08/16/2026
He was paid $100 for his very first announcing gig. He went on to announce more than 23,000 rodeo performances across five countries. And they call him simply — the Voice of Professional Rodeo.
Born October 25 1947 in Orovada Nevada — a fifth generation beef rancher from the Willow Creek cattle country near Winnemucca — Bob Tallman grew up with cattle and wide open Nevada sky before he understood what either of them would eventually give him. He competed in calf roping in 4-H high school and college. He tried his hand as a professional rodeo competitor. Then he discovered something that changed everything. The microphone felt more natural in his hand than a rope.
He joined the PRCA in 1967 and worked as a truck driver while announcing part-time at small California rodeos — getting paid whatever the committee could scrape together. His first gig paid him $100. He said it was already more financially stable than competing. He kept going. Then rodeo producer Bob Cook promoted him from truck driver to part-time announcer and the Voice of Professional Rodeo was on his way.
He became a full time announcer in the early 1980s and never once slowed down. Seventeen National Finals Rodeos announced — more than any person in history. Over forty years at the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo — where his signature Hello Houston became one of the most recognizable phrases in American sports entertainment. Fifty years at the Fort Worth Stock Show and Rodeo — ending that run at the final night of the 2026 Finals in a tribute that left the arena in tears.
Twelve PRCA Announcer of the Year awards — a record that nobody has come close to matching. Eleven separate Halls of Fame including the ProRodeo Hall of Fame in 2004, the National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum, the Texas Cowboy Hall of Fame and the Reno Rodeo Hall of Fame. The Legend of ProRodeo Award in 2020. One of three people inducted into the inaugural RodeoHouston Hall of Fame class.
He announced in the United States Canada Mexico Australia and New Zealand. He hosted The Great American Cowboy radio program heard worldwide. He served as National Chairman for the American Heart Association's ProRodeo America's Sport with Heart campaign. He ran 3T Ranch in Poolville Texas alongside his wife Kristin for over thirty years — an Angus beef operation that reminded him every morning of the Nevada cattle country where everything began.
He referred to his voice as his priceless gift from God and said he tried to use it to touch people's lives. He painted pictures with words in a way that rodeo had never quite heard before — pairing play-by-play precision with Western storytelling that drew audiences in and made every eight second ride feel like the most important eight seconds in the world.
Larry Mahan — six time All-Around World Champion — said it best when asked about Bob Tallman — "He was Elvis before Elvis knew who he was. People moved to him like a magnet."
Twenty three thousand performances. Five countries. Twelve Announcer of the Year awards. Seventeen National Finals Rodeos. One Nevada ranch kid with a priceless gift from God.
That is Bob Tallman. 🤠🎙️🏆
