Politician, famed rodeo announcer

Clem McSpadden, 82, who represented Oklahoma in Congress, become one of rodeo’s premier announcers and was a grandnephew of humorist Will Rogers, died July 7 at the M.D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston after fighting cancer, his nephew, Herb McSpadden, said.

From 1973 to 1975, Clem McSpadden served as a Democrat in the U.S. House and founded the Congressional Rural Caucus. He ran for the Democratic nomination for Oklahoma governor in 1974, losing to the general election’s eventual winner, David Boren.

McSpadden also gained fame as the announcer at the National Finals Rodeo, where he helped discover Grammy-winning country star Reba McEntire. As general manager of the rodeo, he hired McEntire, then a little-known country singer, to sing the national anthem at the event.

He served in the Oklahoma Senate from 1955 to 1972, including two terms as its president pro tem, but never again sought political office after his failed run for governor.

McSpadden was born Nov. 9, 1925, in Bushyhead, Okla., and was a lieutenant in the U.S. Navy during World War II.

He earned his bachelor’s degree from Oklahoma State in 1948.

He remained involved in the rodeo during his political career, announcing the National Finals Steer Roping a record 27 times between 1963 and 2000.