The Hurt Shocker

PHOTOGRAPHER STILL SNAPPING

— Bob Hurt has seen it all in almost 50 years as a school photographer.

In his familiar light blue shirt, khaki shorts and dark socks, Hurt wisecracks with everyone during his photo shoots, but as a one-person photo department where he takes the money, sets the stands and takes the photos, there is no time for monkey business.

Hurt rules the photo shoot like a drill sergeant, which traces back to his military roots. The players and coaches respect his direct methods that leave no doubt who is running media day.

Bruce Matthews, Springdale Southwest Junior High football coach, has hired Hurt to handle the Cougars’ photo shoots for the past 34 years.

“He’s been shooting for us as long as I’ve been coaching,” Matthews said.

As Hurt directed the players where to stand and how to stand, it was clear, when it comes to coaching, Matthews is in charge, but when it comes to the photo shoot, it’s Bob’s domain. When he tells players to line up shoulder-to-shoulder, he means it. Pity the eighthgrader who doesn’t snap right to it.

“That’s just Bob Hurt,” said Matthews. “He hasn’t changed a bit. He’s pretty set in his ways, trying to get things done, but he takes a good picture for us. We appreciate Bob and what he does.”

Hurt’s white van has seen many miles of highway over the years. He estimates he travels more than 40,000 miles each year from Arkansas to Texas to Oklahoma and all points in between. Just next week he’ll head down to the Dallas-Fort Worth area to snap photos and do what he’s loved since 1965.

Hurt, who has lived in Rogers since 1990, said a lot has changed since he began taking sports photos.

“The schools have grown; athletics has changed a bit,” he said. “The equipment is far superior to what it was in those days.

“The kids are just as wonderful, just as ornery as they were then.”

A lot has changed in the photo areas as well. Film has been replaced by digital cameras. Long hours spent in a darkroom have been replaced by hours spent in front of a computer screen, he said.

Hurt graduated from Texas Wesleyan College “about a hundred years ago.” For the fi rst fi ve years, Hurt worked part time as a school photographer before going full time in 1970.

Primarily he shoots photos for yearbooks, but he makes his living selling photo packages to players, cheerleaders, band members and other school groups.

He said over the years he’s photographed a number of players who have gone on to have outstanding sports careers, including Heisman Trophy winner Billy Sims as a junior and senior at Hooks, Texas.

The gruff methods Hurt uses to keep his photo shoots moving are not without genuine affection for the players and coaches.

“They have to understand me to know that it’s a lot of fun even though I growl and I’m grumpy with them,” Hurt said. “We always get a good laugh out of it.”

These days Hurt often takes photos of sons and daughters of players he shot in the past.

“I’ve got lots of folks where the student will come up and say ‘My dad said to tell you hello because you took his picture.’”

So will there come a time when he no longer wants to lug his steel four-level team stand and heavy equipment locker around the Southwest in the broiling late summer sun?

“I told some coaches that keep asking me about retirement, ‘Well I started in 1965, and I plan that on Tuesday, June the 30th, 2015, that will give me 50 years. If I can’t get it done in 50 years, to heck with it.’”

Yep, that’s just Bob Hurt.

CHIP SOUZA IS SPORTS EDITOR FOR NWA MEDIA.

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