Robert Leo Hirsch (1927-2007)

Bob was a regular guy who was brought up with a love for the outdoors in the upper Midwest. He parlayed his natural writing talent and his interest in outdoor recreational pursuits into a glorious writing, photography and broadcasting career as "Mr. Outdoor Arizona." Bob was born in Black Duck, Minnesota in 1927, the son of a Methodist Minister. His first sporting piece was a Montgomery Wards singleshot 12-gauge shotgun and his first shot at a mallard landed him on his young backside. He grew up traveling from school to school in Minnesota and the Dakotas, eventually landing in Phoenix and graduating from Phoenix Union High School in 1945. After a stint as a parachute packer in the Navy, he settled in Winslow and worked as a traveling salesman. This afforded him regular opportunities to fish all of Arizona's high country lakes and streams with his buddies and to hunt through the state on a regular basis. It also led to a blind date in Prescott with the new art teacher from Wisconsin, Mary Scheffler. They were married in August, 1951 after he proposed to her at the Bucky O'Neill statue on Courthouse Square in Prescott. Mary then became his lifelong collaborator, art illustrator of outdoor books and posters, and close confidant through his final days. The newlyweds rented a house and Bob started a lucrative career as a hotel and office supply salesman while Mary taught school in Central Phoenix. Bob became active in a number of outdoor organizations, including the Phoenix Varmint Callers Association. In the mid-1960's he joined the Arizona Game and Fish Department in its Information and Education Branch and was one of the creators of the Department's Wildlife Views television show. This gave him exposure throughout the state and he developed a personal relationship with all of the Department's personnel and wildlife managers that continued to the present day. The constraints of state employment held Bob for just two years. He had been moonlighting under the pseudonym "Bob Hunt," writing the back Yellow Front Page in the monthly Arizona Wildlife Sportsman magazine, made up of bad jokes and puns and pithy outdoor observations. He assumed the editorship of that magazine in 1967 and transformed it into "Outdoor Arizona," deemphasizing trophy hunting and expanding its scope to all types of outdoor recreational pursuits. In 1970, with five children at home, he informed Mary that he was quitting what was his last secure job and embarked instead on a career as a freelance outdoor writer, photographer and broadcaster. In the coming years he produced numerous segments on the outdoors for television stations in Phoenix and Tucson. He became a regular contributor to national publications such as Outdoor Life and Field and Stream. He published the weekly Bob Hirsch's Outdoor Almanac, first at Yellow Front stores, then eventually at Popular Outdoor outlets. He was a regular outdoor columnist for The Phoenix Gazette and The Arizona Republic. He created the "955-FISH" hotline and posted weekly fishing updates in outdoor stores. He lectured widely and became the most sought-after emcee for wildlife group banquets and sportsmen's shows during the 70's, 80's, 90's and this decade. In addition, he wrote and Mary illustrated dozens of books on the Arizona outdoors, including "Houseboating on Lake Powell," "Cookin'Wild," "Arizona's Rim Lakes" and the ever-popular White Mountains Map. He was active in the Outdoor Writers Association of America and attended their annual convention in Roanoke, Virginia early this summer. In his later years he was a regular guest on KTAR-AM's Sportsline show and hosted the "Word From the Wild" radio show on Sunday mornings with his daughter Ann and son Eric for many years. He won dozens of local and national awards for his writing, broadcasting and photography. He was elected into the Arizona Outdoor Hall of Fame in 1999 and was twice recognized as the Arizona Outdoor Writer of the Year by the Arizona Game and Fish Department. Along the way he and Mary hosted annual "Fall Colors" trips in the White Mountains and numerous Lake Powell houseboat expeditions spanning 40-plus years, ran the Lake of the Woods resort in Lakeside in the 1970's, and hosted an annual Fish Camp with the White Mountain Apache Tribe at Christmas Tree Lake. There was not a lake or creek or campground in Arizona where he was not instantly recognized and greeted by campers, fishermen and hunters. He was a friend to all and was especially motivated to teach the importance of recreating outdoors in any form, be it bird watching, hiking, canoeing, hunting, fishing or any other active outdoor pursuits. He was equally at home with high-end fly fishermen at fancy lodges as he was fishing for trout with power bait at Big Lake. He hunted and fished throughout the country and the world, but was happier on the shores of an urban lake with a group of kids fishing for bluegills than he was bringing in a trophy sailfish in Mexico or salmon in Alaska.

Mark Armijo
The Arizona Republic
Oct. 6, 2007 12:00 AM
Bob Hirsch, an iconic figure whose love for the Arizona outdoors helped bring it into the living room through various media outlets, died Friday. He was 79.

Hirsch, a freelance outdoors writer for about 30 years for The Phoenix Gazette and The Arizona Republic, also was the host of a television and radio show geared toward the outdoors.

"He was Mr. Outdoor Arizona," his son Steve said. "He was pretty much the outdoor mouthpiece for Arizona. He was so kind. More than any single person, he led the way to educate the transient population without roots here in Arizona about the Arizona outdoors.

"The big part of what he was about was reaching out to people of all walks of life to try and get them to recreate even if they weren't a hunter or trophy fishermen. He wasn't all about hunting and fishing. He would talk to Rotary Clubs and just everyone about conservation, camping and outdoors recreation."

Steve said Hirsch, who suffered a series of recent ministrokes that ultimately led to his death, graduated from Phoenix Union High School in 1945, and in the mid-1960s, he became a public information officer for the Arizona Game and Fish Department.

In the 1970s, Hirsch turned to freelancing for numerous media outlets. Twice he was named Outdoor Writer of the Year by the department.

"Bob Hirsch was truly a giant among Arizona outdoor writers," said Duane Shroufe, director of the department for more than 20 years.

"He introduced generations of people to the enjoyment of fishing, hunting and other outdoor recreation, and he was a strong advocate for our state's wildlife and wildlife conservation."

Hirsch was inducted into the Arizona Outdoor Hall of Fame in 1999, a year after the late former Sen. Barry Goldwater was inducted.

Hirsch also won several awards from the Outdoor Writers Association of America for a radio show he co-hosted with daughter Ann.

"Bob certainly was the dean of Arizona outdoor writers," said DeWayne Smith, former outdoors editor for The Gazette and a frequent correspondent for The Republic. "The main thing about Bob is he made the outdoors available to people through his writing, his TV and radio shows. He gave them information in how to use the outdoors in a friendly, family-style manner.

"He was the go-to guy about the Arizona outdoors."

Hirsch was the author of several books and for the past 15 years published the White Mountains Map for fishing, camping and hunting.

"Bob has been the voice and personality of Arizona outdoors forever," said Hays Gilstrap, a former member of the Arizona Game and Fish Commission. "He brought to light the beauty and the opportunity of appreciating wildlife and of conserving wildlife. He's been a wonderful spokesman with a great sense of humor.

"He did all this with a great deal of humility. He wasn't braggadocious. He was very humble. One of the great things he did was introduce so many people to the outdoors experience. He's just been an outdoor treasure."