ProRodeo Hall of Fame announcer Clem McSpadden (Chelsea, Okla.) was one of 15 Oklahomans selected to ride on one of the two Oklahoma centennial floats in the Rose Bowl Parade on Jan. 1 in Pasadena, Calif.
McSpadden, who has announced the National Finals Steer Roping a record 27 times, was inducted into the ProRodeo Hall of Fame in 1990 and also is a member of the National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum Hall of Fame in Oklahoma City.
McSpadden was the first person in history to be elected President Pro Tempore of the Oklahoma State Senate in successive leadership terms and the first American announcer to be chosen to call the action at both the Calgary Stampede and Canadian Finals Rodeo. He also is the former president of the RCA, the precursor of today's PRCA, and a board member who also served as general manager of the National Finals Rodeo for 18 years.
After serving in the U.S. Navy during World War II from 1944-46, he was elected to the Oklahoma State Senate in 1954. He was re-elected several times and eventually was chosen to lead that body for two sessions as President Pro Tempore. He was later elected to the 93rd Congress in Nov. 1972 and served one term.