Return to the Home Page James Cathey, Rodeo Photographer, Publisher, and Journalist, was posthumously inducted into the Rodeo Hall of Fame on November 10, 2018! Craig Cathey, one of James Cathey's four sons, accepting the honor of the induction into the Rodeo Hall of Fame. James Cathey was born February 16, 1917, in Childress County, Texas. His rodeo career began in 1947 after his return from WWII service as a highly decorated airman in a B-17 "Flying Fortress." He quickly rose to the top of his profession and became the undisputed premier rodeo photojournalist of the "Golden Age" of rodeo. Cathey was directly involved in the organization, promotion and growth of several levels of American rodeo. He worked with top RCA rodeos and was a tireless supporter of the new National Intercollegiate Rodeo Association. He was director of publicity for both the Girls Rodeo Association and the National High School Rodeo Association, helping to launch both from regional to now international scope. A prolific rodeo journalist, Cathey published Powder Puff & Spurs, the monthly magazine of the GRA, and he was the associate editor for rodeo for Back In The Saddle magazine and a regular contributor of rodeo stories and news for Western Horseman, Hoofs & Horns, and the American Quarter Horse Journal. In 1951, a Cathey rodeo photo was selected to hang as one of the "100 Greatest News Photos of All Time" in the Museum of Modern Art in New York. Even today, Cathey's work is still telling the story of rodeo's "Golden Age" in displays in every major rodeo hall of fame and museum. His entire body of work was recently professionally appraised and pronounced "A National Treasure," which it truly is. Cathey died June 2, 1978, at age 61, and he would have been 101 years old had he lived to see this great honor bestowed upon him and his life's work by the Rodeo Historical Society. This is an honor that Cathey surely earned and that his memory still deserves. The induction ceremony was held at the National Cowboy & Western Heritge Museum in Oklahoma City on Saturday, November 10, 2018. We were very happy and grateful to see so many Cathey supporters there to share the joy of this great honor with us. Return to the Home Page James Cathey (1917 - 1978) More about the collection   The entire James Cathey photo collection's copyrights are owned by James Cathey Heritage Collection, LLC, a Texas company which is operated by Cathey's sons, Gordon, Craig, and Tommy Cathey. Plans for commercial development of and public access to the collection are under consideration. Portfolios of prints of select images and the publishing of books are in the plans. Public exhibits, especially those targeted to specific topics, such as GRA "All Girl" rodeos or early quarter horse champions, will be developed. The photographic negatives that were recently moved to the Dickinson Reasearch Center of the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum are currently being given proper archival protection and cataloging by the center's professional archivists. As this work progresses, many of the images will be made available to the public for personal, non-commercial use by their being scanned and published on the research center's website. As this process develops and images are published for public access, notice will be given on this web page. To receive your own personal updates of upcoming developments and events, please send an email request to either of the addresses below. James Cathey Heritage Collection, LLC For information, please contact Gordon Cathey, 214-695-5178 g.cathey@jamescatheyheritage.com Craig W. Cathey, 214-930-2237 c.cathey@jamescatheyheritage.com