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This Week in the West

This Week in the West

Written by: The National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum
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Broadcasting from The National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum, This Week in the West brings you the stories of the people and events that shaped the history of the American West.Copyright 2024 All rights reserved. World
Episodes
  • This Week in the West: Was Texas Jack the Original Cowboy Star?

    This Week in the West: Was Texas Jack the Original Cowboy Star?
    Jul 27 2026
    🤠This Week in the West 🎙️Episode 91: Was Texas Jack the Original Cowboy Star? 📢 Episode Summary: Long before Buffalo Bill's Wild West became an international phenomenon, another frontier legend helped define how America imagined the West. This episode explores the life of Texas Jack Omohundro, a cowboy, scout, performer and member of the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum's Hall of Great Western Performers. Born on July 27, 1846, Texas Jack served as a Confederate cavalry scout during the Civil War before heading west to become a cowboy on the cattle trails and eventually one of the frontier's most recognizable personalities. The podcast traces Texas Jack's remarkable rise to fame through his friendship with Buffalo Bill Cody and Wild Bill Hickok. In 1872, he joined Cody and actress Giuseppina Morlacchi in Scouts of the Prairie, a groundbreaking theatrical production that featured real frontier scouts instead of actors. The show captivated audiences, helped lay the foundation for the Wild West entertainment genre and introduced many eastern Americans to their first authentic image of the cowboy. Texas Jack also pioneered rope demonstrations on stage and became one of the nation's first celebrity cowboys. Despite his enormous popularity, Texas Jack's career was cut tragically short when he died of pneumonia in 1880 at just 33 years old. While Buffalo Bill went on to build an entertainment empire, Texas Jack's legacy gradually faded from public memory. Yet his influence on Western culture remains profound, shaping the world's image of the American cowboy and helping establish many of the myths and traditions that continue to define the West today. 🔍 What You’ll Learn: How Texas Jack Omohundro helped create the public image of the American cowboy decades before Western movies and television.Why Scouts of the Prairie became one of the first true Wild West shows, launching frontier heroes from real life onto the American stage.How Texas Jack's friendship with Buffalo Bill and Wild Bill Hickok—and his untimely death—shaped the legacy of Western entertainment and popular culture. 👥 Behind the Scenes Host: Seth Spillman Producer: Chase Spivey Writer: Mike Koehler 🔗 Further research: The Texas Jack Association: https://www.texasjack.org/Tales of the Old West: Texas Jack: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LeWzI6gyUYAVisiting Texas Jack’s grave: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=INwXg-vHu7I 📬 Connect With Us: 🌐 Website: www.thecowboy.org 📖 Read Our Blog: https://nationalcowboymuseum.org/blog/ 📩 Email: podcast@thecowboy.org 📲Facebook:https://www.facebook.com/ncwhm/ 📷Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nationalcowboymuseum ❎X/Twitter: https://x.com/ncwhm 💼LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/national-cowboy-&-western-heritage-museum 🗺️ Visit Us: The National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum, 1700 NE 63rd Street, Oklahoma City, OK, 73111. See us on the map 🎟️: You can now buy tickets to The Cowboy online, go to https://nationalcowboymuseum.org/tickets/ 💡 Support Us:🏅Become A Member of the Museum: https://nationalcowboymuseum.org/support/memberships/ 🛒Shop at Persimmon Hill, our Museum store: https://persimmonhillstore.com/ 🎧 Listen & Subscribe: 🔹 Apple Podcasts:https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/this-week-in-the-west/id1776228708 🔹 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2KYmd2BumVtQVH1ez1Cr2U 🔹YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLFoE2kU21JpX9T6W9NonXuD9UapS1TsmN 🔹Podbean: https://thisweekinthewest.podbean.com/ ⭐ If you enjoyed this episode, don’t forget to rate & review!
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    6 mins
  • This Week in the West: Wild Bill Hickok and the Original Wild West Gunfight

    This Week in the West: Wild Bill Hickok and the Original Wild West Gunfight
    Jul 20 2026
    🤠This Week in the West 🎙️ Episode 90: Wild Bill Hickok and the Original Wild West Shootout 📢 Episode Summary: The classic image of two gunfighters facing each other in the middle of a dusty Western street has become one of the defining symbols of the American West—but it was far less common in real life than Hollywood would have us believe. This episode explores the rare real-life confrontation that inspired generations of Western stories: the Hickok-Tutt shootout of July 21, 1865. The conflict between Wild Bill Hickok and former Confederate soldier Dave Tutt grew from a gambling dispute and a public insult involving Hickok's prized gold pocket watch, setting the stage for one of the most famous gunfights in American history. Listeners will follow the dramatic showdown in Springfield, Missouri, where the two men faced each other across the town square before exchanging shots from an astonishing distance of about 75 yards. The episode examines Hickok's subsequent manslaughter trial, why a jury acquitted him under the frontier's evolving ideas of self-defense and honor, and how the event transformed him from a local gambler into a national celebrity. It also reveals the irony that Hickok's own death eleven years later bore little resemblance to the legendary duel that made him famous, reminding us that the reality of the Old West was often far messier—and far less romantic—than its enduring myths. 🔍 What You’ll Learn: How the Hickok-Tutt shootout became the real-life inspiration for the classic Hollywood Western gunfight.Why a gambling debt and a stolen pocket watch escalated into one of the most famous confrontations in frontier history.How Wild Bill Hickok's legend was shaped by both a sensational magazine article and the enduring myths of the American West. 👥 Behind the Scenes Host: Seth Spillman Producer: Chase Spivey Writer: Mike Koehler 🔗 Further research: Springfield (Mo.) Library’s deeper look at Hickok’s time in the city: https://www.thelibrary.org/post/the-shootout-on-the-squareAn Interview with Hickok expert Jeff Morey: https://www.americanheritage.com/content/wild-bill-hickok-man-myth-interview-jeff-moreyMore about the Shootout: https://missourilife.com/death-in-the-evening/ 📬 Connect With Us: 🌐 Website: www.thecowboy.org 📖 Read Our Blog: https://nationalcowboymuseum.org/blog/ 📩 Email: podcast@thecowboy.org 📲Facebook:https://www.facebook.com/ncwhm/ 📷Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nationalcowboymuseum ❎X/Twitter: https://x.com/ncwhm 💼LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/national-cowboy-&-western-heritage-museum 🗺️ Visit Us: The National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum, 1700 NE 63rd Street, Oklahoma City, OK, 73111. See us on the map 🎟️: You can now buy tickets to The Cowboy online, go to https://nationalcowboymuseum.org/tickets/ 💡 Support Us:🏅Become A Member of the Museum: https://nationalcowboymuseum.org/support/memberships/ 🛒Shop at Persimmon Hill, our Museum store: https://persimmonhillstore.com/ 🎧 Listen & Subscribe: 🔹 Apple Podcasts:https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/this-week-in-the-west/id1776228708 🔹 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2KYmd2BumVtQVH1ez1Cr2U 🔹YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLFoE2kU21JpX9T6W9NonXuD9UapS1TsmN 🔹Podbean: https://thisweekinthewest.podbean.com/ ⭐ If you enjoyed this episode, don’t forget to rate & review!
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    7 mins
  • This Week in the West: Everett Bowman, One of Pro Rodeo's Founding Fathers

    This Week in the West: Everett Bowman, One of Pro Rodeo's Founding Fathers
    Jul 13 2026

    🤠This Week in the West 🎙️ Episode 89: Everett Bowman, One of Pro Rodeo’s Founding Fathers

    📢 Episode Summary: Everett Bowman is remembered as one of the most influential figures in rodeo history, not only for his remarkable success as a competitor but for helping transform rodeo into a professional sport. In 1936, after cowboys went on strike over inconsistent rules, unfair judging and poor treatment of contestants, Bowman became the first president of the newly formed Cowboys' Turtle Association. Under his leadership, the organization established standardized rules, fair judging and higher standards for rodeos, eventually evolving into today's Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association (PRCA).

    Before becoming rodeo's leading organizer, Bowman built an extraordinary competitive career. Raised in New Mexico, Texas and Arizona, he developed his skills as a ranch hand before entering professional rodeo in the 1920s. Over the next two decades, he captured 10 officially recognized world championships, won two rare rodeo Triple Crowns and claimed victories at many of the sport's most prestigious events, including Calgary, Pendleton and Ellensburg. His combination of athletic excellence and determination made him one of the defining cowboys of his era.

    After retiring from competition, Bowman remained deeply involved in Western life as a rancher, law enforcement officer and aviation enthusiast. He continued promoting rodeo until his death in a plane crash in 1971. Today, his legacy lives on through multiple Hall of Fame inductions, including the inaugural class of the National Rodeo Hall of Fame at the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum, where many of his championship trophies and saddles are preserved as reminders of the man who helped shape modern professional rodeo.

    🔍 What You’ll Learn:

    • How the Cowboys' Turtle Association was founded and how Everett Bowman helped transform it into the organization that eventually became today's PRCA.
    • Why Everett Bowman was one of rodeo's greatest champions, winning 10 world championships and twice capturing the sport's rare Triple Crown.
    • How Bowman's influence extended beyond the arena, shaping rodeo through leadership, innovation and a legacy that continues to impact the sport today.

    👥 Behind the Scenes Host: Seth Spillman Producer: Chase Spivey Writer: Mike Koehler

    📬 Connect With Us: 🌐 Website: www.thecowboy.org 📖 Read Our Blog: https://nationalcowboymuseum.org/blog/ 📩 Email: podcast@thecowboy.org 📲Facebook:https://www.facebook.com/ncwhm/ 📷Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nationalcowboymuseum ❎X/Twitter: https://x.com/ncwhm 💼LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/national-cowboy-&-western-heritage-museum

    🗺️ Visit Us: The National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum, 1700 NE 63rd Street, Oklahoma City, OK, 73111. See us on the map

    🎟️: You can now buy tickets to The Cowboy online, go to https://nationalcowboymuseum.org/tickets/ 💡 Support Us:🏅Become A Member of the Museum: https://nationalcowboymuseum.org/support/memberships/

    🛒Shop at Persimmon Hill, our Museum store: https://persimmonhillstore.com/

    🎧 Listen & Subscribe: 🔹 Apple Podcasts:https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/this-week-in-the-west/id1776228708 🔹 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2KYmd2BumVtQVH1ez1Cr2U 🔹YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLFoE2kU21JpX9T6W9NonXuD9UapS1TsmN 🔹Podbean: https://thisweekinthewest.podbean.com/

    ⭐ If you enjoyed this episode, don’t forget to rate & review!
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    8 mins
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