The Story of Panther City
Panther City Pride: Ariat Texas Rattlers to Honor Fort Worth History During 2024 Rattler Days Kickoff
Professional Bull Riding is coming back to Cowtown next week. Starting on Thursday, September 26th, Fort Worth’s very own PBR team, the Ariat Texas Rattlers, will be hosting their homestand event of the 2024 Camping World Teams Series: Rattler Days. The first night of competition will kick off on Thursday evening in the historic Cowtown Coliseum, followed by two more days of action-packed excitement in Dickies Arena on Friday and Saturday.
On Thursday night, the Rattlers will be suiting up for their match in Cowtown donning newly designed ‘City Jerseys’ that pay homage to Fort Worth’s other nickname: Panther City. Fort Worth is full of Panther iconography, from police badges to town statues, but many remain unfamiliar with the story of this symbol. Read on to get to know the origin of Panther City, and its lasting significance to the story of Fort Worth.
The Story of Panther City
Like so many other legends marking the history of the Lone Star State, the story of Panther City dates back centuries to the days of the Wild West. After the Civil War ended in 1865, the United States entered a period of social and political reform known as the ‘Reconstruction Era’. Government attention throughout this period was focused primarily on reintegrating the southern states following the war and soothing the tensions between the North and South that continued to run high even after the war ended. Westward expansion was a top priority, aided by crucial developments like railroad lines that brought exports, ideas, and individuals from the Northern states to the South and West.
In the early 1870s, a financial crisis swept the United States, yielding a nationwide depression that put a damper on many crucial aspects of Westward Expansion and the Second Industrial Revolution – including the installment of railroads. The Texas & Pacific Railway made it all the way to Dallas before disaster struck. As the nationwide economic depression now referred to as the ‘Panic of 1873’ ravaged the nation, Wall Street collapsed, and the funding that had been backing the T&P railroad failed. After the investors filed for bankruptcy, the railroad was declared dead. The town of Fort Worth threatened to die with it — the economy stalled, the population dwindled, and the streets grew quiet. In a little under a year, the population of Fort Worth plummeted from roughly 3,000 to just around 600.
One notable member of this mass exodus was a man by the name of Robert E. Cowart. Legend says that Cowart had lived in Fort Worth briefly prior to the Panic and moved to Dallas to study law sometime in the early 1870s. In an 1873 letter to the editor of the Dallas Herald, Mr. Cowart claimed to have been to a meeting in Fort Worth days before, where “things were so quiet [he] saw a panther asleep on Main Street, undisturbed by the rush of men or the hum of trade.” Cowart’s intended insult was turned almost immediately on its head by B.B. Paddock, a prominent Fort Worth local and editor of the Fort Worth Democrat. He embraced the Dallasite’s original dig, dubbing the city ‘Pantherville’ and requesting a new masthead be created for Fort Worth, featuring a panther and the motto “Where the Panther Laid Down.” His example of turning a problem into a source of pride would be the first example of many for Fort Worth in the years to come.
The residents who stayed still felt the railroad to be pivotal to the survival of Fort Worth, so in 1875 a state land grant was obtained and a contract settled upon by some pioneering community members to organize the “Tarrant County Construction Company” – a labor force made up of Fort Worth citizens who would continue to lay the railroad tracks themselves. The only stipulation was that construction must be completed before the legislature adjourned the following year. It was a tight race, but thanks to the tenacity and grit of the locals, the tracks were laid and construction on the railroad ended just days before the legislature’s final session. The first train rolled into town on July 19, 1876, and Texans from miles around (many of whom had never seen a train before) were said to have come to Fort Worth by way of wagon and horseback to see the spectacle. In the decades that followed, railroads would come to transform Texas into a hub of cattle production, boosting the state’s economy and securing a rich and storied history of cowboys, cattle drives, and thriving industry in the Lone Star State. Fort Worth staked its claim in a particularly notable fashion, evidenced by the history of the Stockyards and celebrated nickname of “Cowtown.” Thanks to the efforts of a few tenacious locals, Panther City was saved.
City Jerseys and the Ariat Texas Rattlers
Despite being the city’s more well-known nickname, Cowtown may very well have never existed had Panther City not paved the way — or in this case, laid the tracks. Over a century since the nickname’s inception, the Ariat Texas Rattlers continue to embody the spirit of Panther City to their core. After a slow start to the 2023 PBR Camping World Teams Series season, the Rattlers banded together to climb the ranks all the way to a national title. They are the first and only professional sports team to bring a world title home to Fort Worth, and the only professional bull riding team to remain undefeated on home dirt.
The Ariat Texas Rattlers’ success remains a point of local pride, with their accomplishments standing as “a symbol of the city’s transformation into a thriving, dynamic metropolis with a competitive spirit.” Mayor Mattie Parker recently recognized the Rattlers in a Special Recognition Presentation on September 17, during which she was gifted a 2023 World Championship belt buckle and one-of-a-kind city jersey. The Rattlers will soon be donning their own city jerseys as they set out to defend their home dirt in the Cowtown Coliseum next Thursday, one eight second ride at a time. With its bowl-shaped design and seating capacity of 1,800, the Coliseum is going to be one of the most up-close and personal PBR events available anywhere across the circuit.
Texas is gearing up for their homestand and ready to strike — don’t miss your chance to see the defending world champions at work, right here in Fort Worth! Tickets to Rattler Days are still available on our website.