James Furman Bisher (November 4, 1918 – March 18, 2012) was a newspaper sports writer and columnist for ''
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
''The Atlanta Journal-Constitution'' is the only major daily newspaper in the metropolitan area of Atlanta, Georgia. It is the flagship publication of Cox Enterprises. The ''Atlanta Journal-Constitution'' is the result of the merger between ...
'' in
Atlanta, Georgia
Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,7 ...
.
North Carolina beginnings
Bisher was born in
Denton, North Carolina
Denton is a town in Davidson County, North Carolina, United States. The population was 1,636 at the 2010 census.
Geography
Denton is located in southern Davidson County at (35.632752, -80.111603). It is southeast of Lexington, the county seat. ...
.
[Associated Press,]
Sportswriter Furman Bisher dies at 93; NC native wrote for Atlanta newspaper for 59 years
" ''The Washington Post'' (March 18, 2012). Retrieved March 19, 2012. From German immigrant stock, his parents named him for a regionally known Baptist minister, James Furman.
[Ed Hinton,]
Furman Bisher set the standard
" ESPN (March 19, 2012). Retrieved March 19, 2012. After initially attending
Furman University, Bisher attended the
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States ...
, where he was a manager for the
North Carolina Tar Heels football
The North Carolina Tar Heels football team represents the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in the sport of American football or Gridiron Football. The Tar Heels play in the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) of the National Collegiate ...
team.
[Mike Tierney,]
Furman Bisher: Atlanta sportswriter, legend
" ''The Atlanta Journal-Constitution'' (March 19, 2012). Retrieved January 17, 2020. After graduating from UNC in 1938, he became the editor of the ''Lumberton Voice'' newspaper in
Lumberton, North Carolina
Lumberton is a city in Robeson County, North Carolina, United States. As of 2020, its population was 19,025. It is the seat of Robeson County's government.
Located in southern North Carolina's Inner Banks region, Lumberton is located on the Lu ...
at the age of 20.
[ During ]World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...
, he served as a lieutenant (junior grade)
Lieutenant junior grade is a junior commissioned officer rank used in a number of navies.
United States
Lieutenant (junior grade), commonly abbreviated as LTJG or, historically, Lt. (j.g.) (as well as variants of both abbreviations), ...
in the U.S. Navy
The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage o ...
from 1941 to 1945, editing a military newspaper and managing the Armed Services Radio Network in the South Pacific.[ After his military service ended, he went to work at the '']High Point Enterprise
''The High Point Enterprise'' is an American, English language daily, morning newspaper that primarily serves High Point, North Carolina. The newspaper's coverage area includes parts of Guilford, Davidson, Randolph and Forsyth counties in the P ...
'' in High Point, North Carolina
High Point is a city in the Piedmont Triad region of the U.S. state of North Carolina. Most of the city is in Guilford County, with parts extending into Randolph, Davidson, and Forsyth counties. High Point is North Carolina's only city that ...
, and then the '' Charlotte News'' in Charlotte, North Carolina
Charlotte ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of North Carolina. Located in the Piedmont region, it is the county seat of Mecklenburg County. The population was 874,579 at the 2020 census, making Charlotte the 16th-most populo ...
, where he became the sports editor in 1948.[
Bisher landed an interview with former professional baseball player ]Shoeless Joe Jackson
Joseph Jefferson Jackson (July 16, 1887 – December 5, 1951), nicknamed "Shoeless Joe", was an American outfielder who played Major League Baseball (MLB) in the early 1900s. Although his .356 career batting average is the fourth highest ...
in 1949—the first published interview with Jackson since the 1919 Black Sox Scandal
The Black Sox Scandal was a Major League Baseball game-fixing scandal in which eight members of the Chicago White Sox were accused of throwing the 1919 World Series against the Cincinnati Reds in exchange for money from a gambling syndicate l ...
.[ It was the only interview that the former ]Chicago White Sox
The Chicago White Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The White Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. The team is owned by Jerry Reinsdorf, and ...
outfielder and star hitter would ever give about his alleged involvement in the fixing of the 1919 World Series
The 1919 World Series was the championship series in Major League Baseball for the 1919 season. The 16th edition of the World Series, it matched the American League champion Chicago White Sox against the National League champion Cincinnati Reds. ...
,[ and the old ballplayer maintained his innocence to the end, trusting only Bisher to tell his story. In an era when most other sports writers refused to acknowledge auto racing, he also covered the first stock car cup race in 1949—what would later become known as NASCAR.][
]
Atlanta institution
Bisher wrote his first column for ''The Atlanta Constitution'' on April 15, 1950, and became well known regionally and nationally during his fifty-nine years as a sports reporter, columnist and editor for the ''Constitution'', its afternoon sister, ''The Atlanta Journal'', and their combined successor, ''The Atlanta Journal-Constitution''. Bisher also wrote articles and columns for ''The Sporting News
The ''Sporting News'' is a website and former magazine publication owned by Sporting News Holdings, which is a U.S.-based sports media company formed in December 2020 by a private investor consortium. It was originally established in 1886 as a pr ...
'', ''Sports Illustrated
''Sports Illustrated'' (''SI'') is an American sports magazine first published in August 1954. Founded by Stuart Scheftel, it was the first magazine with circulation over one million to win the National Magazine Award for General Excellence twi ...
'', ''The Saturday Evening Post
''The Saturday Evening Post'' is an American magazine, currently published six times a year. It was issued weekly under this title from 1897 until 1963, then every two weeks until 1969. From the 1920s to the 1960s, it was one of the most widely ...
'', and several other national publications. His final column for ''The Atlanta Journal-Constitution'' was published online on Saturday, October 10, 2009, with the print version appearing in the October 11, 2009 Sunday paper.
He became embroiled in a national controversy in 1962 after he contributed to an article for ''The Saturday Evening Post'' which alleged that the University of Georgia
, mottoeng = "To teach, to serve, and to inquire into the nature of things.""To serve" was later added to the motto without changing the seal; the Latin motto directly translates as "To teach and to inquire into the nature of things."
, establ ...
's former head football coach and then-current athletic director Wally Butts
James Wallace Butts Jr. (February 7, 1905 – December 17, 1973) was an American football player, coach, and college athletics administrator. He served as the head coach at the University of Georgia from 1939 to 1960, compiling a record of 140– ...
and coach Bear Bryant of the University of Alabama
The University of Alabama (informally known as Alabama, UA, or Bama) is a public research university in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. Established in 1820 and opened to students in 1831, the University of Alabama is the oldest and largest of the publi ...
conspired to fix the outcome of a college football game.[Mike Tierney,]
Bisher: The Bear Bryant-Saturday Evening Post affair
" ''The Atlanta Constitution-Journal'' (March 19, 2012). Retrieved March 19, 2012. Bisher conducted several interviews for the story that were ultimately not used in the final published version of the article.[ In a libel suit brought by Butts, the ]U.S. Supreme Court
The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all U.S. federal court cases, and over state court cases that involve a point o ...
ruled in Butts' favor. Bryant reached an out-of-court settlement with ''The Saturday Evening Post''.[ Commenting on the controversy years later, Bisher called it the "Ugliest part of my career. . . . Some people in Alabama still think I wrote it."][
'']Time
Time is the continued sequence of existence and events that occurs in an apparently irreversible succession from the past, through the present, into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequence events, ...
'' magazine named Bisher one of the nation's five best columnists in 1961. He is a member of the National Sportscasters and Sportswriters Hall of Fame, the University of North Carolina Journalism Hall of Fame, the International Golf Writers Hall of Fame, the Georgia Sports Hall of Fame
The Georgia Sports Hall of Fame is located in Macon, Georgia. It is the largest state sports hall of fame in the United States at .
Exhibitions
The Hall of Fame houses over of exhibit space broken down into sections including Hall of Fame Induc ...
,[Georgia Sports Hall of Fame, Inductees]
Furman Bisher
Retrieved March 19, 2012. the Atlanta Sports Hall of Fame, and the Atlanta Press Club Hall of Fame.[ He was chosen the Georgia Sportswriter of the Year on sixteen occasions, and recognized by the Associated Press for the best Georgia story of the year over twenty times.][ He received numerous other awards over the years, including the ]Associated Press
The Associated Press (AP) is an American non-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association. It produces news reports that are distributed to its members, U.S. ne ...
Sports Editors' Red Smith Award
The Red Smith Award is awarded by the Associated Press Sports Editors (APSE) organization for outstanding contributions to sports journalism
Sports journalism is a form of writing that reports on matters pertaining to sporting topics and ...
, and the William D. Richardson Award from the Golf Writers Association of America.[
Bisher was the president of the Football Writers Association of America from 1959 to 1960, and the president of the ]National Sportscasters and Sportswriters Association
The National Sports Media Association (NSMA), formerly the National Sportscasters and Sportswriters Association, is an organization of sports media members in the United States, and constitutes the American chapter of the International Sports P ...
from 1974 to 1976. He was an outspoken proponent of professional sports in Atlanta, and was a charter member of the Atlanta–Fulton County Stadium Authority at a time when it wasn't deemed a conflict of interest for a journalist to serve in such a capacity.
He co-wrote the first autobiography of Hank Aaron
Henry Louis Aaron (February 5, 1934 – January 22, 2021), nicknamed "Hammer" or "Hammerin' Hank", was an American professional baseball right fielder who played 23 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB), from 1954 through 1976. One of the gre ...
, titled ''Aaron, RF'' upon its initial release in 1968. In 1974, with Aaron about to become the all-time home run king, Bisher added an afterword to include the seasons from 1968 through 1973. The new edition was simply titled ''Aaron'', as the subject was no longer a right fielder.
Bisher habitually signed off his columns with the Hebrew word "Selah
(; hbo, סֶלָה, selā) is a word used 74 times in the Hebrew Bible. Its etymology and precise meaning are unknown, though various interpretations are given.
It is probably either a liturgical-musical mark or an instruction on the reading ...
" from the Book of Psalms. After retiring from ''The Atlanta Journal-Constitution'' in 2009, he continued to write a column for the ''Gwinnett Daily Post'' in Gwinnett County, Georgia
Gwinnett County ( ) is located in the north central portion of the U.S. state of Georgia. It forms part of the Atlanta metropolitan area. In 2020, the population was 957,062, making it the second-most populous county in Georgia (after Fulto ...
in suburban Atlanta, starting in January 2010. He estimated that he had written 15,000 daily sports columns, 1,200 magazine articles and more than a dozen books.
Until the age of 90, Bisher held seniority over the hundreds of golf reporters and other sports journalists who descend on Augusta, Georgia
Augusta ( ), officially Augusta–Richmond County, is a consolidated city-county on the central eastern border of the U.S. state of Georgia. The city lies across the Savannah River from South Carolina at the head of its navigable portion. Georgi ...
, each April for the Masters Tournament. During the 2006 tournament, The Golf Channel
Golf Channel (also verbally referred to as simply Golf) is an American sports television network owned by the NBC Sports Group division of NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast. Founded in Birmingham, Alabama, it is currently based out of NBC S ...
profiled Bisher as the "dean" of Masters journalists. Bisher covered every Kentucky Derby since 1950, and every Super Bowl but the first.[Krista Reese,]
Furman Bisher (b. 1918)
" ''The New Georgia Encyclopedia'', The University of Georgia Press, Athens, Georgia (2006). Retrieved October 12, 2009.
Death
Bisher died from a heart attack on March 18, 2012.[Alexis Stevens,]
Sportswriter Furman Bisher dies at 93
" ''The Atlanta Journal-Constitution'' (March 18, 2012). Retrieved March 19, 2012. He was survived by his second wife Lynda and two of his three sons from his first marriage.[
]
Bibliography
* Bisher, Furman, ''Aaron'', Crowell, New York (1968).
* Bisher, Furman, ''The Birth of A Legend: Arnold Palmer's Golden Year 1960'', Prentice-Hall, Inc., Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey (1972).
* Bisher, Furman, ''The Furman Bisher Collection'', Taylor Publishing, Dallas, Texas (1989).
* Bisher, Furman, ''The Masters: Augusta Revisited–An Intimate View'', Oxmoor House, Birmingham, Alabama (1976).
* Bisher, Furman, ''Miracle in Atlanta: the Atlanta Braves Story'', World Publishing Co. (1966).
* Bisher, Furman, ''Strange But True Baseball Stories'', Random House, New York, New York (1966).
* Bisher, Furman, with introduction by Bing Crosby, ''With a Southern Exposure'', Thomas Nelson Publishing, New York, New York (1962).
References
External links
Bisher Unleashed
– Furman Bisher's weblog
*
– BlackBetsy.com reprint of 1949 Shoeless Joe Jackson interview
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bisher, Furman
1918 births
2012 deaths
American columnists
American sportswriters
Golf writers and broadcasters
Writers from Atlanta
People from Denton, North Carolina
Red Smith Award recipients
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill alumni
Writers from North Carolina