Rodeo HOFer ‘The Super Looper' Roy Cooper dies after Wise County home catches fire

Rodeo legend and ProRodeo Hall of Famer Roy Cooper died Tuesday after his home caught on fire in Wise County.

In a statement on , "It is with great sadness that our family shares the passing of our Dad, The Super Looper, Roy Cooper. We’re all in shock and at a loss for words from this tragedy at the moment."

It is with great sadness that our family shares the passing of our Dad, The Super Looper, Roy Cooper. We’re all in shock and at a loss for words from this tragedy at the moment.

Tuf Cooper, Roy's son

"The Rodeo world has lost a legend," said the on their website about Cooper.

According to the Wise County Fire Marshal's Office, around 7 p.m. on Tuesday, Wise County Emergency Communications Center received a 911 call of a structure fire in the 600 block of County Road 3051, southwest of Decatur.

First responders arrived about 7 minutes after the call and found the single-family home engulfed in flames, according to a news release from the fire marshal's office.

We lost our good friend and my hero Roy Cooper yesterday. He’s with our Lord And Savior Jesus Christ now. God please be with the Cooper family and friends. We’ll miss you amigo. I’ll come find you one day.

George Strait

"They immediately started to extinguish the fire and were notified that a victim may still be inside the residence. The body of a male victim identified as Roy Dale Cooper was located inside the residence at approximately 7:30 p.m.," said the Wise County Fire Marshal's Office in a statement.

The cause of the fire remains under investigation. Cooper's cause of death has not yet been determined.

The county said the Wise County Fire Marshal’s Office, Tarrant County Fire and Arson Investigators Taskforce, Wise County Sheriff’s Office, and Texas Rangers are investigating. No one else was inside the home, Wise County Fire Marshal Jeff Doughty told 온라인카지노사이트 5.

Investigators are expected to return to the scene on Thursday.

Roy Cooper -- the Michael Jordan of tie-down roping

Remembered as the greatest of all time, no one is said to have changed calf-roping more than Roy Cooper.

“When those hands flew up you knew that flag was dropping and the time that you saw on the clock was going to be very impressive,” said Matt Brockman, communications director of the Fort Worth Stock Show and Rodeo. "He was the Michael Jordan of tie-down roping. He transformed it and me and all of my buddies wanted to be Roy Cooper."

Nicknamed “The Super Looper" for his calf-roping skills, Cooper won his first world Championship in 1976.

He often competed in the Fort Worth Stock Show and Rodeo.

“I was a 15-year-old boy roping myself some and Roy Cooper walked on water,” recalled Brockman.

Cooper became an eight-time world champion, a member of the National Rodeo Hall of Fame, and the father of three sons who also roped.

“It’s going to take a few days to process it,” said Brockman.

Since the news, Brockman said decades of memories have come flooding back about Cooper, who is widely believed to be the greatest roper ever to grace an arena.

“The Super Looper was the GOAT,” he said.

Pat Fitzgerald, president and CEO of National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum, issued a statement:

"The Cowboy is saddened to hear the news of the death of Roy Cooper, an all-time rodeo great. Known to the world as the Super Looper, Cooper died yesterday at his home in Texas. Cooper was a true game-changer in tie-down roping, from his rookie year in 1976, when he won his first world title, to becoming the first cowboy to earn $2 million in ProRodeo history. He won eight world championships and was inducted into the National Rodeo Hall of Fame in 1983 here at The National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum in Oklahoma City. He passed on the love for the sport to his sons — Clint, Clif and Tuf — all of whom made their own names in the arena. Cooper’s dad Tuffy and cousin Jimmie are also in the Hall. Cooper will be honored with the Ty Murray Top Hand Award at this year’s PBR Heroes & Legends event to be held at the museum on July 10. Our thoughts are with the Cooper family and the entire rodeo community.”