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2011 Inductees
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INDUCTEE 2011 - ATHLETE - Dallas Dorchester


 


World Champion Chuckwagon Outrider 1977
World Champion Chuckwagon Driver 1984
40 Chuckwagon Racing Wins
Founding Member World Professional Chuckwagon Association
From 1962-1997


Dallas Dorchester, born in Wetaskiwin, was the fourth son of Tom and Joy Dorchester of Westerose.  To the Dorchester family, especially Dallas’s dad and older brothers who all competed in some aspect of the sport,  the chuckwagon circuit was a way of life so it was a natural outcome for Dallas to follow in their footsteps.  However, added to his pedigree was an attitude, drive and passion that propelled Dallas to achieve his outstanding successes.  In 1962 at the age of sixteen, Dallas started his career as an outrider and then in 1965 he moved into the wagon box. His last year of competition was 1997.  Over his 35 year career in chuckwagon racing,  Dallas carved out one of the most impressive records the sport has ever seen.

When Dallas was only 11 he started riding as a jockey and rode race horses until he was 16 at tracks throughout Alberta and BC. As an outrider, Dallas won the Calgary Stampede Rangeland Derby Championship three times; in 1968 with brother Garry and again in 1970 and 1971 with his father Tom.  He was named the World Champion Outrider in 1977, the inaugural year for the award.

Dallas won the Calgary Stampede Rangeland
Derby Championship three times

In his first year as a driver, Dallas won two show championships, the Handhills Stampede and the Owen Sound Stampede.  He also drove his first chuckwagon outfit at the Calgary Stampede and placed a very respectable 12th overall finishing his rookie season in 9th place in the world standings.

That first year set the stage for what was to become one of the most celebrated “Hall of Fame” careers in the sport of chuckwagon.  Dallas was the 1984 World Champion Chuckwagon Driver and won more than 40 show championships in his illustrious career.  He twice won the Calgary Stampede Rangeland Derby in 1984 and 1991 and made a total of eight appearances in the Calgary Stampede Rangeland Derby’s sudden death championship final heat.  His record of five North American Chuckwagon Championships and five Grande Prairie Stampede Championships still stands to this day.  From Cloverdale, BC to Morris, Manitoba and every big show in between, Dallas Dorchester won them all.  His last major win came in 1996 when he captured the Richard Cosgrave Memorial Award symbolic of the Calgary Stampede Aggregate Champion.

From Cloverdale, BC to Morris, Manitoba and every
big show in between, Dallas Dorchester won them all

In addition to all of his success on the racetrack, Dallas was a founding member of the World Professional Chuckwagon Association, served as a director for 20 years and devoted much of himself to the growth and prosperity of chuckwagon racing and the WPCA.    His outstanding and significant contributions to advancing and improving the overall status and integrity of the WPCA and the sport of Chuckwagon Racing earned him the WPCA “Chuckwagon Person of the Year” in 1995.

In 2006 Dallas became only the second chuckwagon driver to be named an honorary lifetime member of the Ponoka Stampede Association and in addition he was honored by the Calgary Exhibition and Stampede with the “Pioneers of Rodeo Award”.  He was the recipient of the World Professional Chuckwagon Association’s “Special Tribute Award” in 2006 and the “George Normand Lifetime Builder’s Award” in 2007.

The Dorchester chuckwagon legacy continues and before he passed away in 2008, Dallas was a mentor for third generation family chuckwagon competitors including his son Tommy Quinn, a two time World Champion Outrider as well as his nephews Troy Dorchester and Rick Fraser, chuckwagon drivers who still compete and are both award winners and multi show champions.  Dallas and Tommy Quinn were the first father and son duo to each earn the World Champion Outrider crown.

During the winter months Dallas was very involved in the local sporting community.  For 30 years Dallas played hockey for Falun teams and even played goal occasionally for the Wetaskiwin Colonels.  He also spent ten years coaching minor hockey in Wetaskiwin.  As well, he was an avid curler for most of his life; he was often involved in competitive zone play-offs and in 2004 won the Canadian Cattleman’s Curling Championship.

Besides his chuckwagon involvement, Dallas also trained and raced thoroughbred horses at tracks with parimutuel betting including both Edmonton and Calgary.  One year he was the top trainer and won 36 races.  Dallas also coordinated and participated in the first ever “chucksled” races at the 1968 Wetaskiwin Winter Carnival where the event was held on the snow at the Wetaskiwin Fair Grounds race track.  Dallas won the chucksled races in 1968 and 1969.

Dallas Dorchester was one of chuckwagon racing’s all time greatest drivers, toughest competitors, most decorated champions and one of the most outstanding ambassadors and individuals in the history of the sport.  He brought attention to names that graced his chuckwagon’s canvas over the years, not entirely because of the on track success, but for the class and distinction that Dallas displayed as a representative of individuals and organizations.  He is indeed more than deserving of being inducted into the Wetaskiwin and County Sports Hall of Fame.

 


Information about an inductee is collected from published sources, sports archives, scrapbooks, anecdotal information from family, friends and fans, and the athlete. 

However, sometimes the best stories and personal insights are gleaned at the induction dinner from the introductory comments or acceptance speech of the inductee or their representative. 

Where possible we have included this type of information for your enjoyment.

Read the opening comments made by Sandra Wright when speaking about Dallas Dorchester just prior to his official induction.
 

 






 
 

 

 

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Wetaskiwin and County Sports Hall of Fame
Box 7123, Wetaskiwin, Alberta, T9A 2Y9
Photo Credits - Nominations