Grand Champion Steer silver tray

Oliver Grote was 12 years old when his Hereford steer, Real Prince, won the Grand Champion prize at the Southwestern Exposition & Fat Stock Show in Fort Worth in 1939. The 11-month-old, 850-pound steer sold for over $3,000.

Oliver Grote (1926–2011) from Mason, Texas, was following family tradition when he began competing in livestock shows in 1938. Between 1938 and 1942, he won multiple awards. At the Fort Worth stock show he won Grand Champion Car Lot of Fat Steers in 1939, 1940, 1941, and 1942. He won Grand Champion Steer at Fort Worth in 1939, San Angelo in 1939, and Mason in 1940. Grand Champion is the most coveted honor of the show as it is the only competition where the champions of each breed come together for grand championship honors.

Oliver also won Reserve Champion at Mason in 1939, Fort Worth in 1940, and San Antonio in 1941. In his six years of showing animals he was awarded $2,419.79 in prize money, earning $17,787.17 with cattle sales. He took home 33 first place ribbons, 16 second place ribbons, and two silver trays.

After graduating from Mason High School in 1943, Oliver enrolled in Texas A&M College where he was on the Livestock Judging team. When he graduated in 1948, he returned to Mason to found the first Angus herd in the area.