“You know, I’ve always taken my work seriously, but never my job. That’s what I like about you [RBR]...I don’t love the business of news, but I love being a reporter. I’m still in love with what I do.”
Those were among the last words that Cecil Hurt ever texted me. I wish I had the opportunity to tell him, in person, “there’s not a chance of us ever being taken seriously,” or to buy him a beer, or to get his prediction on what under-the-radar recruit is going to going to break out, or to just listen to him spin a yarn.
But that moment is gone forever, as are so many others that I — that we, will not have. Cecil, one of college football’s true luminaries and gentlemen, left us far too early yesterday at age 62. While Cecil, the man, may be gone — a distant point of light, a forever-past person — his spirit, will go on.
What he meant to the Crimson Tide community, to Tuscaloosa, to the sport do endure. So too will the memories of the lives he touched and the countless people he encouraged. His accommodation will live on. His quiet acts of kindness and charity will survive. His wicked, droll sense of humor will bring a smile to the face of many for years longer. His tales will survive.
And, for a man who was in love with what he did, it seems fitting that his words, his impressive body of work spanning four decades, that those will persist.
There is a permanence in the written word. It was considered magic for centuries, and few in the college athletics sphere wove such a spell, touched as many lives, inspired as many people, or mastered their craft quite like Cecil Hurt. No matter the fan base or outlet, he was an institution. And you’d be hard-pressed to find a negative story about the man or the sorcery he cast using just a notebook, a pencil, and an iPad.
Tony Barnhart, the dean of College beat reporting said it best:
That’s what Cecil meant, that’s what his credibility was worth — it didn’t happen until Cecil said it happened.
Cecil was one of the good guys; a consummate professional in an age of digital breaking news; a consummate gentleman in an era of casual indifference.
He was one of the good guys, and I will miss him. Whether you knew him or not, you will miss him.
—
With that in mind, we submit this modest proposal to University of Alabama Athletics Director Greg Byrne, University of Alabama President Stuart R. Bell, the University of Alabama Board of Trustees, and Alabama Governor Kay Ivey: rename the Bryant Denny press box in honor of Cecil Hurt.
For four decades, he was a fixture at BDS: Not every outcome was certain for the Crimson Tide. But Cecil’s rumpled hair and clothes, his steady gaze, his droll jokes and wry smile, his encouragement and commiseration and professionalism were. Equally enduring was the quality of the story that he would undoubtedly get to press moments after the final whistle.
There is no one worthier of that honor, nor is there a more fitting tribute to a man who gave almost 40 years of his life to Tuscaloosa, to Alabama, to the community.
While I cynically realize that doing so represents the loss of a corporate partnership or branding opportunity for Alabama, it’s the right thing to do. Flowers fade, memorials crumble, but his words — the seemingly-endless palette from which Cecil painted masterpieces — those words live. And they should live where he did: in the press box of Bryant Denny Stadium.
Please sign our Change.org petition to dedicate it in his honor, and pass this along if you think this is a worthy cause. For those who have a memory about your experience with Cecil Hurt or columns that stuck with you, feel free to share them below too.
May the ground lie softly on you, Cecil. One more road trip for you, and I’m sure it’s a great one.
Comments
R.I.P. Cecil Hurt, the voice of Bama football without having to say a word
By bamadan72 on 11.24.21 5:23am
He was to the agonizing hours between games what Eli is to the glorious hours of play.
By Law Abiding Citizen on 11.24.21 8:11am
Good analogy.
By bamafan1972 on 11.24.21 9:49am
I subscribe to the Tuscaloosa news so I can read Cecil;
he was a gentleman and a scholar. RIP brother; you will be missed by many.
By wildman1 on 11.24.21 10:53am
Always enjoyed reading his columns and listening to his commentary.
His best work IMO though had nothing to do with football or sports, rather, his columns after the 4/11 Tuscaloosa tornado.
Rest In Peace Cecil
By CBA582 on 11.24.21 5:33am
RIP Cecil. What a great writer he was.
Always listened intently to what he said because he was such an interesting guy. He will be missed greatly.
By jtcrimson on 11.24.21 6:00am
Irreplaceable and inimitable.
What a loss. RIP and RTR, Mr Hurt.
By CharlestonTide on 11.24.21 6:06am
Cecil was the Saban of sportswriting
His quality of writing was more akin to a southern gothic writer than a common sports writer.
He was a huge Alabama fan, but never a homer.
His columns gave you a depth of insight and humor unavailable elsewhere.
He was better than Finebaum at his best—back when Finebaum was still literate.
In my family rednecks and erudites all loved Cecil.
He was a stabilizing constant in this age of disruption.
There will be other writers (and RBR has some of the best), but there will never be another Cecil.
Rest in peace and may perpetual light shine upon you.
By rocketbama on 11.24.21 6:16am
We can't carry Cecil's jock. LOL.
So I did buy him a beer every time I saw him.
By Erik Evans on 11.24.21 6:31am
Yes, he was. And so few can pull that off. (Or, perhaps more accurately, bother to try.)
By dw64 on 11.24.21 12:27pm
As a lifelong Bama fan that grew up 45 minutes north of Knoxville I grew to love reading Mr. Hurt on AL. com he was always the voice I could count for the accurate story of what was happening in Ttown he will be missed.
By Bamafanintn on 11.24.21 6:26am
Man, I have some VICIOUSLY funny stories I could tell you about Cecil.
None of them would surprise you, if you knew him.
But by far my two most meaningful moments were professional ones, where Cecil went out of his way to encourage the site.
1. After I wrote the open letter to Greg Byrne about Greg Goff, Cecil emailed me and said "Sometimes you just have to call a motherfucker, a motherfucker. Someone needed to.’ Three days later, Goff was fired, and Cecil called me to say, "I don’t know that this happens without you all pushing. Those kids deserve better."
And, 2. when I wrote the five-year-piece on the 4/11 Tornadoes, he texted me and said, "I haven’t cried in a while. I cried today. Thank you."
To have your own efforts be praised by man who so casually mastered the language, who was a storyteller at heart, meant the absolute world to me, to us.
He cared about this site and what we did. He praised us when I actively tried to bring in reporters with different perspectives and cover new stuff that may have gotten lost in the shuffle. He laughed at our idiocy. He liked that we could do, as meatheads, what he could only do professionally — "call a motherfucker, a motherfucker."
We weren’t rivals. Our job here can only be done because of the Cecils of the world.
And, Cecil, death is a motherfucker. Safe travels, wherever that may be. You were one of the good guys.
By Erik Evans on 11.24.21 6:28am
If anyone will travel well into great beyond, it's guys like Cecil.
You forgot to share what Cecil told you in confidence one time: "Erik, why do the guys there lampoon the fuck outta you? Do they like you, do they want you seriously injured…?" Erk was like
"Cecil, they effin’ LOVE me there! Trust me!"
By TiderInTheSouth on 11.24.21 6:51am
Then he was never without a laugh
By PiperTJ on 11.24.21 7:03am
I put my change in the jar every time I stop in
RIP Cecil.
If I ever heard "breaking news" about Alabama football, the first place I looked was Cecil’s Twitter page to confirm.
By Ma Deuce on 11.24.21 7:33am
Yep.
The statement about it not happening until Cecil said it is fact.
By bamafan1972 on 11.24.21 7:43am
It did not happen unless Cecil said it happened
By Erik Evans on 11.24.21 1:39pm
Never.
By Erik Evans on 11.24.21 7:33am
Was Cecil ever a poster?
By CrimsonRon on 11.24.21 7:41am
Cecilhoneychurch?
By TiderInTheSouth on 11.24.21 8:07am
I’m guessing no…
since CH has posted today.
By bamafan1972 on 11.24.21 2:27pm
And then there was one.
By cecil.honeychurch on 11.24.21 9:52pm
That's vainglorious thought.
By Law Abiding Citizen on 11.24.21 8:14am
ILuvErkEvnz????
By PiperTJ on 11.24.21 8:16am
Petition signed.
Also as per your sentiments
By Gurley Man on 11.24.21 10:32am