Countdown: It’s Bisher unplugged — everybody, duck!
The Count chuckled at the Rankin lines.
(PLEASE SEE UPDATE BELOW FROM FURMAN)
Here at the Countdown, floating in our own little disturbed sector of the blogosphere, we generally like to bounce around from sport-to-sport, athlete-to-athlete and goofball-to-Limbaugh. But we’re going to do things a little bit different this today. As you may have read in Steve Hummer’s story Sunday, Furman Bisher is retiring just short of the age of 91, because, well, I guess the wimp just couldn’t make it another three weeks. Actually, he’s not really retiring. As he told me on the phone from his escape pad in St. Simons, “I’m going to get up in the morning and think of something to write.” You’ll just have to find it on FurmanBisher.com. Great. More competition. I wasn’t going to blog about Furman. I thought Steve’s splendid piece spoke for all of us. But after several comments, emails and Tweets suggesting that I must have something against Furman since I didn’t write about him, I thought, “OK, let’s give the peeps what they want.” So I was thinking: I’ll call, we’ll chat, maybe he’ll give me a few stock tips and I’ll get a couple of items out of it. But Furman did what he always does. I said hello and he took control of the room. So the Count and I yield to the Bish today, as he count down . . .
10. Yes, he really spoke to Ty Cobb and Shoeless Joe
That's Furman on the left with Joe Jackson (with shoes).
Talking to Furman is like walking into a history book. Like Gumby. Yes, he really interviewed Ty Cobb and “Shoeless” Joe Jackson. I think this was the 27th time I asked him. Furman: “People look at me like I’m in a museum or something. It’s like I’m one of those stone things, talking to you. A talking statue. They can’t quite understand it. They look at me and say, ‘You really knew him?’ It really didn’t strike me as that unusual at the time. I had known Cobb before. I’d seen him blow his stack at dinner. I had never seen Shoeless Joe before. When we spoke, he said, ‘This will be the first time I tell this story and the last.’ We got $250 apiece for that story from Sport Magazine. That was good money. It was 1949.” Never read the story? Here’s a link.
9. Next team to win a title: Falcons
If Furman could pick one guy in Atlanta sports management to run everything, it would be Falcons general manager Thomas Dimitroff. On the next Atlanta team to win a championship, he said: “The most likely one, based on present time, has to be the Falcons. The other ones I think lack the maturity, the strength of leadership and the intelligence in the front office that Thomas Dimitroff has. I don’t know if I can give Arthur Blank much of the credit. I don’t know if he got lucky. I don’t know what led him to Thomas Dimitroff. But I know Dimitroff led him to this.”
8. Frank Wren: Close your eyes
Cox was spared Furman's wrath. But not Cox's bosses.
Furman still has opinions. Strong opinions. It’s what made him a great columnist. He wrote with a voice. And the voice left a dent in John Schuerholz and Frank Wren. When I asked him about the Braves, he said, “They had about five good years in which they were in the middle of things. Then for some reason John Schuerholz lost his touch and when he reached for someone to take to take his place, rather than look for someone new to run the whole thing, he hired somebody exactly like him. I don’t think much of [Frank Wren], to be honest with you. You asked me for an honest answer and I gave you one.”
7. No shock: Atlanta Spirit gets dinged
If Furman stuck around another 10 years, I think I could’ve sold him on hockey. I’d like to think I just ran out of time. As it was, “I don’t see the Thrashers play and I don’t watch them on television. So I don’t have the knowledge to form an opinion. The Hawks are a little different. They impressed me, beginning with that series against the Boston Celtics. I don’t know exactly what brought that up. I don’t think the management or the coaching is that good. But they happened to come together. I know you can’t give ownership any credit. They’re still in a pissing fight with themselves.But somehow, through hook or crook or absolute luck, they’ve managed to keep their heads above water. But I don’t think there’s enough leadeership there for them to win a championship.”
6. He can relate to Bobby Bowden (but prefers Paul Johnson)
You thought he was done? Sit down. Not even close.
You know who Furman likes? Paul Johnson. He watches Georgia Tech play and it looks like Johnson is doing everything himself, right down to pumping up the footballs. “Tech got away with one down in Florida [State]. But you’ve got to give them credit. They’re winning. Poor Bobby Bowden. I speak from experience — if you’re that old and you’re going to keep working, you better prove you’re worthy. Are you going to get it done? But here’s Bowden on one sideline and Paul Johnson on the other, and he’s doing everything. He’s walking up and down the sideline, calling all the plays, sending the plays in. He’s not Bowden, who’s relying on Mickey Andrews and Jimbo Fisher. He’s doing the whole thing himself. And that Johnson is a deceiving son of a gun. I’ve known him for a while but I don’t think I know him at all.”
5. Note to Richt: Nice guys finish last
The difference between Furman Bisher and irate anonymous Georiga fans on message boards? Furman is not anonymous. “I like Mark Richt — I just wish he was more authorative. I wish he’d stop being [so wholesome] and start being an [backside expletive] for once. Nice guys don’t win in college football.”
4. Who knew something could be better than the Crackers?
Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium used to be a jewel. Honest.
Furman was here when the Braves arrived in 1966. I was 7 and just starting to comprehend the names “Koufax” and “Drysdale” in Los Angeles. So I wasn’t quite aware of the Braves, or even Atlanta. Furman educated me. “The Crackers had been the greatest show in town. We didn’t know anything better. Sunday afternoon there were doubleheaders in Ponce de Leon Park. You had your plate full. People used to catch trains and ride buses to Atlanta to see Georgia Tech and the Atlanta Crackers.When the Braves came to town, we were such gullible followers. We thought paradise had arrived. That was the beginning of things.”
3. Good news: NFL arrives. Bad news: It’s Rankin Smith
“The Falcons came at about the same time. Unfortunately, [owner] Rankin [Smith] was a nice man but he was [not lucid]. He had no leadership qualities about him. He just happened to have the money. He had no idea what he was doing. Dimitroff comes to town and nobody knew him. He had no fish to fry here. There was nobody he was trying to impress. He was just trying to put a football team together. But Rankin knew nothing. He had to call Pete Rozelle every time he wanted to pee.”
2. He liked the view from the cheap seats
He wrote his final column on his old Royal.
If I had the money, I would be a sports owner. Not a coach — too many long hours. Not a general manager — too many headaches. Bisher? He never even wanted to own a team. He laughed when I asked the question. “I just wanted to tell people how to do it. Do it my way and it would be great.”
1. And finally . . .
I came to Atlanta 20 years ago. Athletes I knew said to me, “Oh, that’s Bisher’s paper.” He was 71. I got here and it seemed like everyone was talking about his impending retirement. Everybody but Furman. I told him I didn’t think I was going to make it another 41 years to tie his record. “Given the state of things, I don’t think you’ve got much of a shot,” he said. But I’ll have a few more stories to tell now. Good bye, old friend.
(UPDATE: There are readers’ comments below referencing a story Furman wrote about Wally Butts for the Saturday Evening Post. The only problem is Furman didn’t write it. Here’s a comment he just emailed me: “A few blokes wrote in snarling about “the Butts-Bryant story” that I allegedly wrote for the Saturday Evening Post. I want this cleared up, please: I did not write the story. Frank Graham Jr. wrote the story for the Post. I had nothing to do with it. Was aware of it, but Roger Kahn, then sports editor of the Post, new on the job, commissioned Graham Jr. to do the story –NOT ME. You’ll find a chapter in my last book, “Face to Face,” in which it is clearly explained in a letter from Frank. Otherwise, so many fun.)
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115 comments Add your comment
45ACP
October 13th, 2009
12:37 am
Furman Bisher will be missed. Like Larry Munson and Lewis Grizzard.
Growing old does have a down side.
Memories are priceless.
doc
October 13th, 2009
12:40 am
maybe you can bring furman back in the form of top ten to be thankful for in november. classy sendoff. i remember the reverence i felt and had for him the last time i saw him; we chatted at a tour championship about five years ago. so approachable is how i will remember him.
BugKiller
October 13th, 2009
12:52 am
Jeff… I’d be a bigger liar than Mark Richt on his radio show Monday night if I told you this Furman Bisher-enhanced didn’t make me laugh and reminsce and even mist up a bit.
I’m not yet 30, so I’m old enough to remember that you used to get these hints called ink-stains on your fingers when you read the news in the morning on this tangible material called paper.
When the Braves won Atlanta’s first and only pro championship, there was only one man’s words I wanted to read.
When Tiger won his first Masters in 1997, only Furman Bisher could do the story justice.
Furman Bisher WAS the first and best reason to read this paper.
I think that you and Bradley, between the two of you, can almost make one Furman Bisher, but not quite.
Hillbilly Deluxe
October 13th, 2009
1:21 am
Jeff
Just to clear things up, when I wrote that I was surprised that you and Mark hadn’t mentioned Furman, it meant just that, I was surprised. I didn’t think there was any grand conspiracy or that y’all didn’t like Furman.
45ACP
October 13th, 2009
1:24 am
Thanks Jeff. The Joe Jackson article is great.
The history and people he speaks about.
Cobb, Ruth, Johnson is just awesome.
And Kennesaw Mountain Landis banned him from baseball….
Antonio Gramsci
October 13th, 2009
1:30 am
Jeff, you are so good at what you do, and I admire you so much, that it makes me damned sick. Thank you for this. My life has been measured by columnists from the AJC. The world continues to change but you have bridged the gap between old and new media. And in a way, Furman bridged a similar gap, from “olde tymes” to now. I respect you both.
BugKiller
October 13th, 2009
1:44 am
Jeff,
Now that we’ve now lost Lewis and Furman… does this mean you and Bradley will now take up their “sides?”
With you as the Bug and Mark as the Dawg?
gh
October 13th, 2009
2:54 am
Furman doesn’t like the Japanese either. Shultz doesn’t mention that.
JSS
October 13th, 2009
4:02 am
Well, I give up… It needed a serious spin… Still, I should not have expected gravitas and the rightful honor of the moment. So Hummer’s piece will have to do, but funny that the men that shared the columnists moniker with the man after the purge just can’t rise to the occasion.
Larry
October 13th, 2009
4:17 am
Jeff,
Did you bother to ask Mr. Bisher if he too, like you, agreed with the Martha Burke protest on the Augusta National?” Doubtful! Mr. Bisher is a real man, not a liberal, girly man, like you, who had not the initiative to write of him proactive.
So the AJC has spiraled down to Bradly the wimp, O’Brien the cool divorcée with the leather jacket and headset, and Schultz the California dude who hates Conservatives, business owners, and embraces the “Martha Burkes” of the world. Sad. Very, very sad.
wxwax
October 13th, 2009
5:07 am
Jeff, thanks for the link to Bisher’s blog.
http://furmanbisher.wordpress.com/
Good column. Also a big thanks for the Shoeless Joe Jackson story link.
F-105 Thunderchief
October 13th, 2009
6:40 am
It’s buses, not busses. Busses would be kisses. Don’t feel bad, I saw an AP person make the same mistake yesterday.
Fair and Balanced
October 13th, 2009
6:41 am
This retirement should have happened 30 years ago.
GTT
October 13th, 2009
6:50 am
JSS, what gives you standing to be such a blistering critic of Schultz? You some kind of columnist I should be reading? And, if you hate the guy so much, why don’t you just take your haughty arse somewhere else? But, hey, it’s your time, waste it however you will.
Lowcountry Bulldawg
October 13th, 2009
6:51 am
Jeff,
Thank you for the link to the Shoeless Joe article. That was an incredible read. His words came alive. Bisher will be missed. The archives of his tributes to his son, Roger, along w. Lewis are moving articles. Thanks again!
Tom
October 13th, 2009
7:14 am
I will miss you Furman. I am still laughing over a column you wrote about the Falcons’ early years. Supposedly you and Rankin had a few drinks after a loss. Rankin, while still inebriated, went to the Falcons’ locker room and gave the team a lecture on what needed to change. Rankin’s speech produced a near riot as I recall. I am still laughing over that mental image. I will miss your columns.
MiltonDawg
October 13th, 2009
7:22 am
Great article on Jackson- JS- does this mean you’ll be with us till your 91?? And still keep the Tuesday countdown?? That could be your legacy!! Always interesting, always entertaining.
"Chef" Tim Dix
October 13th, 2009
7:22 am
Furman quotes make a great read.
The ability to tie them together would make a GREAT column.
GOOD column, Jeff. (Only good due to the fact you tied it to the countdown.) Now, I must go Rozelle.
clint ellison
October 13th, 2009
7:23 am
I’m an old fart, so Bisher is one of my heroes. Is there a compilation of some of his many notable stories over the years that I can purchase?
BnB
October 13th, 2009
7:28 am
Nice piece. Bisher’s rememberences are priceless. Would love to hear him prattle on about the Crackers and the early years of the Falcons especially as well as old time MLB.
Mark
October 13th, 2009
7:48 am
The best part of the Masters was finding Furman walking the grounds – one of the few journalists that actually watched the golf – and he would converse like you were a long, lost friend. He was genuine, always said what he thought, and was a sportsfan just like the rest of us. My greatest memories involved his TV show with Coach Meyer and Coach Dodd every Sunday – discussing college football in the south. Great Stuff! When the army sent me to Europe in the 70’s, all I asked for from home was for someone to send me all Furman’s articles each week so I could read them – that’s all I needed to know what was going on in Atlanta and what was important. Goodbye Furman – and thanks for letting us go along for the ride.
MightyQuinn
October 13th, 2009
7:59 am
If anyone ever makes it to northeast Iowa, the Field of Dreams movie site is in Dyersville, Iowa and on the wall in the first gift shop (there are two, believe it or not)you will find a photocopy of Bisher’s interview with Shoeless Joe. Priceless! Made me proud to be a Native Atlantan.
reebok
October 13th, 2009
8:02 am
thanks for the great article and the links.
Curious One
October 13th, 2009
8:14 am
Jeff,
What did Mr. Bisher have to say about the “THE DISGRACED DOG KILLER WHO USED TO PLAY QB FOR THE FALCONS?”
Would that start a race riot if his actual commentary saw print?
Devildog
October 13th, 2009
8:32 am
There’s always been only one writer for the AJC. The rest were just typists compared to him.
Jeff Schultz
October 13th, 2009
8:38 am
Great comments everybody . . .
Bugkiller— Nice comments, thanks.
Hillbilly – No problem.
45ACP – Jackson should be in the Hall. But that’s a blog for another day.
Antonio – I don’t know what to say to that except thank you.
Bugkiller – Columnist’s rule of thumb: Can’t tell the truth and take sides. It’s one or the other.
GH – That didn’t come up in our conversation.
Larry – Can’t recall what he wrote, but I’m pretty sure he was pro-club, anti-Martha. And don’t call me dude.
Wxwax – No problem. Enjoy.
F-105 – Maybe I was throwing out kisses? (I’ll correct it.)
Lowcountry – Thanks.
Tom – Funny story. Thanks for sharing.
Miltown Dawg – Thanks. But no.
Chef—Thanks.
Clint Ellison – Maybe a book’s been done. If you can’t find, send me an email and I’ll look into it.
BnB – Get the feeling a Crackers stories could feel an evening by themselves.
Mark – He’ll be missed most at the Masters every year. But he’ll be there every year still, just not writing for us.
Mighty Quinn – Wow, I didn’t know that. Never been to the Field of Dreams.
Reebok – You’re welcome.
SimpleDawg
October 13th, 2009
8:45 am
Furman Bisher is Saint Simmons.
mountain_jim
October 13th, 2009
9:00 am
Good column Jeff and this old reader of Furman and the AJC (which was once two papers) for nearly 40 years appreciates it. I agree the Falcons now have the leadership to take it all at some point. The Smith family years were so, so poorly lead it was pityful to be a fan of all teams Atlanta during them.
Left to Right
October 13th, 2009
9:00 am
“Funny” how none of these tributes, including Jeff’s, mention the Bisher article in the Saturday Evening Post that falsely accused Bear Bryant and UGA AD Wally Butts of fixing the 1962 Georgia-Alabama game. The article was very poorly researched and reported and violated numerous tenets of good journalism (like “be sure to get confirmation of the story”).
The resulting lawsuit (which eventually went to the Supreme Court and was won by Butts) helped bankrupt the Saturday Evening Post. It was an important event, and yet the AJC and its minions have airbrushed out of existence.
“Read all about it” as they used to say, right here:
http://blog.al.com/bn/2008/03/story_ruins_magazine_not_bryan.html
collegeballfan
October 13th, 2009
9:08 am
Thanks for the link to the Joe Jackson story. I had never read that piece.
No one has mentioned it I think, but Furman’s Sunday college football show has never been equaled. And Furman was not the star, the stars were the reporters who covered the games. He gave them their full say on the game they covered.
Haiku Man
October 13th, 2009
9:08 am
The Flames leaving town
Was my saddest day ever
Until Furman left
Sarah
October 13th, 2009
9:09 am
I am lucky enough to know Furman personally (through his wife) and you have captured him perfectly and conveyed him so accurately. He just tells it like it is and if you happen to be on the receiving end and it’s not a flattering statement, you really can’t be offended because he’s usually right!
Reid Adair
October 13th, 2009
9:11 am
Very well done, Jeff. I have always respected Furman’s opinions, and to hear him say that he has no faith in Frank Wren is fantastic. Furman will be missed.
Then, of course, we have people like “Fair and Balanced” who have no semblance of decency or respect. And for “Left to Right,” I’m sure you’ve never made any mistakes in your life either, huh?
brewdawg
October 13th, 2009
9:24 am
Furman is 91? His mind sure doesn’t seem to be that old.
Radical Conservatives Give the Rest a Bad Name
October 13th, 2009
9:34 am
Guys like Larry really make me sad. Such hatefulness, no matter what the situation or occasion. Larry, your mother would not be proud of you.
DCW
October 13th, 2009
9:35 am
I grew up around this guy and my impression of Bisher was always that of a country club elitist. I also have to agree with some others here. His relevance passed many years ago.
Old Time Atlantan
October 13th, 2009
9:40 am
Great point Left to Right. Bisher railroaded Butts out of there with false accusations and never gets talked about. He also has always loved throwing the jabs but can’t take a punch himself.The only thing that I will miss is his knowledge of sports history although he uses way too much opinion when telling us about it. He used his barrel of ink to hurt many people but never could take criticism himself. Sad to say, Good riddance but 50 years to late.
Eric
October 13th, 2009
9:44 am
I started reading Furman Bisher and Jesse Outlar at age 6, back in 1957, and with the advent of the internet, I have been able to continue to read Mr. Bisher for many years after moving to Texas in 1991. Yep the old fart will be missed, Furman had a way with stating the obvious, telling the painful truth at times, yet always interesting and never seeming to make enemies. For the most part he never let his politics come to the surface like so many of the sports writers of today…present company excepted.
Best wishes in all your coming endeavors, and I will be checking out FurmanBisher.com
Eric
Dallas, TX
Mike Lum
October 13th, 2009
9:46 am
As an old fart myself, I’ve always enjoyed Bisher’s columns…though quite a few these last few years have been a little out of touch. Same with the Wren comment. Had Frank not rebuilt the pitching staff last off-season the Braves would not still been in contention on October 1st. He made the tough calls on Smoltz and Glavine, and surprized MLB with the McLouth & LaRoche trades.
But mostly, I agree with the rest of the Countdown.
Jimmy Pritchard
October 13th, 2009
9:59 am
Good riddance. Bisher is a pompous bore whose sell-by date was passed way back in the 80’s, and next to the also-departed (and also un-missed) Terance Moore, had the most un-read column in the paper. And you guys wonder why subscriptions dried up so quickly…
Gene
October 13th, 2009
9:59 am
Nice article. Furman always loved Georgia Tech and Bobby Dodd, in particular. My father was an Auburn graduate. We would always watch the Sunday TV program with Bisher and company, and my father would rail against Bisher for his Tech slant. In the early 50’s, Tech refused to play Auburn anywhere but at Grant Field, which always gave Tech the advantage, plus Dodd had some great teams. Bisher loved Tech but hated Alabama and Bear Bryant. When the thug, Darwin Holt, thumped the Tech player in the mouth, Bisher was livid and probably remains so. In spite of whatever slant Bisher took, he was still one of the best writers around. I seldom missed one of his articles. About 30 years ago, when I was in the Army, I got to chat about the old TV program with Jim Minter. He was visiting Ft. Bragg, and I was escorting him to some training exercises. I pointed out my father’s displeasure with the Georgia Tech slant to the program. Minter just laughed.
Boo Boo
October 13th, 2009
10:05 am
Was it Furman Bisher who was shot and robbed of his typewriter crossing Capitol Avenuse after a Braves game? Or was that Jesse Outlar?
SEC
October 13th, 2009
10:10 am
There is a lot more to the Furman Bisher/Bear Bryant matter. For those of you not old enough to remember, Bisher was the “journalist” who wrote an article that accused Coach Bryant and Wally Butts of rigging a game. The article appeared in the Saturday Evening Post. Bryant and Butts subsequently filed suit and were awared a sizable verdict (I believe it was in the neighborhood of $400,000 in 1960’s dollars). Bisher’s article was totally discredited. It appears he has not gotten any sharper with the passing years.
Seriously, Wally Butts was the head coach at Georgia from 1939 to 1960. Bisher’s accusations involved both coaches (admittedly, it would probably be more difficult for one coach to rig a game, though I suppose it is possible). Coach Bryant’s case was tried in federal court in Atlanta. It did not turn out well for the Post. I have always assumed Bisher’s continued employment was attributable to being married to the publisher’s daughter or some similar circumstance.
Ted Striker
October 13th, 2009
10:21 am
Nice read and good questions for Mr. Bisher. He’s a legend and he’ll be missed by many.
Larvell "SugarBear" Blanks
October 13th, 2009
10:22 am
Jeff,
Your best Tuesday Countdown period! What a great idea! I wish I could put into words what this man has meant to me as a sports fan. He was and will ALWAYS be the best sports columnist I have ever read. I remember as a kid growing up in Carrollton and running down with baited excitement to our mailbox to be the FIRST to grab the paper and pull out the sports section just to read Furman. Jeff, I miss that unbridled excitement when it comes to reading Sports today. Times change but Furman was that rock we could hold on to and relive our youths!
Ted Striker
October 13th, 2009
10:25 am
p.s. I remember getting a “I beat Bisher” shirt back in the 80’s. Maybe you can look around and find a box of them in the boiler room and give ‘em out for prizes or something. I know your promotional department has cut back on letting you send out AJC coolers, jackets, and other swag.
Larry
October 13th, 2009
10:33 am
Radical Conservatives Give the Rest a Bad Name,
Not “radical,” actually quite moderate and have voted for both democrats (Jimmy Carter) and republicans (Ronald Reagan). You see, unlike Jeff (”don’t call me dude”) Schultz, I do not measure the conservative agenda by what Rush Limbaugh says or writes as I do not measure the liberal agenda by what Al Sharpton says or writes. Both are extremists!
However, growing up as a democrat, this party of the people has swung so far that their idols are void of morals and values, and in the end, regardless of the political affiliation, I will vote for the best person to protect the rights of the innocent unborn, our national safety, and a person that I can easily sit beside my two young daughters and not have to explain to them why their president gets serviced by their young interns (Clinton), has had multiple affairs (Clinton or any Kennedy), or ill equipped to lead a nation (O’Bama).
Just think about it–what party has the most followers that do not believe in a God, are in prison, rely on the government for subsistence, have the highest divorce rate, the most illegitimate children, etc, etc, etc. Certainly not “conservatives.” I’ll take my chances on one with basic human standars and values over who looks and sounds the coolest!
Our democratic leaders have become nothing more than political pimps that offer free goods and services to their constituency (slaves)in exchange for a vote to keep them in power so they can live an exorbitant lifestyle at the expense and support of their slaves. You keep the pimps in office–I’ll vote for the one best suited to protect my coutry, my rights, and stay the hell out of my personal business and finances.
Get Off My Lawn
October 13th, 2009
10:35 am
Several years ago he stopped writing about games for the next day’s paper. And then a lot of writers lost their jobs. No resume justifies that lack of ethics.
Another perspective
October 13th, 2009
10:37 am
Jeff,
When do we get to read an article on the hatchet job that Bisher did on Bryant and Butts who had a 21 Georgia year career but whose reputation will forever be tarnished by what Furman did to him?
Why was this guy even retained by the AJC if his bogus story was so bad that a jury of 12 of our peers looked at the totality of the evidence and rewarded huge judgements to Bryant and Butts?
Last, how many people at the Saturday evening post lost theri jobs when the post went out of business all because Furman decided to try to make a name for himself by ruining the reputations of these 2 men. Did anyone ever do a story on that? When do we get to see some articles from the AJC about the trash this man wrote about these 2 good men?
Matt the Brave
October 13th, 2009
10:48 am
I loved reading Furman Bisher, especially on Sundays when Lewis Grizzard was still alive. Bisher would cover the Tech game and Grizzard the Georgia one, and it was often funny to see the jives towards one another. The Atlanta paper’s sports section has taken quite a hit with Bisher leaving. But my Lord, he’s 91. I think that he gets to enjoy at least a few years without having to report to someone other than his wife.
Good article Jeff, looking forward to more like this in the future!
egeagle
October 13th, 2009
10:55 am
Quick countdown on one of the best ever.
10. The quintessential Tech man. For good and bad
9. A Sunday staple in the bygone print days.
8. Wronged Butts and Bryant. See #10
7. Silky smooth semantic style
6. With Outlar, good balance in style and slant.
5. Thanksgiving columns were and are great
4. Responded to individual e-mails. Approachable and friendly.
3. Respectful to small-college football
2. In a direct e-mail, predicted Paul Johnson’s future and success in FBS.
1. Wrote my favorite all-time lead for a story on the 1985 GSC-Furman 1-AA championship game, and I’ll paraphrase.In a football feast on Saturday, the Lamb was excellent, but the Ham was superb. That had to be tough, but Bish served us readers with the best coverage of that awesome game.
This is like Nobis or Van Note leaving the Falcons, Murphy or Niekro leavving the Braves, Dodd leaving Tech, or Dooley leaving Georgia.
Godspeed and Selah!
Paul From Milton
October 13th, 2009
10:55 am
Jeff,
The Shoeless Joe article was really fascinating. Does Bisher think Shoeless Joe was innocent and should be reinstated back into baseball?
egeagle
October 13th, 2009
10:56 am
Sorry about the double submission.
Gene
October 13th, 2009
11:01 am
I think that Bisher’s dislike of Bryant drove the issue with Butts and Bryant’s alleged cheating. There is no doubt that Butts and Bryant were friends and talked about football. Former players and people who knew Butts maintained that Butts would never sell out his old team, and I don’t think that Bryant would participate either. Bryant used to visit Noah Langdale at GSU when he came to Atlanta. Bryant always said he had to bring his lunch with him, probably in reference to his experience with Bisher and the Atlanta papers.
Charles C. Carter
October 13th, 2009
11:04 am
Mr. Bishers description of Augusta each year. His putting onto paper what it really was like to be in Jacksonville in 1985. He felt the earthquake when Henderson busted the first of two 50 something yard runs. Sorry this fan of sports thinks, knows, we are seeing an icon and legend leave us. Some of these blogs are just plain weird.
71 Dawg
October 13th, 2009
11:09 am
One of my favorite columns by Bisher was a “for what it’s worth” and he said was wrong about The Beatles and their music was better than he had once thought (paraphrasing). He started his career in Atlanta when I was less than a year old so I’ve probably read most of what he’s written since about 1958. That covers a ton of sports history in Atlanta. Most of it has been good!
DP
October 13th, 2009
11:10 am
SEC, there’s even more to the Bisher/Bryant issue than you reference. Bobby Dodd had great success at Georgia Tech in the 1950’s when they were in the SEC. Bryant came to Alabama in 1958 and by 1961 won a national championship. Dodd was looking to cancel the series with Alabama and in 1961 an Alabama player (Darwin Holt) laid a vicious and unnecessary hit on a Tech player and badly injured him. Dodd was furious and demanded an apology. Furman Bisher and other Atlanta sportswriters ripped Bryant and Alabama. In 1962, Bisher wrote an article for the Saturday Evening Post titled “College Football is Going Beserk” which said that dirty play was escalating. It singled out Bryant as the worst offender and claimed that he taught his team dirty play. Bryant sued the Post for $500,000. A year later came the article on the alleged Butts-Bryant fix. It was widely believed Bisher had a hand in that story but I believe he has denied it. Bryant also sued the Post over that story and after Butts won a jury verdict, Bryant settled out of court for both articles.
Alabama and Georgia Tech stopped playing annually after the 1964 game and Georgia Tech withdrew from the SEC.
Here is a link to an old SI article on Bryant that is relevant to this issue:
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/article/magazine/MAG1078925/1/index.htm
Ozzy
October 13th, 2009
11:18 am
My opinion of “the most wonderful time of the year” is Thanksgiving morning before the wife and kids get up. Just me and the dogs.
A hot cup of fresh coffee and Furman Bisher’s Thanksgiving column. I’m really gonna miss that.
Damn. I hate that.
SCN
October 13th, 2009
11:42 am
Boo Boo, it was Outlar that was shot and robbed outside the old stadium, not Bisher … I believe that happened in the mid-70s.
I well remember as a kid in the 60s the old Sunday “Football Review” TV show on Sundays with Bisher, Jim Minter, John Logue, Harry Mehre (”the old coach”) and others … it was sort of like the current Bob Neal/Tony Barnhart/Schlabach thing on CSS, but with much more colorful characters.
My dad loved Bisher and, therefore, I thought he was a fossil even 35 yrs ago … funny how I got to appreciate his work more as I got older. His retirement is a great loss to the remnants of the AJC.
1st base line
October 13th, 2009
11:50 am
I too, remember. I was 10 yoa when my dad took me 150 miles every time the dodgers came to town to watch Drysdale and Koufax. I even remember one time we beat one of them. My long, lost ‘I beat Bisher’ T-shirts were a cherished possession. My dad taught me at an early age about Mr. Bisher. If I ever wanted to know what was ‘really’ going on, ALL I HAD TO DO WAS READ HIS COLUMN. He will be missed.
midnite
October 13th, 2009
12:05 pm
What Larry, not bragging about your Hank Aaron seats at the Ted? Political blog is down the hall on the “right”.
“Nice Guys Don’t Win in College Football” « The Grit Tree
October 13th, 2009
12:08 pm
[...] lack of emotion and passive attitude just as much as the next guy. But Furman Bisher’s statement about Richt proves he has “old man’s disease” worse than Bobby [...]
TechCrybaby
October 13th, 2009
12:09 pm
DP, you have it right. The after-the-play, and career-ending injury to Tech’s starting halfback Chick Graning appeared deliberately mean on the part of Alabama linebacker Darwin Holt. Later, he claimed he did NOT do it deliberately. Furman Bisher was only one of thousands of Tech fans who were furious about the obvious infraction.
JSS
October 13th, 2009
12:10 pm
GTT
There are time for jokes and anedotes, and then there are times to step to the position…
There are just better ways, take a gander…
http://jakemabe.blogspot.com/2009/06/day-hank-tied-babe.html
SEC and Another Perspective
Once again, people are shading the the judgment in the Butts-vs-Curtis Publishing case. If you want to read the definitive piece on the matter, go to your library and check out: “Fumble: Butts-Bryant and the Great Football Scandal.” Bryant and Butts sued Curtis Publishing for $10 million, not $500,000. The Courts reduced the judgment to $410,000…
I posted this on the Barnhart blog in response to a post there…
spiguy…
“the broken jaw” is the GA Tech incident (geez)
Was the incident overblown? Yes! But that was the nature of the times… Did Bryant and Dodd overplay their hands? Oh yes!!! I had to study this case ad naseum for my Journalism libel and litigation course, not just the original case (it is how I found “Fumble”) and the Curtis Publishing appeal but the underlying background evidence. Bisher and the Post were not held responsible for the matter itself (the story, whether it happened), they were held responsible for not fact checking the material more thoroughly. Of course Bryant and Butts denied the material fact, they better thank god that it was not in the modern day era of surveillance. Butts and Bryant are dead. The case is settled law and compensation. Curtis Publishing is closed down, the people who were to held responsible, the editors and those whose job it was to followup on the article before it was sent to press have paid their price. Now, if you want to keep trying to extract a pound of flesh from Bisher, good luck with that, it just comes off as tacky… Sorry to have to say it, but it comes off that way…
Like I said, they’ll never give up the ghost…
By the way, Tech had already announced their departure from the SEC allegedly because of the matter of the Conference scholarship rules… Moreover, Tech was looking integrate its teams which left no love for Tech, see the fact that it would be 7 years before UGA admitted a black athlete. Bryant, as I said on the other blog should be applauded for bringing Alabama out the hinterlands and forcing Ole Miss and Mississippi State to finally give up the ghost of segregation as well… Notice I left Shug Jordan (Auburn) out of the matter.
Ted Striker
October 13th, 2009
12:14 pm
geagle — post 3x, 4x, 5x.
Me likes the Eagles, me likes your top 10. Post more often.
Mitchell Gantt
October 13th, 2009
12:18 pm
While I’ve never been a Bisher fan and won’t miss him, the posters above are being misleading when they describe the story about Bryant and Butts colluding to fix a game as “completely discredited.” The SEC lawyer who covered that case for the conference, James Kirby, wrote a book about it many years later, and found that the evidence did point to Bryant and Butts having colluded about the game before it was played, and lying about it in court. The book is titled “Fumble,” and it gives a lot of insight into the case in general, as well as to the (low) character of Bryant, who lied, cheated and stole his way through his coaching career.
Jim
October 13th, 2009
12:21 pm
Thank you so much for the link to the Shoeless Joe article. It’s a trip back in time, and a wonderful piece.
Fischerking04
October 13th, 2009
12:30 pm
He may have been a great writer in his time, but his talent must have retired a long time ago. It seems like every story that he writes has an extremely negative vibe. I was not around to see him in his hayday but within the past few years at least his pessimistic undertones are not worth reading.
Mitchell
October 13th, 2009
12:31 pm
Of course, not a bad word to say about the guy who lost four World Series and won a single playoff series out of seven in the 2000’s.
It’s all on the front office. Did he notice we finished third this year? Third f***ing place?! Am I the only Braves fan who is sickened by this? And what about that little six game death spiral to close it out? No big deal I guess.
After losing practically every impact player last year (’08) to injury we return the following year with, as far as I’m concerned, the best pitching staff in all of baseball and one of the better bullpens and we can only manage to win 86 games!
Try to convince me that if the Mets finish third next year with 85 or 86 wins after a horrid ‘09 they won’t fire Jerry Manuel. You cannot.
Frank Wren did everything in his powers to give the Braves a chance to make the playoffs and once again Bobby Cox squandered it. The Braves are the biggest bunch of underachieving bums I have ever seen. Can’t bunt, can’t hit and run, can’t steal bases, can’t get the clutch hit or pick up their starter when they have a bad outing. This team is poorly coached and has a manager who is satisfied with mediocrity and apparently Bisher is too.
Huddy's Ligament
October 13th, 2009
12:34 pm
Let’s see – did the Crackers quit playing in the ATL in 1965?
Looks like the AJC should do a 45-year retrospective prior to the 2010 baseball season.
I’m betting there’s a million or more current ATLiens that know nothing about this – and isn’t there a Home Depot where Ponce de Leon Park stood? Isn’t that just a microcosm of what Atlanta has become?
Paul Bryant
October 13th, 2009
12:35 pm
I believe this, that the reputation I had as a driver preceded me to Alabama. I doubt that the Holt-Graning incident would ever have reached the proportions it did if I had not had that reputation. Then there probably would never have been that first story in The Saturday Evening Post claiming I was an advocate of brutal football. I wouldn’t have sued the Post over that, and if I hadn’t sued the Post I doubt that there ever would have been the second story, the real filthy, malicious one that said Wally Butts and I fixed a football game. The whole thing just snowballed but, looking back on it all, if it meant changing my methods, my program, to avoid the heartaches that followed, then I’d just as soon have the heartaches.
Legend of Len Barker
October 13th, 2009
12:36 pm
Jeff,
I know of two compilations.
- With a Southern Exposure (1962)
- The Furman Bisher Collection (1989)
Neither are in print. I have a copy of the latter I purchased at a library book sale. A small handful of libraries across the state have copies of both. Online retailers also have links to people selling used copies.
Some Sense
October 13th, 2009
12:37 pm
We shouldn’t even be going here since most are happy to celebrate FB’s life and career at this moment…what he meant to our great city in more innocent times…before the Smith family and crime f’ed it up. But your column, Jeff, is pissy and reminds us of how pissy FB could be.
JSS
October 13th, 2009
12:39 pm
Huddy, if you’re in Atlanta, go to the Atlanta Historical Society, there’s score of material on the Crackers and the old ball park… You’ll be pleasantly surprised and enlightened…
John Tucker
October 13th, 2009
12:52 pm
Furman Bisher has been my favorite Southern Sports writer over the past 50 years, but like all of us, he got spoiled by the Braves success and he’s lokking at the Scheurholtz-Cox Era as Nirvana.
Frank Wren did what was necessary to begin remaking the Braves after his predecessor and Cox had held onto aging veterans (Smoltz, Glavine, Andruw Jones, Marcus Giles and, yes, Chipper) and hometown favorites like Francouer for much too long.
If Francouer rediscovered or rediscovers his swing, it will be because he found a better pitching coach than Terry Pendleton and because the braves’ trading him provided a reality check.
Wren may not have handled SMoltz and Galvine as smoothly as we all would have liked, but those two Hall of Famers have seldom been handled by anybody until opposing hitters in the last 3 years found them hittable.They wanted to end their careers as Braves about 2 years later than the Braves needed either of them. Wren said, “No thankyou,” and I am very glad or the Braves would have been sub-.500 in 2009.
wxwax
October 13th, 2009
1:03 pm
To those guys who think that Bisher wrote the Bryant-Butts story…
He didn’t. He conducted some interviews to contribute to the story. Those interviews were never used. He did not write the story.
Facts rarely change lore. Nevertheless, those are the facts.
jmart
October 13th, 2009
1:04 pm
Larry – 10:33am:
Thanks for telling us what is right in “your coutry”. And what is so wrong with the Democrats. Personally, if there was a constitutional law that said every ten years congressmen and women as well as all senators must be ousted and new ones elected in their place, that’s something I could support. Its all about personal power, greed and the accumulation of personal wealth.
I really appreciate how Bush protected “your coutry” and spent billions lining the pockets of his cronies. Bush’s policies started us down the road of Bank bailouts and Corporation bailouts. That it has continued, supports a call for an entirely new Congress.
Your paternalistic view of government for the Republicans and by the Republicans leaves most of us clutching our wallets trying to keep big business (oil, healthcare, insurance companies) from stealing us blind.
The “America – love or leave it” philosophy works fine, as long as you are among those in power. Even then, unless you are a “fat cat” you are just another enabler (yeah, the peons of the Republican party are enablers no different from the Democrat enablers you hate so much).
But most of all I appreciate knowing the correct positions on all the issues that you cited. To be against them makes one less of an American than people like you, the true Americans. We surely don’t want our children listening to other positions than the “correct positions”, the mandated positions of our Leaders.
dap01
October 13th, 2009
1:07 pm
Bisher has had a long and good career but he is hardly an expert. Compare Coach Johnson’s record to CMR. Give me a break. Frank Wren had an excellent offseason. I hope that the AJC writers don’t think of themselves like ESPN does. They believe that they (ESPN) is the story. Wrong!
JSS
October 13th, 2009
1:18 pm
wxwax,…
Thank you, that is why I pointed out the editors at the S.E.P. and Curtis Publishing…
Ted Striker
October 13th, 2009
1:35 pm
wxwax@1:03 pm — Like you, I’m aware Furman Bisher wasn’t included in the byline of that particular story. And I haven’t brought that story up here. However, since you’re discussing the topic, perhaps you can answer this question:
Has Mr. Bisher publicly discussed the specifics of his involvement in the affair and if so, where is his account (or a record of his account) published?
Maybe Mr. Bisher was a party to a wrong, maybe he wasn’t. I’m simply saying that part of his long legacy is his involvement in one of the biggest accusations of scandal in college football history and I don’t know where he’s gone on the record about the specifics of it.
savannahdawg
October 13th, 2009
1:42 pm
I wonder what his favorite Master’s moment is? I would have liked to hear that one. Great link about Shoeless Joe Jackson. Got to agree about CMR…….time to stop being a nice guy and kick a little tail.
Sonny Clusters
October 13th, 2009
1:43 pm
We was thinking its about time he retired. He was always stealing my thunder.
RHR
October 13th, 2009
2:03 pm
I have seen tributes to Bisher everywhere from my local newspaper to all the blogs on ESPN.
http://blog.al.com/mccarter/2009/10/furman_bisher_an_immortal_in_r.html
Hope y’all gave him a hell of a retirement party.
Pompano
October 13th, 2009
2:11 pm
I remember a couple of decades ago that Furman actually wrote Sports articles. However, I thought for the last 20 years that he was in charge of Sports obits – when is the last time he wrote about an athlete that was still alive.
I grew up reading Furman and used to love his stuff – been subscribing to the AJC for over 40 years.. However, his articles became so dry and dated that I quit reading him years ago. The boxscores were more interesting than Furman the last decade.
Bama Sam
October 13th, 2009
2:19 pm
Good riddance to that crusty ole blowhard.
Carl
October 13th, 2009
2:38 pm
In 1950 I was 13 years old. I loved the Atlanta Crackers and the GA Tech Yellow Jackets. I saw the Crackers a few times but could never get a ticket to a Tech game. Furman Bisher brought my teams to life for me through his writing. On Sunday the pictures showing Tech plays and the articles in the Atlanta Journal I lived to read and see. Think you could get Furman to reminisce sometime about those days and print it?
Tide Rising
October 13th, 2009
2:39 pm
JSS and DP,
Thanks for an excellent articles.JSS, I will have to politely disagree with you on a couple of points. I don’t consider holding Bisher to account for smearing 2 fine men to be “tacky”. I consider it more of justice to remind people of what this man Bisher did to 2 fine gentleman. It is obvious from the court settlements that was Bisher did to these 2 men was flat out wrong.
Its also obvious from other writings that he constantly violated a basic journalistic tenet of fairness and allowed his personal feelings and animosity towards Bryant, Butts, and the Bama and UGA programs to seep into his writings and reporting.
Also, about the book you reference. From the very title it seems to insinuate as if there actually was or may have been a scandal involving Butts, Bryant, and fixing a game. If the guy wrote a book about something that never was(fixing the game), about a potential fix that had practically zero evidence to support it as proven in a court of law, then I give no credibility to the book to begin with.
Its hard to imagine writing an entire book about a non event unless most of the book focuses on ancillary factors such as the feud between Bryant-Dodd, Bisher’s obvious dislike of both Bryant and Dodd which clouded his journalistic integrity even before his smear job, the Bama-GT-UGA rivalries, etc.
Anyway, I don’t remember the man ever apologizing or accepting responsibility for his smear job and just because its been 40 years doesn’t make what he did anymore right. If he’s not willing to apologize then I’m not willing to forget what the man did to Alabama’s iconic Bear Bryant or to another fine man in Butts
Really?
October 13th, 2009
2:53 pm
I’ve lived here for over 30 years and everything Bisher wrote could have been penned by a high schooler….It lacked any real depth or groundbreaking revelations. Just because he kept his job so long does not make him a great writer. It just indicates the lack of quality journalism this publication has.
pryguy
October 13th, 2009
2:54 pm
Schultz,
Finally enjoyed reading one of your pieces….maybe because it wasn’t you trashing on the Braves. Nevertheless, good stuff man.
misterwax
October 13th, 2009
2:57 pm
Jeff, you have been here 20 years too long….take your condescending left-wing, liberal, bigoted point of view and Skee-daddle….Maybe Furman will give you a letter of reference…or Michelle Hiskey perhaps…
JSS
October 13th, 2009
3:14 pm
Tide Rising…
Read the book first, James Kirby was hired by the SEC, it is how he became intimately aware of the issues and the particulars of the matters at the trial and in the case of the actions of the counsels to both parties. He had no dog in the fight. Wally Butts was a lot of things, but it must be said, he was fast and loose also. I will direct you to: “College Football: History, Spectacle, Controversy” by John Sayle Watterson. As wxwax pointed out: Bisher was not the author of the article in question that Alabama fans continue to connect to him. He did conduct interviews which were not included in the final piece. Now the Holt Incident (I refer to it as GA Tech Incident) is another circumstance and should be treated as such. Coach Bryant was a lot of things, he was not a lawyer. A civil suit is just that, I will not demean the jury process, nor will I question the settlement of the suit. It was Curtis Publishing, not Furman Bisher! People have to start connecting facts to the myth of what really happened…
Bama Sam
October 13th, 2009
3:25 pm
Someone please wake Bisher up and tell him that he’s retired. I can’t believe this old idiot actually thinks he can give advice to anyone in sports. Mark Richt finishes last? I’m not a UGA fan and won’t try and defend them or their coach (who, yes, is a fine person). But, Bisher is proof that crusty old farts don’t finish first either. Get outta here you jerk. Only an institution like the Urinal-Constipation would keep a guy like Bisher on staff all these years. Coach Bryant should have punched you in the face when he had the chance.
The Dogfighter Returns
October 13th, 2009
3:31 pm
Why did furman never use a picture that actually showed what he looked like? That geezer fooled me for the last ten years showing pictures that made him look as though he was in his early sixties or seventies when in reality this man was nearly ninety years old.
I am truly offended by this coward act of deception on his part. He looked younger than Bobby Bowden in all his official pictures when in reality this guy is older than Bobby.
Furman I am truly disappointed that you chose this part towards the end. I would have cut you some slack if you had used a more recent picture rather a picture from the eighties.
Oh well. WTF.
chzbykr
October 13th, 2009
3:49 pm
Thanks Jeff, for this excellent post. I was especially thrilled to read the Bisher interview with Joe Jackson. Makes me think that his cause should be reopened. Very likely a Hall of Famer there.
BT
October 13th, 2009
3:52 pm
Enter your comments here
Lea
October 13th, 2009
3:56 pm
I’m glad he remembered Roger in the article – he and his wife were both so very nice!
njbraves
October 13th, 2009
4:24 pm
Nobody cares what this old man has to say. His stories are not only boring, but usually wrong.
Frank Lane
October 13th, 2009
4:24 pm
Jesse Outlar was a great sports writer. Furman Bisher is a great writer who happens to write about sports.
Frank Lane
October 13th, 2009
4:25 pm
BTW, njbraves may be a smart person, but his comment above is that of a nincompoop.
andygsu
October 13th, 2009
4:48 pm
Amazing article about Shoeless Joe. First time I have read that. He did some amazing things in his career.