URBAN COWBOY READY FOR RODEO'S HALL OF FAME.

Byline: Debbie Arrington Long Beach Press-Telegram 

Charles Sampson is an unlikely cowboy. Reared in Watts, he saw his first horse on a Cub Scout outing to a pony ride.

But Sampson fell in love at first buck. After that initial pony ride, he became a regular at the stable, getting a job mucking stalls and learning to ride and rope from the real cowboys who worked there, too. These transplanted Texans introduced Sampson to the sport of rodeo. Somewhere around age 11, the little urban cowpoke decided to take his new sport by the horns.

A short city kid, Sampson was nicknamed Peewee. But he grew up to make his name in the toughest part of rodeo: bull riding. Along the way, he became the first African-American world champion bull rider.

Now retired, he's riding into the Hall of Fame. ``I'm still kind of stunned,'' says Sampson.

Sampson learned recently that he's been chosen for the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association Hall of Fame, in Colorado Springs, Colo. Besides his world championship, Sampson earned honors as Coors Cowboy of the Year and Comeback Cowboy of the Year.

But the Cowboy Hall of Fame? ``I never even imagined that,'' he says. ``I've been a world champion and all that. But this right here tops them all.''

Sampson, 38, spent 20 years trying to stay on top of raging bulls for eight seconds at a time. It's not an easy way to make a living.

``I've had my share of bumps and bruises,'' he says. ``I'm the Evel Knievel of bull riding.''

Sampson has been stomped on, hooked and trampled. Bulls broke his legs, ribs and sternum. One nearly tore his ear off.

``His name was Kissme,'' Sampson recalls. ``And I sure took a big smack from that one. He jerked down and my head hit his head. I nearly lost my life.''

Sampson's memorable date with Kissme occurred in a special rodeo exhibition for then-President Reagan in Washington. Says Sampson: ``The rest of the cowboys went to the White House for a barbecue. I went to intensive care.''

These days, he's a goodwill ambassador and public relations man for the Bull Riders Only tour.

Sampson also tries to teach other folks to ride bulls at Lake Elsinore and coaches young riders, such as Lee Akin, who is now a regular on the tour.

``After I became a champion, I got the so-called rights to teach,'' Sampson says. ``But I'm not really a teacher; I'm an informer. I try to inform them about what I went through during my years and the basic moves that helped make me a champion. I tell them to stay focused and apply themselves. And we talk about the fear factor.''

Sampson admits to being afraid sometimes. He's 5-foot-4 and 132 pounds. Rodeo bulls are 6 foot at the shoulder and weigh in at 1,800 pounds. And each bull has two sharp horns. For the cowboy, it's not an even matchup.