PUEBLO, Colo. – The first-ever PBR World Champion. Later, the first-ever three-time PBR World Champion. Forever, one of the biggest legends and most impactful World Champions in PBR history. Adriano Moraes left behind one of the largest footprints in professional bull riding.

Three World Championships. Thirty event titles. Forty-eight 90-point outings. Three hundred and sixty-five qualified rides, one to re-watch each day of the year in 2023 as the PBR celebrates its 30th anniversary by revisiting some of the best rides, cowboys, bovines and beyond.

One of the few riders with a 95-point bull score to their name, Moraes competed against some of the rankest bulls the professional circuit has seen, regularly besting them throughout his storied career.

Capturing his and the organization’s first World Championship in 1994 before re-climbing the ranks to No. 1 in 2001 for his second title, the veteran was one of the most decorated cowboys in bull riding history.

With one more season left in the legendary rider’s career, he officially announced that the 2008 Built Ford Tough Series season, his 15th, would be his last.

RELATED: PBR legend Adriano Moraes announces retirement

“I feel that the only way I can go back to my old form is if I make this announcement,” said Moraes of his decision. “If I have three more years, I am not going to put the effort out. By announcing this is my last year, I’m not going to waste any time. It’s time for me to make the announcement so I will force myself to get good again.”

But that wouldn’t stop him from making it a fantastic Finals finale by any means.

For as fierce a competitor Moraes was, he is equally a family man. Yet many know him best for his efforts in expanding the sport on an international level.

RELATED: Heroes & Legends: Adriano Moraes

Recognized in the record books and by his fellow legends alike, the Brazilian’s career was one-of-a-kind.

“I’ve known Adriano since the early 90s when he first came to the United States and didn’t speak the language" PBR co-founder Cody Lambert shared once upon a time. "It didn’t take long for everyone to see that he could ride with the best of them.

“He’s won about everything you can win as far as a bull rider goes. In the early years before the PBR was what it is today, he was there and he was the first PBR World Champion. He was also the first two-time PBR World Champion and he’s the only three-time World Champion. So, when they talk about the all-time greats, he’s right up there at the top of the list."

Today, PBR.com’s From the Vault series looks back on the historic night in which Adriano Moraes became the first rider to capture three gold buckles in PBR history.

Adriano Moraes rewrites history books with third PBR world title

Adriano Moraes (Cachoeira Paulista, SP, Brazil), 36, the Professional Bull Riders' oldest rider, ended the 2006 Built Ford Tough Series (BFTS) season as its million-dollar baby. Saving his best for last, Moraes, who began the day in fourth place in the BFTS Standings won today's final two rounds of the PBR Built Ford Tough World Finals presented by Wrangler, posting a 91.25 and a 93 aboard Sunshine and Here's Your Sign, both of Page & Teague's Bucking Bulls, respectively.

The points allowed Moraes to overtake Guilherme Marchi's (Leme, SP, Brazil) 2,805-point lead and capture a record third PBR World Championship and its $1 million bonus based on earning the most PBR BFTS points with 11,109.75. His $1.346 million payday put him over the $3 million dollar career earnings mark and makes him the PBR's all-time money leader with $3,369,623.

The only rider to cover his first four bulls attempted, Moraes suffered through severe lower back spasms, setting the stage for his dramatic final-day surge. Marchi finished the season in second with 10,767.75 points, 342 behind Moraes.

"Today I drew two great bulls, but I knew I could ride them,” said Moraes. "Today I could ride Godzilla. Little Yellow Jacket [the only three-time PBR World Champion Bull] and me, make a good combination."

"Little Yellow Jacket was a great bull and the only one to win the title three times, and Adriano Moraes, who is the only one to win three world titles, is a pretty good rider although I'm still going while his career is over. I still have a lot to accomplish," Marchi shared.

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Photo courtesy of Andy Watson/Bull Stock Media