During his college years, Earl and his brother Weldon produced the first rodeos in Columbia, Mississippi in 1935, 1936 and 1937 while working for Sam Hickman's B Bar H Ranch near Arm, Mississippi. This first rodeo in Columbia is known in cowboy history as the first rodeo held outdoors at night under electric lights. In March 2019 as part of the 200th year celebration of Columbia's birth, an official Mississippi State Historical Marker was erected and dedicated, honoring the "Birthplace of Mississippi Rodeo."