Maurice Champion began his rodeo career in 1939 at the early age of 8. His first competition was at W.N. Kendrick’s arena on Berry Road in Houston, where Maurice was entered in the calf riding and his winnings totaled $2.10. Maurice soon decided he wanted to pursue his rodeo career in other areas, and in 1942, he started roping at home with the neighbors. About this same time, Cypress ISD started having rodeos. Maurice would participate in Cypress on Friday nights and Tomball on Saturday nights. By this time, Maurice was not only roping calves but also added bull riding and bareback riding to his credits.
In the late 1940s, the Houston Youth Rodeos were started, and Maurice began competing in these. In 1949, he was runner-up All Around Cowboy. In 1950, he won the All-Around Cowboy title. In 1951, he joined the RCA (Rodeo Cowboys Association) at a rodeo in Jasper, Texas. After that, he competed in RCA rodeos all over Texas, Louisiana, and Tennessee, including Houston, San Antonio, Fort Worth, San Angelo, Lake Charles, and Memphis, just to name a few.
Along with his career, Maurice had also added steer dogging to his list of events, and in 1955, he was the steer wrestling Champion of the Southwestern Rodeo Association. In January 1956, a tragic pipeline accident broke Maurice’s back, and he was out for the rest of that year. But even an injury as severe as this could not keep Maurice from the sport he loved. When he was able to return to the rodeo circuit again, he stayed in the top ten in the SRA until its final year of existence.
Longing to continue to be associated with the sport of rodeo, Maurice turned his attention to another side of the rodeo profession. He bought rodeo stock and started producing rodeos. He continued with this side of the sport until 1978. In 1991, Maurice received a tremendous honor when he was inducted into the Youth Rodeo Association’s Hall of Fame. He still stays in contact with the rodeo profession through his children and grandchildren, continuing to pass his wisdom and knowledge of the art of rodeo on to future generations of cowboys and cowgirls.
Maurice and his wife, Mary Ann, live on their ranch in Buffalo, Texas. They have three children and eight grandchildren.
