Famous Folks from Sebastian County

DENNY FLYNN Submitted by Dusty Helbling Denny Flynn born April 21, 1951 grew up on the family farm at Charleston, Arkansas. Father Waldo Flynn would let his boys Mike and Denny ride calves around the barnyard They learned to hang on really good as the calves would jump over troughs, harrows, farm equipment and sticker bushes. If you fell off chances were good you were going to end up getting hurt on something. Mike and Denny both were Arkansas High School Rodeo Champions. Denny winning the Arkansas High School Rodeo All Around Champion title in 1969 riding Bareback horses and bulls. He decided to polish off his bull riding skills he went to many time's World Champion, Larry Mahan's bull riding school. This seems to have been a wise decision as his career seems to have started to take off. Then in 1973 Denny earned his Pro Rodeo Cowboys Association card and the beginning of a very successful Bull Riding career until retiring in 1985. The worst injury to Denny happened in 1975 at Salt Lake City when he was gored by a bull missing his heart by one half inch and ten inches deep. He rode to the hospital in a truck while holding part of his insides in his hands! He set the record for the highest score in history in 1979 at Palestine, Illinois with a ride on a bull called "Red Lightning" for 98 points out of a possible 100. Denny qualified for the National Final Rodeo, (top 15 riders) ten times, winning this event three times. This requires riders to attempt to ride ten bulls. In 1981 he suffered a concussion on his sixth bull but managed to ride 9 of his l0 bulls to win the NFR Championship. In 1983 he broke his ankle on his ninth bull ride, he needed to ride the tenth bull to win and he did for another NFR Championship. Danny as second and third in the World Championship race many times. The one that won it had to go to 20 or more Rodeos than Denny in a year to be able to win enough money to get the title. I hate to use this phrase as I know Denny must get tired of hearing it, "He was the best bull rider in history never to have won the World Championship". Denny has told me "I just wished I had traveled a little more when I had a chance!" I don't know if this makes up for it but let's take a look at the recognition and honors Denny has received! Denny Flynn was inducted into the Professional Bull Riders: Hero and Legends "Ring of Honor" in 2002. The Pro Rodeo Hall of Fame and The National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum's Rodeo Hall of Fame which I was honored to have made the nomination in 2010. Then inducted into The Bull Riders Hall of Fame in 2017, topped off in 2019 being the first Rodeo Cowboy ever inducted into The Arkansas Sports Hall of Fame. Another of Danny's accomplishments....He was in a movie called "Bittersweet", a western taking place in the 1880's, with Royal Wade Kimes and Denny Flynn, released March of 2019 on DVD and a CD soundtrack. He now lives on his horse ranch west of Charleston, Arkansas about 1/4 of a mile inside the Sebastian County line - just barely made our list! He also serves as Executive Director of the Kay Rogers Park complex at Fort Smith.