Looking Back at J.B. Mauney’s Legendary Career

By: Darci Miller

PUEBLO, Colo. – On Tuesday evening, two-time World Champion J.B. Mauney announced his retirement from bull riding.

It brings to a close one of the greatest careers in PBR history, the likes of which come around once in a blue moon.

Let’s take a look back at Mauney’s place in the PBR record books as we tip our caps to a true legend.

Most premier series event wins (tied with Justin McBride at 32)

 
Mauney was stuck at 31 event wins for nearly two years after winning event No. 31 in April 2017. But in March of 2019, riding with a broken leg and torn knee ligaments, Mauney went 3-for-3 in Little Rock, Arkansas, to move into a tie with two-time World Champion Justin McBride for the most premier series event wins of all time.

“It is pretty cool to win that many events, but damn, it has took me long enough,” Mauney told PBR.com at the time. “It is pretty cool because Justin held the most event wins. To be able to put your name in the hat with Justin McBride says something.

“That guy there was tough. Real tough. I watched how he went about things. No matter how bad he was hurting, injuries and things like that, he would come back early and he would say, ‘Shut up. I’m not too hurt to ride.’”

Most money earned ($7,419,474.90)

 
Mauney is PBR’s only Seven Million Dollar Man, amassing $7,419,474.90 in his career. He eclipsed the $7 million mark at the 2016 PBR World Finals when he won Round 4 with a 90.25-point ride on Red Dawn and took home $30,000.

“Money doesn’t bother me,” Mauney told PBR.com at the time. “Gold buckles is what I am after.”

At No. 2 on the money-earned list, three-time World Champion Silvano Alves has $6,632,924.

Second-most round wins in a single season (19)

 
Mauney won an astounding 19 rounds during his run to the 2013 PBR World Championship. At the start of the second half of the UTB season, Mauney was 3,056 points behind Alves (in a previous points system). He won five of the last nine events of the season and went a perfect 6-for-6 at the World Finals, winning four rounds in Las Vegas to clinch his first world title.

That record stood for eight years until two-time World Champion Jose Vitor Leme won 21 during what is widely considered the best individual season of all time in 2021.

Second-most consecutive rides (16)

 
In 2014, Mauney rode KISS Destroyer for 85.75 points, giving him what was, at the time, the record for most consecutive rides in PBR history with 16. It broke his tie with Terry Don West at 15 straight rides. The streak extended from the last event of the regular season, where he went 4-for-4. He then went 6-for-6 at the 2013 World Finals and began the 2014 season riding his first five bulls.

“Any time you ride that many bulls in a row, that’s an accomplishment in itself,” Mauney told PBR.com at the time. “You’re getting on the rankest bulls in the world at these deals. It’s not like you’re getting on duck spinners.”

Alves went on to beat Mauney’s streak with 24 consecutive rides.

Second-most career 90-point rides (75)

Mauney notched the final 90-point ride of his PBR career in October of 2020 in Tulsa, Oklahoma, amidst his push to qualify for what would be his last PBR World Finals. His 90.5-point trip on Concealed Carry broke his second-place tie with Justin McBride — fellow two-time World Champion Chris Shivers stands atop the leaderboard with 94 90-point rides.

Perhaps fittingly, Mauney’s ride on Concealed Carry came after he’d injured his groin in his previous attempt.

“You can’t ever set a game plan,” Mauney told CBS Sports Network’s Kate Harrison of his efforts. “I ride them jump for jump. It don’t matter what they run in there. I’m going to ride them jump for jump, and that’s all that matters.”

Second-most consecutive World Finals qualifications (tied with Chris Shivers and Guilherme Marchi at 15)

 
Mauney qualified for his last PBR World Finals in 2020, and it was a close call. After missing most of the season due to a shoulder injury, Mauney came roaring back at the end of the season, winning rounds in four consecutive events to climb from No. 98 to No. 29 and secure his 15th World Finals qualification.

His feat matches that of Shivers and 2008 World Champion Guilherme Marchi. 2004 World Champion Mike Lee holds the record with 16 consecutive World Finals qualifications.

Second-most career qualified rides (538)

 
Only three riders in PBR history have eclipsed the 500-ride mark. 2008 World Champion Guilherme Marchi holds the record with 637, while Mauney has 538 and 2004 World Champion Mike Lee has 525. Three-time World Champion Silvano Alves looks to join that group imminently, as he currently has 495 career rides.

Mauney moved into sole possession of No. 2 all-time in August 2019 when he rode Boogie Bomb for 87.5 points despite a torn rotator cuff.

“That’s what it’s all about,” Mauney told PBR.com at the time. “I put on Twitter the other day, I didn’t get where I’m at playing it smart. If I’d have sat out every time I should’ve sat out, I’d have never been a two-time World Champion. If you’re going to be a bull rider for a living, you’d better be a damn cowboy because you’re going to have to ride beat-up, hurt, when you probably shouldn’t, because these other guys ain’t going to let off the gas pedal.

“And I went and been a cowboy again today.”

Third-most wins in a single season (six)

Mauney won six events en route to his 2013 World Championship, all in the second half of the season, as he mounted what is widely considered the biggest comeback of all time. Of the last nine events of the regular season, he won five: Tulsa and Thackerville, Oklahoma; Grand Rapids, Michigan; Fayetteville, North Carolina; and Hollywood, Florida. He then stormed into the 2013 PBR World Finals and won that, too.

“There’s no better feeling,” Mauney said after winning the world title. “You dream of something all your life, and to eventually get it, oh, I mean, it feels like you’ve done conquered the world.”

Leme and McBride hold the record for most event wins in a single season with eight apiece, in 2021 and 2007, respectively.

Eighth highest-scoring qualified ride (95.25 points)

 
Mauney is known for riding the rankest bulls of all time. During his career, he rode every World Champion Bull from 2007-2018. The highest-scoring ride of his career came on three-time YETI World Champion Bull Bushwacker for 95.25 points. The two had an infamous rivalry and faced off 13 times at all levels of competition, with Mauney only coming out on top the single time. That ride also happened to break Bushwacker’s PBR record of 42 consecutive premier-series buckoffs.

“I was just hanging on,” Mauney admitted at the time.

While 95.25 points has been eclipsed 28 times in PBR history, only seven higher scores have been recorded. Leme is at the top of the leaderboard, with 98.75 points on Woopaa.

Photo courtesy of Andy Watson/Bull Stock Media

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