Fort Worth Stock Show & Rodeo
W.R. Watt Jr.
W.R. “Bob” Watt Jr., who for 33 years served as president and general manager of the Fort Worth Stock Show & Rodeo, passed away on Wednesday at his home in Fort Worth, the organization announced.
He was 88 years old.
Watt played a pivotal role in transforming the Will Rogers Memorial Center, ushering in the largest expansion of the complex since its opening in 1936 through public-private projects. New construction during his tenure included the Burnett Building, Richardson-Bass Building, Amon G. Carter Jr. Exhibits Hall, Kit and Charlie Moncrief Building, and the Will Rogers Memorial Center Ticket Office and Visitor Center.
The Stock Show & Rodeo also experienced record growth, expanding from 10 to 23 days and a more than 50% increase in livestock entries.
“Bob leaves a legacy at the Fort Worth Stock Show & Rodeo that will likely be unmatched,” said Stock Show President and General Manager Brad Barnes in a statement. “His modest and humble demeanor obscured the tremendous impact he had on not just the Stock Show but the growth of the Will Roger Memorial Center and the crucial groundwork that brought about Dickies Arena. Fort Worth has lost a great advocate and friend.”
A memorial service honoring his life will be conducted at 11 a.m. Monday at the First United Methodist Church in Fort Worth. A reception in the Amon G. Carter Jr. Exhibits Hall’s Roundup Inn will follow.
Upon his retirement in 2010, crowds of more than one million consistently attended the Stock Show each year, making the show the city’s largest public event. Participation in livestock and horse shows by exhibitors from around the nation grew steadily now topping 30,000 entries annually.
Watt created an International Committee and facility that welcomes guests from approximately 55 nations each year. He also changed the organization’s official name to “Southwestern Exposition and Livestock Show” in 1987 to better reflect the rancher’s and farmer’s important roles in society.
Watt was born in Fort Worth, Texas on March 29, 1934, to Helen Wallace Watt and W.R. Watt Sr. He attended Arlington Heights High School and Hill School in Pottstown, Pennsylvania. Watt received a Bachelor of Science in Animal Husbandry from Oklahoma State University in Stillwater.
Watt followed in the footsteps of his father, who led Stock Show from 1946 until his death in 1977. His appointment came after a meeting with Amon Carter, who didn’t ask but told Watt he would be the Stock Show manager.
Watt Sr. said he didn’t know anything about running a stock show. “I didn’t call you up here to learn what you can and cannot do,” Carter said, as recalled by Watt Sr. “I called you up here to tell you you’re going to run the stock show.” And, so he did, from 1950 until his death in 1977.
It was said of Watt Sr. that because of his efforts the city could boast the largest municipally owned complex in the nation at the time of his death.
In January during the Stock Show, the Watt family received the Bill King Award for Excellence in Agriculture.
Watt worked beside his father many of those years, beginning part time between college semesters in 1955. He was elected to the board of directors in 1958, remaining on the board for 64 years. He served in various Stock Show superintendent roles before being named assistant to the livestock show and horse show managers in 1963. He assumed the roles of board secretary and general manager in 1973. He succeeded his father as president and general manager in 1978.
After his retirement in 2010, Watt was named president emeritus.
Over the course of his life, he served as director and/or president of the following organizations: Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association, American Livestock Show and Rodeo Managers Association, Texas and Southwestern Cattle Raisers Association, Texas Livestock Marketing Association, Texas FFA Foundation, Jane and John Justin Foundation, First Methodist Church of Fort Worth Foundation, and was a board member of Harris Methodist Hospital.
Watt’s civic service also extended to the Citizens Support Group for the Fort Worth Police Mounted Patrol, which supports the unit with horses, equipment, tack and a state-of-the-art equine boarding and training facility constructed in 2015.
According to his obituary, published by the Fort Worth Stock Show & Rodeo, ranching was another vocation.
“From a young age he devoted considerable time on his family’s Watt Ranch in Throckmorton County,” the obituary read. “He oversaw the cowcalf operation for more than 50 years with a strong devotion and passion for stewardship of the land and livestock under his careful watch.”
The family asks that memorials in Watt’s memory be made to: Fort Worth Stock Show & Rodeo Calf Scramble Scholarship Fund, P.O. Box 150, Fort Worth, Texas, 76101-0150; or Make-A-Wish Southwest Region, 4541 Bellaire Dr. South, Suite 102, Fort Worth, Texas, 76109.