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<P>Today is another in a long line of Auburn-Mississippi State football games, the 71st to be exact.

<P>But for many of us who work for and love Auburn and Mississippi State, today's game will be a first.

<P>The first time these two schools have played without Bob Hartley.
Bob Hartley was Mississippi State. He embodied all that this fine institution and its proud football program represent. He worked at State for 52 years, 46 of them as Sports Information Director.

<P>He was more than a SID. He was an ambassador of good will, friendship, and the highest ideals of competition, not just for Mississippi State, but for the SEC, the South and for humanity. He was one of the best humankind had to offer. He was cut in the mold of Coach Jordan, a man, but a gentle-man, a country gentleman.

<P>Bob worked at Mississippi State, but he belonged to all of us, to all who love, appreciate and are committed to intercollegiate athletics. It mattered not if you were for Auburn, Tennessee, LSU or Georgia. If you loved the game, the men who coach it, the men who play it and if you are committed to your school, whatever that school may be, you belonged to Bob Hartley and Bob Hartley belonged to you.

<P>He wanted State to win - make no mistake about that - but he understood and appreciated our desire to win as well. In victory or defeat, he saluted effort, dedication and commitment to your school. He had a special place in his heart for Auburn.

<P>When something good happened to or at Auburn, we knew to expect his call, "Hey, David, Grea-a-a-at game today. I - we - are so happy for Auburn and for you. This is just great..." Bob would join in the celebration. Right there over the phone, Bob would join the party, as happy as we were for this great thing that had just happened for Auburn.

<P>Auburn, he said, was the only other place he could have worked.
Bob Hartley was not a rich man, not in the eyes of the world.
But he was a rich man, one of the richest men this world has ever known.

<P>Several years ago, when Bob officially retired, his wife Jean looked back over their time together. "We didn't make a lot of money," she said, "but we met a lot of nice people and went on a lot of nice trips..."

<P>Would that we could all be so fortunate - and so rich.

<P>We laid Bob to rest under a warm, beautiful, blue Mississippi sky the day before the Bulldog football season started.

<P>As he had requested, his last ride carried him down College View, a short, winding road that runs through the State campus and within a few feet of the stadium where he labored so long for Bulldogs he loved. The press box at Scott

<P>Field bears his name and rightly so. As Bob made that final ride, representatives of every Southeastern Conference school rode with him.
Larry Templeton, one of Bob's student assistants who went on to become Athletic Director, said it best: "Mississippi State has lost it's heart ... only in Starkville we spell it 'Hart.'"

<P>Mississippi State had lost its Hart. And all of us mourned.

<P ALIGN=CENTER><A HREF="./" target="_top">TABLE OF CONTENTS</A> | <A HREF="../" target="_top">PROGRAM INDEX</A> | <A HREF="../../index.html" target="_top">HOME</A></P>

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	<H1 ALIGN=CENTER> <IMG ALT="Housel's Desk " ALIGN =CENTER WIDTH=434 HEIGHT=102 BORDER=2 SRC=" ../pic/housldsk.jpg"> </H1>
	<BR><BR>

	<P>Today is another in a long line of Auburn-Mississippi State football games, the 71st to be exact.

	<P>But for many of us who work for and love Auburn and Mississippi State, today's game will be a first.

	<P>The first time these two schools have played without Bob Hartley.
	Bob Hartley was Mississippi State. He embodied all that this fine institution and its proud football program represent. He worked at State for 52 years, 46 of them as Sports Information Director.

	<P>He was more than a SID. He was an ambassador of good will, friendship, and the highest ideals of competition, not just for Mississippi State, but for the SEC, the South and for humanity. He was one of the best humankind had to offer. He was cut in the mold of Coach Jordan, a man, but a gentle-man, a country gentleman.

	<P>Bob worked at Mississippi State, but he belonged to all of us, to all who love, appreciate and are committed to intercollegiate athletics. It mattered not if you were for Auburn, Tennessee, LSU or Georgia. If you loved the game, the men who coach it, the men who play it and if you are committed to your school, whatever that school may be, you belonged to Bob Hartley and Bob Hartley belonged to you.

	<P>He wanted State to win - make no mistake about that - but he understood and appreciated our desire to win as well. In victory or defeat, he saluted effort, dedication and commitment to your school. He had a special place in his heart for Auburn.

	<P>When something good happened to or at Auburn, we knew to expect his call, "Hey, David, Grea-a-a-at game today. I - we - are so happy for Auburn and for you. This is just great..." Bob would join in the celebration. Right there over the phone, Bob would join the party, as happy as we were for this great thing that had just happened for Auburn.

	<P>Auburn, he said, was the only other place he could have worked.
	Bob Hartley was not a rich man, not in the eyes of the world.
	But he was a rich man, one of the richest men this world has ever known.

	<P>Several years ago, when Bob officially retired, his wife Jean looked back over their time together. "We didn't make a lot of money," she said, "but we met a lot of nice people and went on a lot of nice trips..."

	<P>Would that we could all be so fortunate - and so rich.

	<P>We laid Bob to rest under a warm, beautiful, blue Mississippi sky the day before the Bulldog football season started.

	<P>As he had requested, his last ride carried him down College View, a short, winding road that runs through the State campus and within a few feet of the stadium where he labored so long for Bulldogs he loved. The press box at Scott

	<P>Field bears his name and rightly so. As Bob made that final ride, representatives of every Southeastern Conference school rode with him.
	Larry Templeton, one of Bob's student assistants who went on to become Athletic Director, said it best: "Mississippi State has lost it's heart ... only in Starkville we spell it 'Hart.'"

	<P>Mississippi State had lost its Hart. And all of us mourned.

	<P ALIGN=CENTER><A HREF="./" target="_top">TABLE OF CONTENTS</A> \| <A HREF="../" target="_top">PROGRAM INDEX</A> \| <A HREF="../../index.html" target="_top">HOME</A></P>

	<P ALIGN=CENTER><I>© 1997 Auburn Network, Inc.</I></P>

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