Clem, John

John Clem was born and raised in Chandler. While in high school at CHS, John participated on the basketball teams. While John loved sports, his love was Rodeo. He was a natural roper and competed in his rodeo at the age of 11. He won his first major championship at age 14 and was named Arizona All Around Champion Cowboy four times in a row starting at age 14. In 1946 while only 15 he was named the World Champion All Around Junior Cowboy. After graduating high school he joined the professional rodeo tour. He was a top ten team roper five times from 1959 to 1967. He won his last championship saddle in 1994 by winning the United States Team Roping Championship. His professional rodeo career spanned fifty years. John passed away in the summer of 2008, only a month after being selected for that years’ sports hall of fame.