, AAU teammate Malachi Moreno
LEXINGTON, Ky. – It was a struggle. A good play here. A turnover there. It went like for the Indiana All-Stars for most of Friday's game against the Kentucky All-Stars at Lexington Catholic High School. The Kentucky All-Stars led by six points as the clock ticked under eight minutes. Enter Michael Cooper. The Jeffersonville senior guard drilled three consecutive 3-pointers, two on assists from Ben Davis guard Mark Zackery IV and other from Lawrence North's Azavier Robinson, to help the Indiana All-Stars breathe a little easier on their way to a 98-89 victory. 'It's just really being confident in the work I put in to just knock it down,' Cooper said. Indiana All-Stars & softball semistate? 'Just trying to be in both places and give my all' IndyStar Mr. Basketball Braylon Mullins also had a big second half, scoring 13 of his game-high 24 points to lead the Indiana All-Stars its 44th victory in the past 51 games in the series. Indiana leads the all-time series, which dates to 1940, by a count of 106-46. Cooper sparked a much-needed run for Indiana. 'He's won a state championship, so he knows how to win,' Indiana All-Stars coach Marc Urban (Chesterton) said of Cooper. 'I thought we made the extra pass on those shots where he was stepping in and shooting wide-open 3s. And he made big-time plays. That's why he's an Indiana All-Star and why he's going to have a really successful career at Wright State.' Indiana had its hands full with Kentucky's highly touted Malachi Moreno, a 7-1 incoming Kentucky freshman who played AAU basketball with Mullins on Indiana Elite. Moreno, who will not play in the game at Gainbridge Fieldhouse on Saturday, finished with 22 points, 14 rebounds and four blocked shots and played all but 54 seconds. 'I'm usually seeing him in the same uniform as me,' said Mullins, who will leave for UConn on Monday. 'But there's nothing personal. We were going up the court and chatting and laughing like we were doing in AAU. I'm excited to see what he does at Kentucky, but tonight was fun going against him.' Mullins helped spark the second-half run with a transition 3-pointer, though it seemed like every time Indiana would make a move, Kentucky would have a counter. Vince Dawson, a Morehead State recruit who finished with 21 points on 5-for-7 shooting from the 3-point line, drilled a 3 put Kentucky up eight with 11 minutes left. When Jeffersonville's 6-9 Tre Singleton picked up his fourth foul with 10:26 left, it brought back memories of Mr. Basketball Flory Bidunga fouling out on a technical foul in last year's loss at Kentucky. But Indiana got hot at the right time. 'We had a brutal loss on Wednesday night (against the Junior All-Stars),' Mullins said of the 117-114 loss on his home floor at Greenfield-Central. 'But that run we had at the end of the game just sparked the bench, the players and coaches. We needed that. We made that run and we weren't looking back.' Cooper finished with 21 points on 6-for-8 shooting from the 3-point line. Singleton, his teammate on the Jeffersonville Class 4A state champions, went for 14 points and four rebounds, but was limited to 24 minutes because of foul trouble. His bucket with 3 minutes left pushed Indiana's lead to 86-80 and Kentucky never got any closer. Ben Davis' Zackery added 12 points, six assists, five rebounds and five steals. Fishers' Justin Kirby had nine points and four rebounds and the Butler-bound Robinson had eight points, five rebounds and two assists. Mullins finished 10-for-18 from the floor and had six rebounds and two assists. 'He's incredibly talented, as a high IQ and he's a great kid,' Urban said of Mullins. 'It's been fun to get to know him. I know he was frustrated missing those first couple but he just kept sticking with it and that one he hit in transition was big. He made Mr. Basketball plays. He demands so much attention and he opens things up for other people, but he's still able to be efficient.' Indiana played without Cathedral's Brady Koehler. The Notre Dame recruit was on the bench but not in uniform. It was the first win in Kentucky since 2022 for Indiana, which lost 94-90 in Owensboro two years ago and 103-82 in Lexington last year. 'There's nowhere else you'd rather do it than Gainbridge Fieldhouse,' Mullins said. 'They are going to have a little bit different team without Malachi playing but we're not going to take anything for granted. We're going to come out and play like we did tonight and I think we'll be good tomorrow.'
an hour ago
Aces, BetMGM Sportsbook team up: What this means for the WNBA
LAS VEGAS -- The announcement last week was made in true Las Vegas fashion, boldly and loudly in the heart of the Strip. Representatives from the Aces, MGM Resorts and a local charity placed their hands on a big red button that they together pushed down, and the famous Bellagio fountains suddenly roared behind them as water blasted into the sky. They announced a three-year sponsorship between the WNBA team and BetMGM Sportsbook, timed for a news release in which the league reached a similar agreement. This is not the first time the WNBA or one of its clubs have partnered with a sports-betting company. The league also has deals with DraftKings Sportsbook and FanDuel, and Indiana (FanDuel), Phoenix (Bally's Corporation) and Washington (ESPN Bet) have reached similar agreements in recent years. 'I think it's long overdue,' said Hall of Fame broadcaster Debbie Antonelli, who has been on the Fever's announcing team since 2000. 'I think it's a demographic in our base that we have missed. I think that 18- to 36-year-old male that predominately was betting has brought that demographic to our game. I think anything that puts attention on our game in that way is good for our game.' The WNBA is the most visible women's league, but not the only one to do what not long ago was unthinkable and establish a relationship with the sports-betting world. Nearly all leagues avoided such arrangements until the U.S. Supreme Court in 2018 allowed states to legalize sports betting if they preferred. That is changing and changing fast, including in women's sports. Last September, the Washington Spirit of the National Women's Soccer League signed a deal with Fanatics Sportsbook. The 2-year-old Professional Women's Hockey League agreed in December to a deal with FanDuel. 'We're seeing growth across all of women's sports,' said Molly Wurdack-Folt, BetMGM Sportsbook team and league partnerships director. 'We're seeing viewership increase. We're seeing attendance increase. But from a sports-betting perspective, specifically, the WNBA is leading the way. Just last year alone, BetMGM saw a 130% increase on bets placed on the W. They are definitely the trailblazers.' The WNBA already was on an upward trajectory before the Fever's Caitlin Clark took it to another level last season. Antonelli refers to it as "Clarkanomics,' and last season's Rookie of the Year has more than helped the WNBA soar in TV ratings, attendance and, yes, betting. Though sports betting is traditionally a male-dominated activity, women are becoming a larger part of that population. That's at least partially why BetMGM entered into these partnerships and plans to establish an even larger presence in the WNBA. The sportsbook is offering more betting options this season and for the first time is posting futures odds on the Commissioner's Cup. Defending league champion New York is the +130 favorite to win the mid-season tournament. It's not just BetMGM's involvement. According to the WNBA, regular-season betting on league games more than doubled at DraftKings and FanDuel. Hall of Fame player Lisa Leslie signed a promotional agreement with DraftKings, and FanDuel has more than tripled its WNBA betting menu. 'I've said for decades, the product is the narrative,' Antonelli said. 'Our game has always been good. Now more people are paying attention to it, and that's good for everyone. The ultimate disruption was Caitlin in the marketplace. Everyone's getting a piece now, and it's great.' The announcement at the Bellagio represented a full-circle moment for MGM, the Aces and the WNBA. It was MGM Resorts International that purchased the then-San Antonio Stars in October 2017, moved them to Las Vegas and rebranded the organization. MGM maintained ownership until Las Vegas Raiders owner Mark Davis bought the team in January 2021. And now the two are joined together again, and it was little surprise that Las Vegas-based MGM chose the Aces for its first major partnership with a women's professional team. 'It almost gives you a different level of credibility,' Aces President Nikki Fargas said. 'Not that I didn't think we were credible, but it gives you a different level of it. I think it's important for us to be trendsetters. I think it's important for us to really push for this league to be the best it possibly can be because I think we've got the best players in the world playing in this league.'
Yahoo
3 hours ago
- Yahoo
New York Jets Urged to Sign Pro Bowl Receiver
New York Jets Urged to Sign Pro Bowl Receiver originally appeared on Athlon Sports. The New York Jets have one of the brightest young stars in the NFL at wide receiver in Garrett Wilson. Despite being plagued by subpar and inconsistent quarterback play his entire NFL career, Wilson has eclipsed the 1,000-yard mark in each of his three NFL seasons. Advertisement Entering 2025, the Jets, like most of Wilson's career, don't have a clear No. 2 on the roster. New York is hopeful that they have found a solution to their quarterback inconsistencies, signing Wilson's college teammate Justin Fields to a two-year deal. But outside of Wilson, the rest of the receiver depth chart is a mixup of veterans Allen Lazard, Josh Reynolds, and Tyler Johnson, as well as rookie Arian Smith. and second year Malachi Corley Pro Football Sports Network Brandon put together a list of one free agent each NFL team should target, and for the Jets, his pick is former Pro Bowl receiver Amari Cooper. "Amari Cooper is not nearly the player he once was, but he could still be an upgrade for the Jets." Austin noted. "He does turn 31 before the season starts and will need to prove he still has enough left in the tank to have a feature role in an offense. Cooper has had a strong NFL career, recording more than 10,000 receiving yards. He's long been viewed as a reliable go-to option, but things never materialized for him in Buffalo." Advertisement Cooper has made four Pro Bowls in his 10 NFL seasons, most recently in 2023 with the Cleveland Browns, where he turned in a 1,250 yard, five touchdown season. Cooper made Pro Bowls on three of the four NFL teams he's played on, the lone exception being a Jets' AFC East rival in the Buffalo Bills, who Cooper played eight games for lost season. "Cooper's size, experience, and route-running ability should still attract a Jets offense that finished 20th in EPA per dropback and 21st in pass success rate," Austin wrote. "His ceiling isn't what it used to be, but with Wilson leading the pack and a talented backfield that features Breece Hall, New York won't need Cooper to be the top option." Related: Robert Saleh Taking Three Ex-Jets to 49ers Related: Jets Contract Talks With Garrett Wilson Underway Amid Shocking Prediction This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Jun 2, 2025, where it first appeared.
