LAS VEGAS – Phil Lyne had a long, storied rodeo career and went down in history as one of the greatest cowboys ever.

But he remembers one rodeo in particular, back when he first got into the RCA, and it’s not for any good reasons.

“My first head of stock was a calf,” Lyne said. “I had him on the ground. Two wraps. All I had to do was get the hooey to win the round, and all I could hear was Morris Walker hollering, ‘Go Phil go! Go Phil go!’ And I missed that hooey four times, and stood up four times. And boy, I tried not to ever make that mistake again.

“I was nervous. Nervous like I am right now,” he joked.

Lyne was on hand at the South Point Hotel Casino & Spa in Las Vegas to accept the Ty Murray Top Hand Award at the PBR Heroes & Legends Celebration.

The award is given to cowboys for their achievements and lasting contributions to the sport of rodeo. Lyne received the award alongside Larry Mahan, whom he battled for all-around dominance in the early 1970s.

Lyne competed in five events: bareback riding, saddle bronc riding, bull riding, tie-down roping and steer wrestling. He would go on to earn five world titles in three different events – all-around and tie-down roping in both 1971 and 1972, and steer roping in 1990.

He’s the only cowboy to win the NFR average in three separate events.

“When you’re talking about all-around cowboys, that’s a true all-around cowboy on both ends,” said eight-time PBR Stock Contractor of the Year Chad Berger, who presented Lyne with the award.

Berger himself was like a kid on Christmas morning, having watched Lyne compete every night at the 1972 National Finals Rodeo and wanting to be just like him.

“I was 11 years old and I was growing, so my mom said I could get a new pair of chaps,” Berger said. “I said, ‘Well just make sure they look just like Phil Lyne’s.’ That’s all I wanted.

“I feel like I’m getting an award when they asked me to do this for Phil, because to introduce your childhood hero, it’s awesome.”

The all-around title race in 1972 became the subject of a documentary called “The Great American Cowboy,” which won the 1973 Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature and immortalized Lyne and Mahan in pop culture.

The two were also inducted into the ProRodeo Hall of Fame’s inaugural class in 1979 and later the PBR’s Ring of Honor.

“Phil is one of the greatest all-around hands in the game because he worked both ends of the arena,” Mahan told PBR.com this summer. “His two big events in my mind were the calf roping and bull riding. And he excelled in both of those.”

The trick, according to Lyne, was simple: make mistakes, but don’t make them again.

“I made so many mistakes,” Lyne said. “I made mistakes, and I tried not to make them afterwards.”

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Lyne retired from full-time rodeo competition in 1974 at 27 years old, but he picked up steer roping and was eventually lured back to competition by the increased prize money.

The fact that he could still compete with the kids didn’t hurt, either, and Lyne won his last world title at 43 years old.

But when it comes down to it, Lyne looks back on his career fondly not because of the buckles, but because of the people.

“It’s the guys I got to meet,” he said. “Not just the cowboys, but ranchers and rodeo supporters, committee men, stock contractors, pickup men, secretaries and all that. The friendships you form, that was one of the greatest thing. And probably not for rodeo, I might not’ve met my wife. And that was one of the best things that happened to me.

“It’s very humbling to be here, and the respect I have for Ty and all those boys, for them to recognize me and do this, it’s very humbling.”