Joseph Drasal

Ralph Madsen was born Ralph Earl Madsen on 19 April 1897, Norfolk, Nebraska, USA and died on 26 November 1948, Norfolk, Nebraska. He was not from Texas as his nicknames and stories suggest. He has several nicknames: Tex Madsen, Sky High Madison, High Bill Madesen, Sky Hi, Big Boy, Atta Boy and Mr. Longfellow. At twenty-four years his height was 7'6"; weight, 228 pounds. His mother and father are of medium height; father about six foot two, mother five foot eight, two sisters and a brother about five foot eight. Ralph Madsen wears a size nine shoe, his hands are of an average size. He spent most of his life on a ranch and a greater part of it in the saddle, until he started to travel with his manager Sam Houston. Wishing to enlist in the Army, Ralph Madsen tried both his home country and Canada, but was turned down on account of his extreme height. He played basketball with the Kentucky Colonels, a travelling team with former college starts and independent court stars.