May 1 (UPI) — Rodeo Hall-of-Famer Roy Cooper, 69, died in his North Texas home that was engulfed in a fire Tuesday evening.
A fire was reported at Cooper’s home near Decatur at 7:08 p.m. CDT on Tuesday, Wise County confirmed on Wednesday.
“Wise County EMS Rescue-1 and Decatur Fire Department arrived on the scene approximately seven minutes [later] and observed a single-family residence heavily involved in fire,” Wise County Fire Marshal Jeff Doughty said Wednesday in a press release.
“They immediately started to extinguish the fire and were notified that a victim may still be inside the residence,” Doughty said.
Cooper’s body was found inside the residence after firefighters extinguished the flames.
The Tarrant County (Texas) Arson Task Force and Texas Rangers are investigating the origin and cause of the fire and Cooper’s death, Doughty said. No one else was injured by the fire.
Super Looper’s career milestones
Cooper was known by rodeo fans as “Super Looper” and won eight world championships during his rodeo career, including the all-around championship in 1983.
His career championships include six for tie-down roping titles and one for steer-roping.
Cooper also won the “triple crown” of professional rodeo in 1983 by winning three gold buckles, making him one of only 10 to win three world titles in the same year.
The Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association named Cooper its Rookie of the Year in 1976.
He was inducted into the inaugural class of the PRORODEO Hall of Fame three years later in 1979.
Among his fans is country music legend George Strait, who lamented Cooper’s death in a social media post made on Wednesday.
“We lost our good friend and my hero Roy Cooper yesterday,” Strait said in a post on X.
“He’s with our Lord And Savior Jesus Christ now,” Strait continued. “God please be with the Cooper family and friends. We’ll miss you amigo. I’ll come find you one day.”
Cooper was among Strait’s many fans and in 2023 told PRORODEO Sports News he never has taken off his gold buckle for winning the all-around title.
He said there is only one way he would remove it.
“I would give it to George Strait if he would wear it,” Cooper said. “I would because he’s one of my very best friends.”
Cooper said he met Strait shortly after winning a rodeo event and before winning the rodeo triple crown in 1983.
Cooper’s life after rodeo
After retiring from rodeo competitions, Cooper hosted a junior world roping championship held every July 4 weekend.
He also attended rodeo competitions in which his sons, Tuf, Clint and Clif, competed.
Tuf is a four-time PRCA World Champion with three titles for tie-down roping and an all-around title in 2017.
“One of my greatest memories is when Tuf, Clint and Clif all qualified for the National Finals Rodeo in the same year,” Cooper said. “That was the triple crown for me.”
Tuf confirmed his father’s death in a social media post on Wednesday.
“It is with great sadness that our family shares the passing of our dad, The Super Looper, Roy Cooper,” Tuf said. “We’re all in shock and at a loss for words from this tragedy at the moment.”
Other rodeo stars are mourning Cooper’s death.
“One of the Mount Rushmore heads of calf roping is gone,” Hall of Fame cowboy Joe Beaver told the PRCA.
“Roy changed the sport of tie-down roping more than anybody,” Beaver said. “He brought the sense of urgency to the tie-down roping world.”
Four-time steer-roping world champion Rocky Patterson said Cooper was highly competitive.
“He was always going to win something,” Patterson told the PRCA. “It didn’t matter what it was. He was going to win.”
He called Cooper a “good-hearted guy” who would talk to him when Patterson was a “nobody” early in his rodeo career.
