Once an Athlete – Always an athlete

Team roper Allen Bach’s rise to greatness started with basketball 

Before Allen Bach made history in the rodeo arena as one of the best team roping heelers ever, he was running up and down the courts of gyms and hoping for a future as a basketball player. 

Allen spent a lot of his youth near Ellensburg, Washington, in a family that included five boys. His father was a water well driller and his hope for his boys was to join the family business. Allen had other ideas. 

He always loved sports, especially basketball. Good with his hands, quick on his feet and growing taller every year, he had dreams of playing basketball professionally. And, he was riding horses and roping too. 

Growing up with a hard-working father that didn’t tolerate laziness gave Allen a work ethic that went beyond just getting the job done. He wanted to do it better than anyone else, studied how to accomplish his goals and was on a mission to show his dad what he could do. While he was in high school, his basketball coach wouldn’t tolerate his roping. He was heartbroken. Instead of choosing, Bach and a friend of his loaded up and moved to Arizona. 

They got an apartment – Allen was 17. By moving to the Phoenix area he could pursue both of his passions. They roped all the time and he checked himself into Trevor Browne High School where he tried out for the varsity basketball team. He made the team and was one of two white members of the team. 

He quickly learned what discrimination was about and while he didn’t get opportunities to play like he had hoped, the lessons set him up for a future that included his athletic ability and love of basketball. 

Allen is 6”4’ and has always been one of the tallest team ropers. He came by his nickname “Big Al” naturally. After moving to Arizona, he also started going to jackpots and was earning his keep.

“Where I was from in Washington, I don’t know that I’d ever seen a black person before,” he said. “When I got down there, they were totally prejudice against us. They wouldn’t talk to us and they wouldn’t pass the ball. I got a small taste of how black people felt because I was on the other end of it. 

“To this day, I’m not prejudice at all and that may be part of the reason for that,” he added. “But, I was on the team.” 

Allen started playing pickup games in the area and continued to hone his roping. He joined the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association in 1977. The next year he qualified for his first National Finals Rodeo and won the Columbia River Circuit title. Along with roping, he was still playing basketball. 

“I’ve probably played pickup ball in nearly every major city in America,” he said. “I looked for games everywhere I went. I even had a basketball hoop fabricated to put on the back of my horse trailer.

“When I pulled into a rodeo, a bunch of guys would come over and we’d play. Or we might go down to the YMCA and play. When I was in my 20s, my athleticism started to take off. I even did match footraces. I was really fast at that point.”

His dreams of playing in the NBA turned into a reality of hauling horses around the country and roping. But he used the lessons he learned from basketball to help him be successful in the arena. 

“Michael Jordan is the most complete basketball player ever,” Allen said. “He could shoot threes, lay ups, dunk and hit free throws all day long. He can do it all. I took his example and tried to model my mental game after him.” 

Allen used that to size up the competition. He would watch and think if he took an extra swing, it was like letting Michael Jordan drive to the hoop and do a lay up. 

“So, if my header got a really good start and stuck it on the horns, I was going to go ahead and take an extra swing and make sure I catch two feet,” he explained. “Winning is winning and I figured out how to win. When you are roping and making really fast sharp runs, you put pressure on the other competition. 

“In basketball, I would pick out the best guy on the other team. And, then I would not let that guy score. If I stop him and he doesn’t score, that almost guarantees our team a win. Putting pressure on the rest of the field in roping can have the same effect,” he explained. 

Allen’s strategy worked to the tune of 30 Wrangler National Finals Rodeo qualifications and four world titles. His first gold buckle came two years after joining the PRCA in 1979. He won the world championship again in 1990, 1995 and 2006. 

All of that roping through the years came with a bunch of different partners and horses. The things that were consistent were his love of winning, his family and his dedication. He passed that on to a lot of today’s competitors. After winning that first gold buckle, he started hosting roping camps. 

He and his wife, Peggy, got married in 1978. Peggy came from a roping family and not only did she support his endeavors, she also roped. The couple has four children and a host of grandchildren. They have moved back to Arizona where Allen is feeding his competitive spirit on the golf course. 

Clay O’Brien Cooper played golf for much of his rodeo career.  He encouraged Allen to play because of the way Allen analyzed roping. It was similar to how Clay would analyze his golf game. 

“Clay told me I would love golf and he was right,” Allen said. “I love that every shot is different. Sometimes you have to lay up a little bit with the shot and sometimes you need to be aggressive. It is so much like roping. I love the mental part of it and the mental challenge.” 

Allen’s legacy in rodeo will be one that stretches far beyond the arena fences and timed-event box. He is first and foremost a man of faith. After roping, they would have Bible studies. Sharing his faith has been more important than sharing roping skills. And, it is all part of the work he puts in to being better at whatever he is doing. 

“It’s all kind of like roping. You’re never going to conquer it,” he said. “You’re going to fix this and then when it breaks, fix something else. It’s managing the game and the elements of it instead of letting the game manage you.”

Analyzing and managing are just two of the skills that Allen developed that really started with basketball and continue with golf. The intentional work and drive to be the best have seen him pursuing everything he does with passion and dedication. And no matter what, he is covered with God’s grace which encourages him to keep doing more and being better at whatever he is doing.