Phil Lyne

Phil Lyne (January 18, 1947 – August 14, 2026) was an American professional rodeo cowboy who competed in the Rodeo Cowboys Association (RCA)/Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association (PRCA). He was the RCA Rookie of the Year in 1969. Two seasons later at the National Finals Rodeo (NFR), in 1971, he won the all-around cowboy world championship and the tie-down roping world championship. At the NFR in 1972, he repeated as the all-around world champion cowboy and added a second tie-down roping world championship. Lyne won his first and only steer roping world championship at the National Finals Steer Roping (NFSR) in 1990.

Early life and career Lyne was born in San Antonio, Texas, on January 18, 1947. As a boy on his family's ranch, he practiced rodeo skills: his father taught him roping, while friends taught him bull riding. Lyne entered his first rodeo when he was four years old, and won numerous prizes in youth competitions. In high school, he finished in first place in the 1965 Texas Youth Rodeo Association finals, and was second in the National High School Rodeo all-around standings, winning the national high school title in the tie-down roping event. Lyne attended Southwest Texas Junior College, using scholarships he earned in rodeo events to pay his tuition. At the 1967 National Intercollegiate Rodeo Association's (NIRA) College National Finals Rodeo (CNFR), he finished in second place in the ribbon roping event. The following year, he was named the individual all-around champion and won the national championship in tie-down roping. In 1969, when he was a student at Sam Houston State University, Lyne again won the NIRA all-around and tie-down roping titles. He turned professional before he could earn enough credits to graduate from Sam Houston State. with season earnings of $12,500. In his second season on the RCA, 1970, Lyne ended the year in third place in the all-around cowboy standings. In 1972, Lyne entered 126 rodeos; The New York Times estimated that "he [had] flown commercially almost as much as Henry Kissinger has. By the NFR, Lyne had wrapped up his second consecutive all-around cowboy and tie-down roping world championships. He was the all-around average earnings leader at the NFR, and led in average earnings in tie-down roping and bull riding. As of 2019, he was one of three cowboys (along with Ace Berry and Don McLaughlin) to win multiple event average titles at an NFR. The bull riding average championship at the NFR helped Lyne finish second in season earnings for that event. After Lyne rode nine of his ten bulls in the finals, he won the title of reserve bull riding champion. Lyne was one of only four bull riders to score a qualified ride off the bull.

After the 1972 season, Lyne retired from rodeo competition, The ProRodeo Hall of Fame inducted Lyne in 1979, as part of its inaugural class of honorees. That year, Lyne came out of retirement and competed part-time. He is the first cowboy to finish first in NFR average earnings in three events during his career. Trevor Brazile joined him in 2012. Despite not competing full-time in rodeos, Lyne won the 1990 PRCA steer roping championship. Mahan said of Lyne, "he fools you because, without any showmanship, he just plain gets the job done."

Lyne died on August 14, 2026, in Cotulla, Texas, at the age of 79.

Honors 1970, 1971, 1972, 1976 Linderman Award 1979 ProRodeo Hall of Fame 2004 Texas Rodeo Hall of Fame 2006 Texas Rodeo Cowboy Hall of Fame 2007 Pendleton Round-Up and Happy Canyon Hall of Fame 2007 PBR Ring of Honor 2011 Texas Trail of Fame 2019 PBR Ty Murray Top Hand Award 2021 Bull Riding Hall of Fame