Sidney Joe Long, was born November 29 th , 1936 to Ishmael and Pearle Long in Big Valley, Texas. Early life was spent raising sheep, cattle, peanuts, cotton, hay and other crops. Of those, sheep was his passion. He also loved to spend time with his mother and uncle Orville and Billy Hale, hunting and fishing. After completing high school, he attended Texas Tech University where he received his BS in Agricultural Education. While at Tech he was also a member of the Texas Tech Livestock Judging Team and worked at the campus Dairy.