Former Arrow head football coach Pete Hurt remembered

By Danny C. Davis    

Like many Clinton Arrow fans, I was shocked and saddened when I learned of the recent passing of former Clinton Arrow head Coach Pete Hurt.

Coach Pete Hurt passed away unexpected on July 11 while vacationing with his wife, Diana, in the Domincan Republic. He was 69.

Hurt had two stints with Clinton Arrow Football. He served as an assistant coach for the Arrows in 1979-1981. Over twenty years later, Hurt would return to Clinton and was named Clinton’s 16th head coach in April 2002 and spent three seasons as the Arrows head coach, 2002-2004, leading the Arrows to the District championship his first season in 2002 and the playoffs. In 2004, he led the Arrows to one of the biggest road playoff wins when they upset #1 Olive Branch on the road, 17-13. Clinton hosted the North Class 5 A championship game against nationally-ranked South Panola and fell to the Tigers but finished ranked 10th in the top 20 AP polls.

Also in 2004, plans began to build a new football stadium next to Clinton High School on Arrow Drive. Hurt, as the CHS athletic director, spent a lot of time drawing up plans to submit to the architects for the new Arrow Field that was dedicated in September 2007.

Early in 2005, Hurt resigned as CHS athletic director and head coach to accept a position as offensive line coach at the Air Force Academy.

“This was one of my dream jobs as a coach and was the only offer I would take to leave a great high school program like Clinton,” said Hurt.

Hurt was a native of Cleveland, Mississippi, where he was a four-sport letterman. He played baseball and football at Mississippi College. He then immediately became affiliated with Arrow football, serving as a graduate assistant in 1978. Hurt was the office coordinator that helped lead the Arrows to the final Little Dixie Conference Championship in 1980. That Arrow team finished 9-1 and was voted the #1 team in the state by the final UPI 1980 Coaches poll.

After leaving Clinton the first time, Hurt was a graduate assistant for Coach Bob Tyler at North Texas State. He then coached Southeast Missouri State as linebacker coach.  Next, he coached at Baylor University as an offensive assistant, followed by a stint at Lamar University as defensive coordinator. The next year, he was at Rice University as linebacker coach.

In 1992, Hurt joined the newly-formed World League of American Football for the Birmingham Fire as defensive line coach for both years of the team’s existence.

In 1993, Hurt joined Samford University in Birmingham as defensive coordinator and became the head coach at Samford 1994-2001, compiling a college head coaching record of 42-39-1.

Hurt joined Clinton and was the head coach in April 2002.

As an announcer and writer covering Clinton Arrow football, I can tell you Pete was one of the nicest coaches I ever worked with at Clinton. He was a pleasure to interview before or after a game and would always give you the information that you needed.

His teams were always well prepared and played a hard nose defense, with a strong running attack on offense that controlled the clock and often produced wins.

Pete had three brothers, Al Hurt of Clinton; Richard Hurt of Winter Springs, Florida; and Dr. Bill Hurt of Columbus, Mississippi. 

Bill Hurt delivered Pete’s eulogy and shared many memories and stories from Pete’s life.

“Pete was five years older than me, and I was always in his shadow – but not really in his shadow,” said Bill Hurt. “He was always my hero. At a young age, everybody knew he was a really good athlete, and people came out to see him play youth baseball. He could knock it out of the park.”

“My brother entered the Ford youth punt, pass, and kick national championship at a young age, won the Mississippi competition, advanced to Memphis regionals and won there.  He advanced to the finals at the NFL St. Louis Cardinals’ game on national TV and placed third nationally.”

Hurt excelled in junior high and then was a four-sport letterman at Cleveland [Mississippi] High School. He played fullback, punter, and place kicker for the Cleveland High School Wildcats. He averaged an incredible 46 yards as a high school punter and kicked the winning field goal against Columbus Caldwell High School. Hurt excelled also in basketball and baseball and earned a football scholarship to Mississippi College and also played baseball for the Choctaws his first two years.

“In his career, he led players to Christ and once bought a suit for one of his players who was signing a college scholarship and couldn’t afford the suit,” said Bill.

Good friend Jay Reeves remembered Hurt as a great friend and a good guy.

“Pete had many friends all over the country,” said Reeves, who also coached with Hurt 1979-1981. “People who knew Pete loved that guy.”

Former CHS Arrow QB Philip Gunn, who helped lead the Arrows to a UPI Coaches Poll Championship in 1980, had much praise for his former offensive coordinator.

“Pete Hurt was more than just a football coach. He cared about young men. He sought to turn us into Godly men to be good husbands, fathers and citizens. He was a great football coach, but, more than that, he was a great man,” said Gunn.