02/05/2018
Dick Cosgrave's father, Pat, came to Canada from Dublin, Ireland. He ranched for a short time in the Whitewood District of Saskatchewan, but moved to Alberta in the 1890's where he was in charge of livestock on the Blackfoot Reserve. Dick was born on the reserve on January 24, 1905. He was educated at Gleichen, Cheadle and Calgary.
In 1916 he started farming at Cheadle and Michichi, Alberta. In 1933 he moved to Rosebud and in 1945 he added the old Jack Miller Ranch to his holdings. He spent many years managing the extensive lease near his ranch which belonged to the Calgary Exhibition and Stampede and was responsible for breeding and raising rodeo stock on this lease.
In 1935 Dick married Olive Flett and had a son, Robert (Bobby) Cosgrave, who became a champion chuckwagon driver in his own right.
Dick became friends with Guy Weadick and ran the chutes for Weadick at the 1925 Calgary Stampede, the beginning of a lasting involvement with this world famous rodeo.
He joined the Alberta Rodeo Company in 1927 and made a major contribution to this traveling rodeo troop which covered more than 30,000 miles and staged rodeos in both Canada and the United States.
Dick Cosgrave gained his greatest recognition as a chuckwagon driver. His record shows he was the best on the circuit during his 20 successive years of racing. During these years, which extended from 1926 to 1946, he won the Chuckwagon Championship ten times, a record which remains unbroken.
He was appointed Arena Director of the Calgary Stampede in 1947 and, with great effort and dedication, helped guide it towards its present excellence in the world of rodeo.
In 1969, Dick Cosgrave retired as Arena Director of the Calgary Stampede after having served in that capacity for 22 years. He was named an Honorary Director of the Stampede and continued to actively attend and contribute to Stampede Committee meetings until he passed away at his ranch home at Rosebud, Alberta on the morning of January 18, 1973.
