Country United States Sex Bull Weight 1,800 lbs | Brand 81 Color black w/ white face Years active 1999-2002 | |
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Dillinger #81 (died 2004) was a two-time Professional Bull Riders (PBR) World Champion bucking bull owned by the Herrington Cattle Company. He won PBR World Champion Bull in 2000 and 2001. He is currently ranked first all-time in the ProBullStats Hall of Fame. He was bestowed the PBR Heroes and Legends Celebration: Brand of Honor in 2012, the second bull to receive the honor after Little Yellow Jacket won the inaugural award in 2011. Today, Dillinger is still ranked first in the ProBullStats historical ranking of bucking bulls in the sport of bull riding.
Contents
Background
Dillinger was a black bull with a white face. Although larger than most elite bulls of his era, he was well known for his speed and agility, bucking over 86% of riders in 51 career outs at all levels.
Robbie Herrington, of Herrington Cattle Company, was the owner of Dillinger. He had made a lot of deals as a stock contractor. However, understandably, Dillinger is the one of the most important deals he made for bovines. There are obvious reasons, like all the honors Dillinger earned. And the fact that Dillinger is still the #1 bull historically according to ProBullStats. However, when Herrington worked out the deal with stock contractor Neal Gay, he believes that was the most honorable business dealing he ever had with a fellow contractor. Neal priced Dillinger fairly. He allowed Herrington and his son, Chad, to pay half up front. And Neal, which is far from usual in this business, gave them a guarantee: "If they weren't happy with him after three events they could return him and get their money back. "'Of course, we knew the day we bought him that wasn't going to happen,' said Herrington, who saw Dillinger for the first time at the 1999 World Finals when he drew Bubba Dunn and Justin McBride." It was impossible for them not to be satisfied with Dillinger. Rather especially since seeing his World Finals performance in 1999.
Dillinger drew Dunn for his first ride. Out of the chute, Dillinger took two long jumps and, according to Herrington, "it looked like he went halfway across the Thomas & Mack Center before he turned back, but it just happened so quick and so strong you're like, I don't know. It was like seeing something you had never seen before. Of course, it proved out over time that it really was something we hadn't seen before."
Why is Dillinger such an amazing bucker? "Basically it's the fact that he's almost 2,000 pounds, but he's just as athletic as the Blueberry Wines and some of the bulls that are about 1,100 pounds, but he's also got the power of a Hollywood," Herrington said. "And like any person going about their work, Dillinger knows when it's time to go to work." Around the ranch in Mont Belvieu, Texas, Herrington said Dillinger is almost like a pet. "But when he gets in the chute... That's the only time you see him get excited," Herrington said. "He gets as pumped up as any athlete. But outside the chute, he's very passive. He's the exception. He's the Tiger Woods of bulls."
Career
His most notable ride came in the 2001 Built Ford Tough Series (BFTS) World Finals, when two-time PBR World Champion Chris Shivers rode him for an all-time World Finals record score of 96.5. This score by Chris Shivers is the highest score in the history of the PBR World Finals. This score is also tied for the highest individual score in the PBR. As of 2016, three men hold the record highest score of 96.5 points with 4 rides. As just discussed, Chris Shivers on Dillinger. Chris also rode Jim Jam in 2000. Bubba Dunn rode Promise Land in 1999. Lastly, Michael Gaffney rode Little Yellow Jacket in 2004.
Some of Dillinger's highest recorded scores place him in part of five of the 50 highest scores in the history of the PBR. These rides include the following: At the 2002 Tuff Hedeman Championship Challenge in Fort Worth, Texas, two-time PRCA World Champion Jim Sharp rode Dillinger for 95.5 points in the Mossy Oak Shootout and won $85,000 for that ride. 2002 PBR World Champion Ednei Caminhas drew Dillinger four times and successfully rode him all four times, with three scores of 94 or better. But the two scores of Caminhas that count for the highest five are these two: 95 points for Ednei Caminhas in 2001 at Columbus, GA. Then, 94.5 points for Caminhas at the World Finals in 2000. And last is when Corey Navarre rode him for 94.5 points at the PBR World Finals in 2001. Dillinger was a part of three of the Top 10 scores in PBR World Finals history.
In all of Dillinger's rides at all levels, he was only marked under 45 points twice. This is compared to 13 scores in which he was marked at 48 points or higher. Of the 7 qualified scores, 4 of those were round wins. Also, there were 28 events he participated in where he was the high-marked bull of the event. And 6 of those 7 qualified rides were scored in between 93.5 points to 96.5 points by judges. Lastly, his lone low score of 88.5 points was impressive when you consider that's when he broke his leg was while being rode for that out. "That's the one thing, when you look back, that takes the wind out of you," said Herrington, recalling the injury that took place in Louisville, Kentucky. He added, "It's not always easy."
At the end of his career, Dillinger had a buckoff rate of 85.11 percent in events. Dillinger went out for a total of 47 BFTS rides. Of those 47 rides, 7 were qualified rides and 4 of those rides were event round wins. He finished up his career with an average bull score of 46.83. He is a member of the ProBullStats Hall of Fame, and ranks first with an average mark of 46.888.
"According to Herrington, when bull-riding enthusiasts - be it contractors, riders and PBR fans alike - see a bull like Dillinger they appreciate it. People gravitate toward greatness. When you talk about great bulls, from Little Yellow Jacket to Bushwacker, each has his own style. Herrington drew a comparison to basketball by noting that not every great NBA player is named [[Michael Jordan]]. The first adjective he used in reference to Dillinger was powerful. Dillinger was also extremely fast - for being a 2,000-pound bull - athletic and, yes, incredibly smart. 'Their whole personality unmasks themselves in front of us as fans and owners,' he said. 'We don't get to pick the stars. They kind of pick us.'"
Career-ending injury and death
Dillinger was forced into retirement after sustaining multiple fractures in his left hock that caused joint dislocation at the 2002 Jack Daniel's Invitational Bud Light Cup in Louisville, Kentucky, which occurred when his left leg was caught in the chute. The injury happened right before Caminhas' fourth career ride on him. He was on track to win his third consecutive World Champion Bull title in 2002 prior to the injury.
"We say we've never had a back-to-back champion, but that is only in the human category," said PBR Founder and Livestock Director Cody Lambert, who was inducted into the Ring of Honor as a member of the inaugural class in 1996. "Dillinger won two years in a row, and he was battling with Little Yellow Jacket, Blueberry Wine, and Mossy Oak Mudslinger when injury took him out of the game. He was a lot bigger than those bulls, weighing about 1,800 pounds in his prime. "He had the same tools that they had with lots of speed and agility with power added in. All great athletes come in different sizes and shapes or even different species, but they all have one thing in common and that's competitive desire. Dillinger brought that on every trip." He died in 2004. It is claimed that PBR great late bull Mick E. Mouse, who finished his short career undefeated, was his grandson. Mick E. Mouse finished with 40 trips at all levels (with 34 trips at the BFTS level) when an illness required euthanasia and cut his top ranked career short. Incidentally, his owner branded him the same number as Dillinger, #81.