leading the standings. On September 19, Murray's earnings were $84,044; his uncle had $82,465, and Clay O’Brien Cooper had $76,967. Near the end of October, the race was looking close and time was running out before the NFR. But it was obvious Murray would qualify. This time for the NFR, he qualified for the NFR in the bareback riding and the saddle bronc riding. He almost qualified for bull riding. He drew a bareback mare named Kattle Kate. Kattle Kate was owned by Flying U Rodeo. Murray made a good ride, scoring a 78. He tied for sixth in the fifth round. Next up was Bad River from Harry Vold. Murray made a great ride on this saddle bronc, scoring a 77. In the ninth round, Murray scored 75 on a saddle bronc ride on Copenhagen Joe and finished fourth in the round. In the eighth round, he scored 74 on the bronc Skoal Exorcist. On the final round Sunday, Murray started with the bareback event. His draw was a horse named Rabbit. Rabbit was a Mesquite Championship Rodeo horse. He had a good ride, scoring 78. He finished that round in sixth place. That put him almost out of reach in the bareback average (which paid a large bonus). All that remained between him and the all-around title was a mare named Oil City Red. The mare's first four jumps were famous and hard to get through. But if one did manage them, they could get a good ride. Murray made it through and scored a 73; he thought probably not good enough. He made sixth place in the saddle bronc average for the finals. An official soon found Murray's parents to congratulate them on their son's win. That was the beginning of Murray's all-around world championships. He was also the youngest winner of the title. He and his uncle Butch Myers were the only two cowboys that year who qualified in more than one event. Nephew and uncle had a friendly competition for the all-around that year. Myers had a $2,786 lead over Murray heading into the finals. Murray placed on 7 of his 20 horses, winning $58,031 in his first NFR. He bypassed Myers by $21,202. Murray became the youngest all-around champion that year. Previously, Jim Shoulders had held that position for winning at age 21 in 1949. Also, that year, Murray won the National Intercollegiate Rodeo