LARAMIE -- Abe Morris still chuckles at the nickname "Celebrity" given to him by University of Wyoming students after he won the 1978 Laramie River Rendezvous bull riding title.

Morris came to UW in 1974 but you wouldn't have known he was a rodeo cowboy. He didn't wear an over-sized hat, boots or a hubcap-sized belt buckle. And one other thing: Morris is African American.

"Back then I had this big Afro haircut, wore T-shirts, Wrangler jeans and tennis shoes. Nothing that I wore gave any indication that I was a bull rider," Morris says. "I never wore cowboy boots or hats, only when I competed. They always stayed in my room. I used to play basketball at Corbett Gym after class, and even those guys never knew I was on the rodeo team."

Prior to the 1978 Laramie River Rendezvous, The Branding Iron, UW's student newspaper, published a feature about Morris, and the secret was out.

"It made it sound like I was this superstar bull rider," Morris says. "I remember people saying, 'Who is this black cowboy on campus? I've never seen one.'"

Morris lived up to his advanced billing, winning the Rendezvous bull riding title and a pair of buckles.

"I won that weekend and it kind of added to the flavor of the story," he says. "Hollywood couldn't have written a better script. No one knew I existed before that.

"That was definitely the highlight of my University of Wyoming career."

Morris returns to his old stomping grounds Friday for the unveiling of his first book, "My Cowboy Hat Still Fits: My Life as a Rodeo Star" at the UW American Heritage Center. Morris will sign copies of his book and will discuss his career from 3 to 5 p.m. in the Wyoming Stock Growers' Room. He also will present a lecture to Department of Adult Learning and Technology assistant professor Keith Armstrong's class the same day at 1 p.m.

These days, the 48-year-old Morris has a downtown Denver office, where he has a representative for the pension and retirement savings division of TIAA-CREF since 1998. He previously worked in financial services for 12 years in Fort Collins, Colo.

Morris also is the only black announcer in the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association and was a television commentator for the Cheyenne Frontier Days Rodeo finals from 1989 to 1997 for Prime Sports Network and Fox Sports Network.

He still keeps up with rodeo and writes a regular column for an industry magazine, "Humps N' Horns Bull Riding News," based in Chouteau, Okla.

After being pressured by friends, Morris decided to write a book and wants to become a motivational speaker. He plans to write three more books, with his second effort already under way. Morris' cousin, Gene Walker, will be the focus of a future publication.

Morris grew up in Woodstown, N.J. -- hardly a rodeo mecca -- but it only took a $7.50 payday in his first junior riding event for the then-10-year-old to get hooked. He only got on board because his older cousins rode in the weekly Cowtown Rodeo each summer.

"I was pretty sure I wanted to be a bull rider after getting that first cash in my hand," Morris says.

One of the cousins who introduced Morris to bull riding was Walker, who rode for Casper College in the late 1960s. Morris was set to compete for the Thunderbirds, but his two academic scholarships mandated they be used at four-year institutions. So he came south to UW where he competed until 1980, graduating with a business management degree.

Even though he never qualified for the College National Finals Rodeo, Morris believed he was talented enough to compete professionally. While still at UW, Morris received his PRCA permit in 1977. He drew enough paychecks on the professional circuit to keep him going the next 18 years.

"I made a living, but I barely made ends meet. I probably broke even on the circuit," says Morris, who estimates he traveled to between 75 to 100 events each year. "The traveling costs and entry fees eat a lot of your earnings. And back then, I didn't have sponsorship like a lot of the cowboys have today."

Morris says his UW degree helped prepare him for life outside the rodeo arena.

"I'm thankful that I was able to get a business career going after retiring. You hear too many horror stories of cowboys who don't do well after they quit and have nothing to do, and it's really sad," he says. "I didn't want to be one of those guys who end up working at a feed lot or pumping gas. I wanted to be one of those who had a professional career after rodeo."

Family also is important to Morris.

His first book is dedicated to his 5-year-old son, Justin Abraham Morris, whom he calls "my inspiration." Justin is now the proud owner of his dad's 1978 Laramie River Rendezvous bull riding championship buckle.

(Milton Ontiveroz is the University of Wyoming media relations coordinator.)