Driving Mr. Bisher: A car ride to Clemson that changed one life
Furman with Shoeless Joe Jackson in 1949. I wasn't around. (AJC photo)
November 24, 1984: I did something I hadn’t done before and would never do again. I drove Furman Bisher to a college football game.
Clemson was playing South Carolina — the Gamecocks were very good that year — and we had only one parking pass. So we met somewhere off West Paces Ferry and he seated himself in my Corolla and off we went.
It was two hours to Clemson, plus another 30 because we got stuck in game traffic. (Being relatively new at the ol’ AJC, I hadn’t yet mastered the David Davidson Back Way — get off at Fair Play and take back roads through Seneca.) And we hadn’t passed Roswell Road before Furman said something that made me start doing a bit of math.
For reasons unknown, I’d mentioned Sandy Koufax. Said Furman: “I met Sandy when he was a rookie in Dodgers camp.” I thought to myself: OK, Koufax was a rookie in 1955; I’d been born in 1955.
I was new at the AJC in 1984 — I’d started in March — but I’d worked at the Lexington Herald-Leader for six years. I was 28, and I’d been around a little. But with that one throwaway line about the great Koufax the great Furman Bisher reminded me (without meaning to remind me of anything, I should stress) that he’d been covering sports longer than I’d been on this Earth. So I did something that, to this day, strikes me as maybe the only smart thing I’ve ever done:
I shut up and listened.
He told me stories, named names, retraced the steps of a life that was already in its 67th year. I said just enough to fill in the spaces, and I learned more in those 2 1/2 hours than I did in every journalism class I’d ever taken. He was complimentary of my early efforts at paper, and he noted that he liked the one column a week I’d settled into doing for the Tuesday Journal — yes, we had two papers back in those olden days — as his backup. And then he said something that I would have written down had my hands not been on the wheel.
“I’m going to take a couple of weeks off soon. You should get a bunch of column ideas together and be ready.”
I did, and I was. I wrote a column every day for the Journal for two weeks, and I guess I managed not to mess up too much. Because after two weeks Van McKenzie, the man who’d hired me, started finding reasons to have me write more than the one Tuesday column. It sounds overly dramatic to say those two weeks changed my vocational life, but they kind of did.
We got to Clemson. We covered the game. South Carolina drove 86 yards to win by a point and finish its regular season 10-1. On the way back we mostly talked about what we’d seen and the Georgia-Georgia Tech game upcoming the next week. (Furman thought Tech had a great chance to win, and by Jove it did.) We got back, and I let him out. I doubt Furman ever thought about the ride again in his life. I remember it still.
He and I would talk many more times over many more years at many different venues, but that day in the car I felt as if I’d tapped into something deeper than the usual sportswriter workspeak. I’d been given a crash course in a Hall of Famer’s personal history. I drove home feeling both edified and awed. Furman could have just treated me like some clod giving him a ride, but he didn’t.
I don’t think I ever thanked him properly — in my lame defense, we were technically colleagues, and it’s bad form for one colleague to gush over another — but I should have. He made me feel as if I were a peer, when we both knew good and well I was nothing of the sort.
By Mark Bradley
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177 comments Add your comment
todd grantham
March 19th, 2012
10:17 am
a terrible loss for all of us.
Leroy1970
March 19th, 2012
10:18 am
First!
todd grantham
March 19th, 2012
10:19 am
not to pander Mark, but Mr. Bisher knew talent when he read it.
todd grantham
March 19th, 2012
10:21 am
you might have captioned the photo “Furman with a formerly Shoeless Joe Jackson”.
todd grantham
March 19th, 2012
10:22 am
by the way, Shoeless Joe looks eerily like Richard B. Russell in the photograph.
crose714
March 19th, 2012
10:25 am
Once again Mr. Bradley… Well done. As a native Atlantan (maybe one of the few left) its a tough day. When you are young, I couldn’t have imagined a day without Lewis Grizzard, Skip Carey and Furman Bisher. Stay healthy Mark! We need ya!
D man
March 19th, 2012
10:26 am
I always enjoyed reading Furmans columns. He will be missed…
Mark Bradley
March 19th, 2012
10:26 am
Thanks, todd. And kudos, even though you did not ask.
todd grantham
March 19th, 2012
10:27 am
All the stuff i’ve ever read by AJC sportswriters indicates Mr. Bisher was a tyrant but was such a talented writer he inspired almost total loyalty and awe.
Can’t remember who wrote about it, but the funniest line I can remember being attributed to Mr. Bisher was when he called a writer into his office and said “I have a new assignment for you. Get another job.”
Big Crimson 75
March 19th, 2012
10:27 am
RIP — Furman Bisher
Mark Bradley
March 19th, 2012
10:29 am
I should note that Mr. Bisher was not running the sports department when I was hired. (Otherwise I might not have been.) The late Van McKenzie was.
todd grantham
March 19th, 2012
10:29 am
Jim Minter might have related that story in the book about Lewis Grizzard ‘Don’t Fence Me In”.
Mike D.
March 19th, 2012
10:30 am
Well said, Mark. Furman was a great sports writer and this is a nice tribute.
todd grantham
March 19th, 2012
10:30 am
Mark, did you actually start with the Constitution or were the papers already combined then?
crose714
March 19th, 2012
10:31 am
Ugh… I forgot Ernie Johnson too.
jw
March 19th, 2012
10:31 am
I’m thankful that I had the opportunity to read Bisher’s columns and absorb, respond or just file away the tidbits over the years.
I’m thankful my library at Clayton Elementary School had Strange But True Baseball Stories on the shelf – bet I checked it out a hundred times.
Selah!
todd grantham
March 19th, 2012
10:33 am
Certainly don’t forget Larry Munson.
The curse of aging is the past looks better and better.
Gary
March 19th, 2012
10:33 am
I didnt grow up in Atlanta or reading the AJC, but living in Florida, the only way to get news on my Dawgs was to read the AJC online. You only had to read one Bishop column to know his writing was “special.” Thank you for being modest enough to admit you aren’t in his league but in your defense, he was in a league of his own.
Montgomery
March 19th, 2012
10:33 am
Keep up the good work Mark, we need ya.
Mark Bradley
March 19th, 2012
10:33 am
We were combined then. But we still had separate columns in the Consti and the Journal. Dave Kindred and Jesse Outlar were in the morning paper, and Furman was in the P.M. He wrote every day except one.
DawginLex
March 19th, 2012
10:37 am
You were smart to listen. You did something that a lot of folks don’t take advantage of and that is to realize this was a defining moment in your life. You were not in that car by accident that day Mark.
Good column.
todd grantham
March 19th, 2012
10:38 am
There has been an absolutely astounding pool of talent that has made its way through the AJC Sports Department over the past 50 years.
Maybe covering losing teams forced writers to create prose that they wouldn’t have if Atlanta had had some consistent winners. (Braves have been for 20 years, but think about from 1966 to 1990).
DawginLex
March 19th, 2012
10:40 am
Mark,
After Friday night, everyone will realize that the first UK/IU game this year was a defining moment for your beloved Wildcats after they deeestroy Indiana by 20 in the rematch.
nola dawg fan
March 19th, 2012
10:40 am
well said mark… hate to pander as well, but you have now become the voice of the AJC sports staff and in many ways capture the thoughts of us jaded, cynical, often depressed ATL sport fans. thanks for all you do
crose714
March 19th, 2012
10:41 am
Thanks Todd. You are right. Too many gone too soon! I thought the pollen count was going to be my biggest problem today, now I’m feeling way too old!
kreedham
March 19th, 2012
10:42 am
Years ago Mr. Bisher wrote a book called Miracle in Atlanta about the building of Atlanta Stadium and the Braves coming to town. Some 30 or more years later I knew I’d have a chance to see him so I took my book to get an autograph. He was happy to do so and commented that he was glad to see someone still had a copy! I grew up at just the right time when kids read the paper and enjoyed many a column from Mr. Bisher and Jesse Outler too!
Dawgdad (The Original)
March 19th, 2012
10:43 am
I grew up reading Jesse Outlar and thought he hung the moon, but after he retired I soon realized what I had been missing by not having the opportunity to read Furman Bisher. Poor families had to choose either the Constitution or the Journal. I miss them both, although you are not bad Bradley.
Mark Bradley
March 19th, 2012
10:44 am
Wow, nola. Thanks very much.
Dr. Phil
March 19th, 2012
10:46 am
Furman Bisher was an excellent writer. I recall watching the football program with my father on Sundays with Mr. Bisher, Jim Minter, and the former Georgia football coach. That was a classic as were many of Bisher’s columns.
nola dawg fan
March 19th, 2012
10:49 am
Ok… but to bring you back down to earth… PLEASE don’t predict any big things for our teams in 2012… the Bradley curse has taken too many victoms in recent years!
ClemsonBrad
March 19th, 2012
10:50 am
Great Read mark. Love stories like this.
ClemsonBrad
March 19th, 2012
10:51 am
Couldn’t you have changed the part about Clemson losing though?
mark
March 19th, 2012
10:51 am
I think my alltime favorite Bisher line was after either the 1981 or 1982 Georgia-Florida game…”The train wore number 34 but all the Gators saw was his caboose.”
Mark Bradley
March 19th, 2012
10:52 am
Clemson almost tied, Brad. South Carolina missed the go-ahead PAT but got to try again after a penalty.
Nelson Muntz
March 19th, 2012
10:53 am
I remember Bisher for “Strange But True Baseball Stories,” one of the treasured books of my childhood – honestly, one of the treasured books of my adulthood, too. It may be a book for children, but I don’t feel that baseball season has started until I’ve reread Bisher’s account of Bill Veeck and Eddie Gaedel.
doc
March 19th, 2012
10:53 am
great stuff mark.
by 84 i had been a mesmerized reader at least 25 years or as soon as i could read. i loved the papers and couldnt wait to get the morning one and the evening one. what a luxury it seemed like at the time. actually played little league with jesse’s son so i became even more enthralled and infatuated with the ajc sports writers, since i actually knew one.
yes, so many have gone through here and i am still spoiled by you and jeff along with a few beat writers to carry the flag. stay strong mark and continue to bring it.
another has passed, SELAH!
Cobb Dawg
March 19th, 2012
10:53 am
Great work, MB. As usual.
honest_abe
March 19th, 2012
10:54 am
a true atlanta icon. r.i.p mr. bisher.
sogadog
March 19th, 2012
10:54 am
Many of us are fortunate to have mentors in our professional lives and we should remember that some day, someone new to our chosen profession will see us a mentors and hopefully we will have the foresight to share our experiences and help guide their careers.
John Dobbs
March 19th, 2012
10:55 am
I sent Mr. Bisher an email years ago and he answered me. I had seen him at East Lake golf course and I told him I was amazed that with all these big name golfers around everyone wanted to see Furman Bisher. He thanked me and I will never forget that.
ClemsonBrad
March 19th, 2012
10:55 am
haha Wish we could rewrite history! As always, love reading everything you write Mark. Thanks for everything you do.
My favorite column you have ever done is still, “Rasheed Wallace: Most Consistent Hawk of All Time”
which is still sadly true….
vafalconfan
March 19th, 2012
10:56 am
Mark- thank you for sharing. I emailed him one time to thank him for a column that he had written because a bunch of yahoos on here were bashing him over something and he emailed me back to thank me “for the kind words”..I was amazed that a HOF sportswriter would take the time to do that. He was pure class.
Ron Bailey
March 19th, 2012
10:57 am
You nailed it Mark, well written. I remember reading Furman Bisher in the Sporting News as I purchased them at Ryans Drugstore. Good Job
Mark Bradley
March 19th, 2012
10:57 am
I would be remiss if I didn’t say that Dave Kindred was a huge influence on my so-called career. (So blame him, heh heh.)
reebok
March 19th, 2012
10:57 am
Furman Bisher and Jesse Outler were my ‘gateway drugs’ to great sportwriting. We will not see their like again. RIP, Furman Bisher.
George Stein
March 19th, 2012
10:57 am
This was a good piece, Mark. I hope you return the favor to Mr. Bisher by mentoring other young writers at the AJC.
Mark Bradley
March 19th, 2012
10:58 am
Thanks, Ron. I used to buy the Sporting News downtown Maysville. Usually at Kilgus Drugs.
frank
March 19th, 2012
10:58 am
RIP Furman you will be missed.
I used to love when he would end the column with “and whatever happened to obscure-sports-figure”
Like Biff Pocoroba
BT
March 19th, 2012
10:58 am
Well written and from the heart I can tell. One of the greatest columns to look forward to every year was Mr. Bisher’s Thanksgiving’s message. He had the most unique way to bring life into sports.
Mark Bradley
March 19th, 2012
10:58 am
George, you’ll be happy to know that I give periodic tutorials on How To Make Lousy Predictions.
MWT
March 19th, 2012
10:59 am
Mark, very nice tribute. I’m a native Atlantan and Furman’s death feels like an important tie to my past has been cut.
By the way, I proudly won an “I Beat Bisher” bumper sticker years ago. Sure wish I still had it – I’d put it on my car today.
Wreckmaniac
March 19th, 2012
10:59 am
Thanks, Mark. There are icons and semi-icons. Furman was a mega-icon. As a kid in Atlanta in the 50’s I learned from Mr Bisher what a newspaper could do, what sports was about, and received my introduction to my alma mater, GA TECH. Just as UGA fans loved Munson (we all did), I loved Furman as I always regarded him as Tech’s ambassador. His stories about Bobby Dodd were legendary. I’ll never forget an article about Dobb reuniting with Billy Teas, a former Tech player who was always in the doghouse. It made me cry. In those days it was the AJC, WSB and a few minutes of TV each week. Thats all we had but Furman and WSB forced us to use our imaginations for which I will be forever grateful.
Ted Striker
March 19th, 2012
10:59 am
Selah.
Don Adams
March 19th, 2012
11:00 am
I’m heart-broken.
He was the dean of his profession.
Rest in peace, Mr. Bisher.
DawgInaTruck
March 19th, 2012
11:01 am
Mark, I’m sure to Mr. Bisher you guys were peers. I’ve been reading you since those early days and read Furman Bisher’s stuff all my life. I always loved his Thanksgiving Day article about things he was thankful for. Not to be too gushy here but now I am thankful that we have in you a link to that past.
Capt Bob
March 19th, 2012
11:01 am
I had the priviledge of meeting Mr.Bisher as a teenager at the Atlanta Touchdown club. He wrote my father a nice letter about my appreance there…it was totally unnessary, but speaks of the fine man he was. He was a Hall of Fame writer and I will especially miss his annual Thanksgiving article. God bless his family…He is irreplaceable.
doc
March 19th, 2012
11:01 am
yes, kindred was one of the best, wish he had stuck around longer to become an icon as well. there were so many though it is hard to single them out. what a tv show it was on saturdays to talk college football with minter, outler and bisher all having their say. couldnt miss it. makes the nfl tv groups nothing but shill guys.
Mark Bradley
March 19th, 2012
11:02 am
Thanks very, DawgInaTruck. But the Bish is a Hall of Famer. I’m not even famous when I walk down my own hall.
Mark Bradley
March 19th, 2012
11:03 am
And Capt Bob makes a good point: Furman was legendary for answering mail. I tried to emulate that, too, but too often fell short.
George Stein
March 19th, 2012
11:04 am
That made me chuckle, Mark. If we’re fair, though, no one else is particularly good at making predictions, either. I can refer you to some wealthy individuals in Las Vegas for proof.
In all seriousness, many of us have been fortunate enough to have had someone else share some wisdom with us, and I think the proper way to repay those people is to do the same. You’re the elder statesman at the AJC and I hope you’ll groom a young writer to be as good as you.
Mark Bradley
March 19th, 2012
11:05 am
I’m sorry to say I never saw that fabled television show.
Someday I’ll tell y’all about my job interview with Mr. Jim Minter. (He was the AJC editor when I was hired.) Another highlight of my life, and I mean that sincerely.
Foxdog
March 19th, 2012
11:05 am
It’s almost like our grandfather died. The world lost a lot of talent and wisdom with Mr. Bishop’s death. His like will not be found again soon.
JDawg1785
March 19th, 2012
11:07 am
Great story, Mark! You’re doing just fine carrying the torch that Bisher lit so many years ago.
William Casey
March 19th, 2012
11:08 am
Mark, you have inspired me to see if I can find a collection of Furman Bisher’s work. I can remember oh so well reading his accounts of Georgia Tech football fifty years ago and relishing every word. Thanks for sharing this experience. I remember Mr. Bisher taking on Wally Butts and Bear Bryant in the early ’60’s. He may not have gotten that story right but he was FEARLESS as well as a talented writer. PS: Shoeless Joe DOES resemble Richard Russell in the pic.
Mike Murphy
March 19th, 2012
11:11 am
I grew up in Moreland close to Lewis Grizzard. In elementary school we would walk to my home from school for a peanut butter sandwich. Lewis would always get the Journal out of the paper box and read Furman Bisher’s column. Bisher was his idol. Lewis told me one day when we were about 12 that he would be the Atlanta Journal sports editor. He almost made it. He was executive sports editor after being out of college less than two years. Jim Minter tried to make it happen but the booze and wild women at Harrisons along with a bad move to Chicago got in the way.
Mike Murphy
George Stein
March 19th, 2012
11:13 am
Here’s the SI story by Bear Bryant, William. Interesting read.
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/article/magazine/MAG1078953/1/index.htm
hj
March 19th, 2012
11:16 am
Tech Men appreciated Mr. Bisher
bkk based
March 19th, 2012
11:16 am
I recall checking out the AJC from the internet while living in Asia, and noting a passing line that the Journal was closing (the only paper I got when I grew up and when I was on my own buying a subscription). I sent an email,asking why, and lo and behold Furman Bisher answered my email personally. We exchanged emails a few times, lamenting over the demise of the Journal.
I have never forgotten that kindness that provided an ethereal, yet oh so real connection to home for me. Thank you, Mr. Bisher, not so much for the iconic reporting for which you have been so justifiably lauded, but for the down home, grounded kindness you showed me (and Mark Bradley, and who knows how many others over the years).
Smyrna Jacket
March 19th, 2012
11:16 am
Mark: Thanks for sharing. Always tough to lose someone you admire. I, too, like so many others, grew up reading his articles, and loved them all. I had the great good pleasure of meeting Mr. Bisher through my dad (another KY guy – Mt. Sterling) way back when (they both loved the horses). Kept in touch with Mr. Bisher these last years through emails and with chats at Augusta. What a gentleman. Mr. Bisher never let me get away without asking me to remember him to my parents. I wish I had kept his emails.
Rickster
March 19th, 2012
11:17 am
Aside from the traditions and amazing golf, I looked forward to the Masters to watch Jim Huber on Masters TV and read Furman Bisher in the paper.
With both men gone, The Masters will be a lot less enjoyable this year.
Go Jackets
March 19th, 2012
11:17 am
great job, i was born in 55 also, grew up in ellijay, my dad took very hard earned money and got me a paper everyday, mr. bisher was my favorite read. He covered Dixie like the dew!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Bet, he and coach dodd, bobby jones and others got caught up yesterday. thanks
ElephantsNeverForget
March 19th, 2012
11:18 am
RIP, Mr. Bisher, but me, you’ll always be this guy: http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/article/magazine/MAG1078953/1/index.htm
Rickster
March 19th, 2012
11:20 am
But you know that Lewis Grizzard & Furman are doing a whole lot of catchin’ up.
DAVE
March 19th, 2012
11:20 am
Mark; thank you for saying what a lot of us wish we could. Mr. Bisher was a close family friend and one of the most generous people I have ever known. He had the knack for making sports live in a deeper, less superficial way. I trace my love of golf to the coverage he provided looking into the personalities of my heroes such as Palmer and Nicklaus…and Jones. The Masters will be a sadder place without him holding down his place in the media center.
1eyedJack
March 19th, 2012
11:22 am
As a kid in South Georgia I’d save my allowance (all 50 cents) to buy the Sunday Atlanta Journal/Constitution. I’d get lost in it. Not only the sports page, but the whole paper. Ya’ll had writers then, who could paint a picture. Now, ya’ll seem to be inundated with liberals and aside from the sports page, your rag ain’t worth 50 cents, even if you still sold it around here.
Selah.
abby normal
March 19th, 2012
11:22 am
Mark…very well written tribute to the great Furman Bisher. I’m sure many young sportswriters benefited from his counsel over the years.
Having grown up in Atlanta I had the pleasure of reading the columns of many first rate sportswriters like Bisher and Outlar and Ed Miles and Dave Kindred. I rate you and Jeff Schultz in that class. Keep up the good work, it’s appreciated.
doc
March 19th, 2012
11:22 am
mark i meant to say the tv show on sundays to review all the games from the day before. it was about the only way to find out how dietzel’s chinese bandits did down in baton rouge or mississippi played the night before as it was after the morning edition hit the streets. i couldnt wait to get home from church to sit back and take it all in hoping the roast didnt get ready too soon. i almost preferred it dry if it meant i didnt have to miss the show. those guys had such a good time on it and no pretense to it whatsoever. it was some of the most respected sportswriters respectfully sitting there chewing on what they loved so dear.
Larry
March 19th, 2012
11:26 am
Mark,
Perhaps someone at the AJC could bundle Mr. Bisher’s Thanksgiving Day columns into a link, pamphlet or website. For me, this defined the man more than his unsurpassed sports contributions.
He was a treasure and will be forever etched in my fondest sports reading memories.
Larry
Mark Bradley
March 19th, 2012
11:29 am
I know there are some collections of Furman’s work. I’ve got a couple.
Try Amazon.
BromoDawg
March 19th, 2012
11:29 am
With Ernie Johnson Sr., Larry Munson, Jim Huber and Furman Bisher all gone in one year, that’s a Mt. Rushmore of Atlanta Sportscasting. All class acts. All with a style all to their own. We all vicariously learned from the best. You were blessed to know them, Mark. Selah, Furman!
Bama Fan #2
March 19th, 2012
11:29 am
Mr Bisher was a good writer but he tried to destroy the BEST football
coach of all time Coach Paul Bryant. Bryant won 300.000 with his help
from Saturday Evening Post but Bear said it took 10 years off his life.
So if Mr Bisher makes it to heaven wonder want Bear Bryant would say
or do to Mr Bisher!!!!!!!!!!! RTR
GeorgiaDuck
March 19th, 2012
11:30 am
The one Furman Bisher moment I’ll share is seeing him at the old Atlanta Steeplechase course in Cumming. I introduced myself and shook his hand. I had been reading Furman and the late Jesse Outlar’s columns for years. The Steeplechase was held in March in those days and the weather was awful. The organizers moved it to April and it was the same weekend as The Masters. Furman stopped covering the Steeplechase.
Baby Ruth
March 19th, 2012
11:30 am
Had the opportunity to walk with Furman and my Dad around Augusta National at the Masters years ago. WHAT A PLEASURE! A gentleman and a great individual. An Icon in his business. You will be sorely missed Furman.
Mark Bradley
March 19th, 2012
11:31 am
Mention of the Steeplechase brings to mind a lowlight of my career. I had to write an advance about it my first month on the job. I said the event was on Sunday. It was on Saturday. I thought I’d get fired. Still don’t know why I didn’t.
Larry
March 19th, 2012
11:35 am
Mark,
Do you know Olin G. that works there?
carolinajacket
March 19th, 2012
11:37 am
I will miss this great man. I grew up reading his work, along with those of Jesse Outlar, Ed Danforth, Harry Mehre, and later Charley Roberts. They were all a lot of fun. Ironically, just yesterday I found an old article that Furman had written about Tubby Walton, in which he quoted my father. I will always have warm feelings for Furman.
Baltimore Jacket
March 19th, 2012
11:43 am
I enjoyed Furman’s columns, and I appreciated his historical perspective. But as a native Atlantan who has been in the diaspora for almost fifteen years, I keep connected to the Atlanta sport scene and zeitgeist through your columns, Mark. In my humble opinion, your columns have always been the most valuable, insightful, and enjoyable to read. I think that people often don’t undertstand how hard it is to write and produce at a high level on a consistent basis. This column, for example, is a thing of beauty. How many drafts did you go through to get the tone just right? Keep up the good work!
jeffrey d
March 19th, 2012
11:43 am
Thanks, Mark. Very well said.
Patty
March 19th, 2012
11:45 am
Well done, Mark. What a wonderful memory of a fine man.
SAL
March 19th, 2012
11:47 am
Sad, sasd dday…..
Tech Man
March 19th, 2012
11:48 am
I remember reading the many stories of the conversations he and Bobby Dodd had over the years. Those were great years. He will be missed.
Driver 8
March 19th, 2012
11:51 am
Sent Mr. Bisher a letter of anguish after the Jim Leyritz disaster in ‘96 and he quoted me in a print column-a real highlight and extremely generous on his part. Yes, I was venting, low-tech, even back in the day.
Mark, what exactly does Selah mean? I’ve seen various definitions but I’m sure you know exactly what he meant. Please share.
ex-pat Heel
March 19th, 2012
11:51 am
Mark, could you work with his family/estate and see if you could publish a book devoted to Furman stories and re-prints of his editorials? His Thanksgiving editorials were a fav of mine. Bunches of great articles about the Masters; basically any time he put a finger on a keyboard, it produced a collector’s item. I’d pay big bucks for a Bisher collection.
btw…he was a Tar Heel.
NeoDawg
March 19th, 2012
11:51 am
Furman Bisher, Larry Munson and Lewis Grizzard – what would you give to be the fourth in anything those three did (or are about to do) together?
Merlyn Brown
March 19th, 2012
11:55 am
Furman Bisher and Coach Bobby Dodd always did a narrative of game film during the week after each football game when I was a student @ GT in 1956. When the Internet came along, I began
reading the AJC online. Before then I (sometimes) would subscribed to the Sunday edition of the AJC and would receive it during the week in places like Minnesota, Kansas & Houston, TX(where I live now). Today, I read the sports and some front page stuff almost daily. Every time Furman Bisher wrote anything, I was eager to read it. So, he was a part of my life. Mark, now we are stuck with
you–which isn’t all bad. You learned from one of the best. My thanks to you & the AJC.
Driver 8
March 19th, 2012
11:57 am
Seem to recall a story about your interview at the AJC. Didn’t Mr. Minter ask you to name the starting QBs in the SEC and you could. The clincher though was you offered insight into why UGA lost to Auburn. Don’t recall the reason but it was something other than Bo Jackson. I still remember Miles Smith being dragged down the field hanging on to one of Jacksons ankles.
Funny Bunny
March 19th, 2012
12:01 pm
I wonder if Wally Butts thought he was a Saint ?
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/article/magazine/MAG1078953/1/index.htm
Grayson Scott
March 19th, 2012
12:06 pm
RIP Furman. I would put Furman on the Mt. Rushmore of Sportswriters with Jim Murray, Dan Jenkins and Rick Reilly. Thanks for your words Furman, they were much appreciated by this sports fan.
Say what Bradley, SC was very good in 84?
March 19th, 2012
12:09 pm
In 1984, SC was 10-1 before losing to OKSU in the bowl. On further review however, USC strength of schedule was 49th out of 110 schools. OKSU schedule was 71.
Already starting with your slant on reality.
Say what Bradley, SC was very good in 84?
March 19th, 2012
12:11 pm
I forget the best part. 10-2 and FINISHED OUT OF THE TOP 10 FINAL POLL. Why? The strength of schedule was a joke.
Lowcountry Bulldawg
March 19th, 2012
12:17 pm
Beautiful article Mark.
Say what Bradley, SC was very good in 84?
March 19th, 2012
12:18 pm
WAIT. That year was a joke in football anyway. BYU played a 7-4 MI team to win the mythical national championship.
Remember Levell Edwards has as many National Championships as the Ole Ball Coach Spurrier. You will never hear Levell Edwards considered great but yet the anchors always slobber over Spurrier.
IL Jacket
March 19th, 2012
12:20 pm
My sympathies to the Bisher family. As a teenager growing up in Georgia, it was a great pleasure reading Furman’s columns. They were very evocative and brought clarity to whatever sports event it was he was describing. He had such a unique voice and invariably left you thinking about more than the outcome of the game. It was a pleasure to have read him and all of us are poorer for his loss.
Marvin Mangrum
March 19th, 2012
12:25 pm
Sorry, Mark, I do not remember but it seems your first column twas in the spring, I actually remember, kinda, but Ill tell you this, some of the best I ever read worked there. I do hope later on I get to see and read them even more. But Bisher twas the King. He got your attention, built on it, explained enuf to make you happy, then he closed it all out. I miss him already, The Masters will feel odd.
Rickster
March 19th, 2012
12:25 pm
According to Furman, he saw ’selah’ in the Bible and liked it, but had idea what it meant.
carolinajacket
March 19th, 2012
12:33 pm
Danforth, Mehre, Outlar, Roberts, and now Bisher. The giants of my youth are gone and will be greatly missed. They added greatly to a young sports fan’s life.
Matt Jenkins
March 19th, 2012
12:34 pm
One of the Greatest. Mr. Munson and now Mr. Bisher, Southern Sports will never be the same.
rlinaug
March 19th, 2012
12:38 pm
Mark, you’re pretty good at what you do, too. I appreciate your self-deprecating remarks but I think you’re really good at what you do.
Technically Correct
March 19th, 2012
12:42 pm
He was an Atlanta sports icon and will be sorely missed.
Just saying..
March 19th, 2012
12:48 pm
Furman & Jesse were part of my every day growing up. Thanks for bringing that back, Mark.
dtanner
March 19th, 2012
12:48 pm
i remember when his son died a few years ago,he wrote a very pensive and touching article
Dennis Claridge
March 19th, 2012
12:55 pm
Some great writers at AJC over the years. I grew up reading Jesse Outlar in the morning paper and Furman Bisher in the evening. Every Thanksgiving Day the first thing I’d do is read Furman’s column about his many blessings – and realize just how many I had as well. It’s rare the writer who can touch your soul like that………..and I’m thankful that I had the chance to read his thoughts every day. Keep up the tradition Mark.
froggy
March 19th, 2012
1:00 pm
Well done, Mark. No finer tribute to the great columnist than a great column.
As a former AJC’er (in marketing, not news) Lord, some great stories about Furman, who was a force of nature. Like all the great ones he had a healthy ego — for years he complained bitterly that we had changed the football picks contest from “Beat Bisher” to “Beat the Press.” We once shot a photo of him at Augusta National for a promo ad and he called up, yelling, “You made me look like a GD drug addict!” (These were the pre-PhotoShop days). And when Sports relocated to a different floor, the chief of news administration had Furman’s historic office documented like an archeological dig before moving it — so terrified was he of Furman finding one photo or trinket out of place.
What a memorable guy — just riding the elevator with him was a treat — and if he ever gave you a stock tip you were doubly lucky. We won’t see his likes again…
RAMBLE ON!!!
March 19th, 2012
1:02 pm
Good Article Mark,
A sad day. What a fine man he was. RIP Mr. Bisher.
RAMBLE ON!!!
March 19th, 2012
1:02 pm
I hope the Masters does a special tribute to him. He earned it.
Fred ™
March 19th, 2012
1:09 pm
Mark Bradley
March 19th, 2012
11:05 am
Someday I’ll tell y’all about my job interview with Mr. Jim Minter.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
I can only imagine. I emailed and asked Rick to go over some NASCAR articles I wrote. He ripped them to shreds. I loved it lol. I learned more from the few articles I sent and he critiqued than anywhere else. He said he learned from his dad. Said his articles looked like they were bleeding from all the red ink his dad cut them up with……..
Mark F.
March 19th, 2012
1:15 pm
Sad day indeed.
In all my interactions with Furman, whether it be in the Atlanta-Fulton County press box or at Augusta, he was simply a nice genuine guy.
I have been fortunate to know he and Ernie Johnson Sr. pretty well and they are very similar. They really made someone feel like they knew them all their lives. Needless to say, they were both great at their given professions.
I have an autographed AJC pull out section that was run when he retired. I am so glad I asked him to sign it. It now has so much more meaning.
RIP Furman!
Some of my favorites
March 19th, 2012
1:19 pm
Been reading the Atlanta papers off and on since the 50s. Furman was certainly a talented writer, and his record of longevity will be hard to match. I thought Dave Kindred was excellent also, and wished he had stayed in Atlanta longer. He wrote a book about Kentucky basketball where I first learned of King Kelly Coleman.
Mark, you have written some great columns over the years. Some of my favorites include the one comparing Herschel and Bo, one lauding Joe Dean upon his retiring from TV color man, and finally about Archie and Peyton. Keep up the good work.
how2fish
March 19th, 2012
1:23 pm
Mark this one was nearly as good as your Munson tribute, I just wish you hadn’t had to write it…RIP Furman .
jeffrey d
March 19th, 2012
1:25 pm
In 1984, SC was 10-1 before losing to OKSU in the bowl. On further review however, USC strength of schedule was 49th out of 110 schools. OKSU schedule was 71.
Already starting with your slant on reality
Well somebody completely missed the point of this article
Robert Bohler
March 19th, 2012
1:26 pm
Mark – great coverage here, in Schultz’s column and elsewhere in the AJC. A question, though: why does none of the coverage recognize that Bisher didn’t quit writing in ‘09, he just quit writing for the AJC? He continued writing columns, his last earlier this month, for several north Georgia dailies. It was in his blood.
Buckheadboy
March 19th, 2012
1:31 pm
Mr. Bisher, yours was a voice whose silence in passing rings louder still, thanks to the powerful prose – so clean, clear and precise (and always thoughtfully entertaining) – with which you graced your readers. May your Heaven abound with Amen Corners and an abundance of crisp autumn Saturdays for that near-perfect sport of humankind. And, upon your passing from death unto life, I pray the first person you met in Heaven was Roger, and that your reunion with your beloved son was sweeter and richer with feeling than you ever dreamed it would be. To God be thanks that He called you to be a sportswriter. May God also bless your family, friends, and devoted readers; and those who someday, too, will discover your brilliant canvases of characters, of faces and places and events long past that, because of your masterful touch with words, bring them closer than yesterday.
Rickster
March 19th, 2012
1:44 pm
This column may be a bit (27+ years) late, but this is Mark’s first Thanksgiving column.
chris
March 19th, 2012
1:57 pm
well said Mark
I was a freshman at UGA in 84 and liked your stuff right away
I’m sure Bisher knew talent and considered you a respected colleague, if not an equal
Rickster
March 19th, 2012
2:03 pm
I just wish Furman could have held on three more weeks. I would have loved to have him cover just one more Masters. I hope ANGC does something special to honor him.
Old School
March 19th, 2012
2:04 pm
Great stuff Mark, sure miss the old days of the AJC. FB, Lewis Grizzard, Celestine Sibley, (just to name a few of my favorites) were very talented journalists who enjoyed their job and took pride in their work. It seems you rarely see that anymore but I hope you continue their fine example with your stellar work. Thanks.
A Fan
March 19th, 2012
2:19 pm
Remarkable, Crusty at times, True Southern Gentleman at other times. Glad to hear that people also remembered Jessie Outler. You have to move from Atlanta for a time to really appreciate what the AJC really meant to your deily routine. And If you were fortunate enough to hear him, you’ll remember that laugh always. I had the fortune to see him and Lewis on the same spot/ When Furman looked at Lewis just right, Lewis almost stood at attention. Then Furman would laugh and Lewis would have to come up with some great Lewisisum about it. Chances are, (No offense Bradley) you will not experience this type of journalisum again. RIP Mr. Bisher.. And Mark, that ride to Clemson would be one I’d never forget either. Be Blessed.
Mark
March 19th, 2012
2:24 pm
I started “conversing” with Mr. Bisher in the mid-80’s when I left the SE and before blogs were the thing. He would write back in long emails and share thoughts on all kinds of topics as if we had known each other forever. Later, I had the chance to stand under the pines with him between 14/15 at Augusta and watch Normal and Olazabel putting on #13 – I introduced myself and he remembered our notes – one of the few journalists you would see walking the grounds and not just sitting in the press room by the clubhouse. Mr. Bisher was one of us – a great sports fan who got to live his life with what he loved. I’ve read his articles since 1957 – can’t imagine a Masters without him.
billcanoe
March 19th, 2012
2:29 pm
Furman was one of the great ones, and he will be missed unlike any other. Touching column; very well written.
Covers like the Dew
March 19th, 2012
2:30 pm
Riding around with Furman Bisher
28 years ago is pretty cool Mark.
Also Ashley
March 19th, 2012
2:33 pm
It’s definitely the end of an era. Larry Munson, Lewis Grizzard, Furman Bisher, and Skip Caray all gone.
Mark Bradley, it’s up to you to carry the torch!
whatsgoingon
March 19th, 2012
2:35 pm
Great piece of writing – Mark. I, as a kid growing up in Atlanta during the 60’s and 70’s, could not wait to read Mr. Bisher’s articles in the paper (of course, I had to wait until my dad read it first). I even still have the T-shirt from the football picks contest he used to run in the late 70s that said “I Beat Bisher” – one of the few times I actually beat him in his picks.
What an legend he was – it’s like great baseball (and football) announcers of the day who have now passed away – we will likely never see the likes of those gentlemen in print (no offense, Mark) or in voice ever again.
Covers like the Dew
March 19th, 2012
2:52 pm
on the higher plateau.
ben
March 19th, 2012
2:55 pm
i remember teh tech game. dewberry. lol
JJ
March 19th, 2012
2:59 pm
So mark are you returning the favor and helping out some young whipper snapper
bkinkennesaw
March 19th, 2012
3:12 pm
Thanks for sharing that story Mark. He was a great columnist and I am sure an even better person. He will be missed.
Dr. Warren
March 19th, 2012
3:17 pm
Recently I thumbed through the journal I’d kept during a semester abroad in London back in ‘88. The writing is very much a college student’s—reflections on British girls, beer, books, my housemates, and of course, the weather. I fancied myself sort of a young literateur, I can see. But what stands out when I read it 24 years later, especially on this day, is the strange fact that I ended many of the daily entries with a word whose meaning I certainly did not know: Selah. That fact should tell you something about Furman Bisher’s influence on kids who grew up in Atlanta.
Hillbilly D
March 19th, 2012
3:36 pm
We’ll probably never see the likes of Furman again. If you don’t remember when Furman, Mehre and Outlar were writing, you missed something.
Gumby
March 19th, 2012
3:47 pm
I always enjoyed his columns and he did something for me I’ll never forget. In 2005 my son was getting weeks away from deploying to Iraq. I wrote Furman of my plans to take my son to a Braves game before he left and wanted to try to do something special for him during BP. Furman was gracious enough to write back and give me a name with the Braves organization to contact. He personalized it by telling me his grandson was also being deployed and hoped the best for them both. We emailed each other a few times after that. A truly great writer and a gentleman.
moboman
March 19th, 2012
3:49 pm
Well written Mark. It was almost Fumanesque. Both Furman and Lewis both had a way of expressing themselves in a way that not only made a point, but gave you a little insight into them as people. I miss that. So does the AJC.
Ted M
March 19th, 2012
4:17 pm
So Mark have you taken any “Kid” sportswriters under your wing and showed them the ropes? Ted
Say what Bradley, SC was very good in 84?
March 19th, 2012
4:41 pm
jeffrey d, I guess you give Bradley card blanc to rewrite history. SC finished 11 places behind BYU (are you kidding me) and Bradley considers SC “very good”. Palease.
Tom Ryan
March 19th, 2012
5:03 pm
Very nicely done, Mark. You mentioned that Furman is a Hall of Famer. There is one Hall of Fame that he is not in but should be included, in my opinion, and that is the Georgia Writers Hall of Fame. (He has been nominated but not elected.) I asked him a year or two ago if he was bothered by that snub and he replied that he didn’t know that there was a Georgia Writers Hall of Fame!
Undoubtedly most literary experts would not consider a sportswriter as being possibly a literary giant, but Furman was just that as he was a great, great writer. (I have written five books, not sports related, so I know great writing when I see it.) Yes, Grayson Scott, Furman is unquestionably one of the greatest sportswriters of all time and he is also right there with the late Shirley Povich in terms of length of his writing career, and he outlived Povich by about 6 months.
Growing up in Atlanta and reading his columns since the 1950s, I almost felt as though I knew him long before I began interacting with him. At first I almost felt like a VIP when he began replying to me (starting in 1983), but a close friend who is retired from Cox Enterprises told me that he replied to everybody.
I finally met him and spoke with him briefly at the Tech Lunch Bunch gathering on 12/13/10. I mentioned that we had corresponded over the years and he said “I hope I was polite”. Not exactly the type of response that I might have expected from a writer who came down hard on people and institutions in his column when he thought that was appropriate and was apparently feared by some sportswriters who worked under him, as Lee Walburn has indicated. He obviously had high standards and was a classy person. There may never be another Furman Bisher. RIP, Furman.
ATLcracker
March 19th, 2012
5:12 pm
I was born in 1949 and grew up in Atlanta. We always bought both papers-the morning Constitution and the afternoon Journal. Does anyone else still remember the sequential pictures they would publish to show what happened on the important football plays ? I still treasure those images. I read every word Mr. Bisher wrote and when I was a teenager he casually mentioned in a column that he had tried a brand new product and really liked it-EDGE shaving cream. I went out and bought a can and now almost 50 years later I am still using it. I wonder what far reaching influences Mark, Jeff and Dave will have.
Whopper Dawg
March 19th, 2012
5:23 pm
Well done, Mark.
Tom Ryan
March 19th, 2012
5:28 pm
I am several years older than you, ATLcracker, and, yes, I remember those sequential pictures quite well. That was an important feature of the Sunday sports section during football season.
Hillbilly D
March 19th, 2012
5:41 pm
Does anyone else still remember the sequential pictures they would publish to show what happened on the important football plays ?
I do. That was the first thing I looked at in the Sunday paper.
phil
March 19th, 2012
5:51 pm
Also Ashley
March 19th, 2012
2:33 pm
It’s definitely the end of an era. Larry Munson, Lewis Grizzard, Furman Bisher, and Skip Caray all gone.
Mark Bradley, it’s up to you to carry the torch!
****************
But will it be dropped? Bad joke. Sorry for your loss, Mark. Keep up the good work…
BozinGa
March 19th, 2012
6:18 pm
Thanksgiving morning will never be quite the same.
dadgumit
March 19th, 2012
6:39 pm
Nice Mark a tender & fitting tribute.pretty damn good tale too. One afternoon a couple of years ago,while in traffic,I was surfing the AM dials. I caught the juvenile delinquents @ 790 THE ZONE mocking him.. I was saddened by the pathetic attempt at humor at such a fine gentleman’s expense. Reprobates shouldn’t use words like journalism if they can’t spell it correctly and use it in a sentence.
Vance Leavy
March 19th, 2012
6:52 pm
Bravo Mark … what a loss for everyone. I always said that no one did (wrote about) death better than Furman. He’s smiling up there about the job you’ve done with his send-off. May we all celebrate the incredible life he lived and be thankful that his amazing talent allowed us to be along for the ride.
JSS
March 19th, 2012
7:02 pm
Bisher was great writer and historian…
@ Bradley…
Were you ever in the press box when Bisher and Chico Renfro of the Daily World held court talking baseball?
@ Grantham…
All of those old-timers looked like Russell… Shoot, my Uncle Wayman was a dead ringer for him…
wolfbait67
March 19th, 2012
8:45 pm
Sunday mornings in the fall, Momma’s biscuits and full lengths pages to absorb from UGA and Tech football games from Saturday with Bisher and Outler…the best was Moore/Hodges/Taylor TD and the 2 point conversion to beat Ala. the year after Joe Willie left and jDooley’s second year……still have Furman’s article of the Sugar Bowl Victory over ND laminated on my wall with Lewis’s article……..legends that will be surely missed……
Martha Hairston Jost
March 19th, 2012
8:53 pm
Nice story Mark! Mr. Bisher was legend and someone I’ll always remember.
GraceJacket
March 19th, 2012
8:57 pm
That is a real nice article Mark.
Sid
March 19th, 2012
10:03 pm
Best read from you I ever saw. Rest in Peace Furman, God Speed.
William Casey
March 20th, 2012
12:17 am
Y’all HAD to bring up the sequential pictures!!! I can still remember the one of Joe Auer dropping the “on-the-money” sure TD pass from Lothridge in the waning seconds against LSU in ‘62. Died when I heard it on the radio; died again the next day. GT lost 10-7 or thereabouts.
62jacket
March 20th, 2012
1:00 am
Very nice article, Mark. Like many of the others who have commented, I grew up in a world before 24-hour game highlights on ESPN, at a time when usually only one college football game was televised on Saturday, and at most two NFL games on Sunday (and only the away games for the Falcons). Those Sunday editions of the paper would recap all the college games, and took up a good portion of my morning when I was a kid. Mr. Bisher’s column was usually the highlight.
Last spring on his blog, he noted that for the first time in the history of the golfing Grand Slam, all the titles were held by international players. I mentioned in an email to him that I thought Bobby Jones would approve of this. I later received an email from him thanking me for my comments, and in just a few sentences written in his unique style, I got a history lesson on Bob Jones, the British Open, and Benjamin Franklin. I couldn’t believe that a Hall of Fame writer would take the time to do that. What a gentleman.
Also, because of his wonderful “I’m thankful for…” columns, a Thanksgiving tradition at our house is for everyone at the table to say at least one thing they are thankful for.
Rest in peace, Mr. Bisher.
Tom Ryan
March 20th, 2012
3:37 am
And you had to bring up the Joe Auer drop, William Casey.
I didn’t need sequential pictures for that because the game was televised. I can still see Auer jogging back to the huddle with his arms outstretched as if to say “Gee, I don’t know what happened, I just dropped it”. Auer was a good college player who went on to play a few years in the NFL. He had a pet lion at Tech and I read years ago that when he played for the Dolphins, he would drive around Miami with the lion sitting in the back seat of his convertible. There is a quote from him on the Internet which is as follows: “Every time we went outdoors we caused a traffic jam — it’s not exactly like walking a dog.”
Ben Law
March 20th, 2012
9:29 am
i suppose we could say that not a lot of sports writers are men of any significance. not so, furman bisher. your article is good send off. a glimpse into the character of a fellow who spent his life doing what a lot of guys would like – and in a surprisingly productive way. and not a bad sponsor for you, mark.
Wreckmaniac
March 20th, 2012
9:56 am
William Casey: I would pay dearly for reprints of Mr Bishers articles on Tech football.
Wreckmaniac
March 20th, 2012
10:02 am
Bama Fan #2 : You folks got more than whatever retribution you think you deserve with your treatment of our great Bill Curry following his 10-1 season when coaching Alabama. Keep Saban and your warped sense of football in your state.
That episode will never be forgotten over here sport.
schmeckdawg
March 20th, 2012
11:20 am
Mark, and take this the way that I mean it, that may have been the best article you have ever written! When it comes straight from the heart, it is hard to beat!!!!!!!!!!!
“Selah”
heartofdarkness
March 20th, 2012
12:34 pm
Sports-writing, well done, captures a widely shared romance with life that connects the human spirit. It is a great tradition that you and Mr. Bisher shared. I can’t help but asking, when he climbed into your Corolla, in anticipation of the journey ahead, did he turn and say to you, “Feets, don’t fail me now”?
Lifetime Atlantan
March 20th, 2012
4:16 pm
As a teenager, I was always trying to find excuses to say home from church (which is very difficult when your mom is the pianist) on Sunday morning so that I could watch Furman Bisher, Jesse Outlar, Jim Minter, and Harry Mehre recap the football games from the previous day. It was not only infromative but hilarious with Mr. Bisher and Mr. Mehre humor. A treasured memory I’ll never forget.
JL
March 20th, 2012
6:28 pm
Nice story Mark – Thanks for sharing!
U S Eagle
March 20th, 2012
6:31 pm
I always read his Thanksgiving column .They touched on sports , family, memories ,and just life in general. I would buy the Thanksgiving paper just for those articles. It has become a long-standing habit for me to list what I’m thankful for every Thanksgiving season and Grizzard and Bisher frequently make the list.
SFC Brent Bagley
March 20th, 2012
10:10 pm
A Giant in the ATL and nation for that matter will be missed. The AJC has been blessed w/ great writers and now they are gone.
Darryl
March 20th, 2012
11:18 pm
I did not know Mr. Bisher. However, his family and mine are both from Denton, NC. Small towns have provided this nation with many wonderful and great people. Mr. Bisher was one of those. May his family find solace in the fond memories he leaves behind, knowing that he touched many, many lives throughout his long life!
Cletus Judson
March 20th, 2012
11:57 pm
I never had the pleasure of meeting Mr. Bisher’s acquaintence, but I did meet Mr. Joe Jackson on two occasions, and I swear the man was wearing shoes both times and dressed up pretty sharp at that! Can’t figure out why so many people think of him as “shoeless.”
The rut
March 21st, 2012
10:36 am
Thanks Mark, for giving a shout out to Dave Kindred. Oh how I love his columns. Don’t be too hard on yourself. I subscribed to the AJC for 51 yrs. until I retired to the north Ga. mountains. But when I go online to read the ajc (everyday) I head straight for your column. You are great, also.
Two Atlanta Sports Legends to Remember : Sports & Other Thoughts
March 21st, 2012
8:59 pm
[...] Mark Bradley – http://blogs.ajc.com/mark-bradley-blog/2012/03/19/driving-mr-bisher-a-car-ride-to-clemson-that-chang... [...]
S
March 21st, 2012
9:03 pm
Sir,
They say gratitude is the shortest felt emotion. “They” are wrong.
nomaj
March 22nd, 2012
1:08 am
Great story, Mark, about you and Furman Bisher.
I remember the old AJC days as well, back when there was a J in the afternoon, and a C in the morning. The C had most of the good writers (e.g., Sibley, McGill, and later on, Grizzard) but the J’s sports section held the ace: the incomparable Mr. Bisher.
Jason Head UA - 1983
March 22nd, 2012
1:09 pm
Furman Bisher did everything in his power to denigrate and cheapen the names of Paul Bryant and Wally Butts. Court documents and the demise of The Saturday Evening Post prove it. Don’t tell me how great he was. I’ve got the documents to show his pettiness and warped logic. I’ll furnish them to anyone who asks.
Cecil34
March 23rd, 2012
10:57 am
Not many native Atlantans left who grew up reading the Constitution and Journal back in the day, let alone the columns of Outlar, Bisher, Grizzard, etc.
I too fondly remember the football play sequence pictures – it made the game come alive for those reading the articles.
Those of us that lived in the pre-computer days are forever tied to the papers and the men who wrote them.
I miss them all.
Selah….
Scott
March 23rd, 2012
12:16 pm
Mark, great article on Furman. I hope you get a chance to do a follow up column on Furman’s funeral. There will be some of the great writers in attendance. From the stories i have heard, once you were a Furman boy, you were always Furman’s boy. You could create a year’s worth of great column material from the stories of these writers. He truly came from a different era in sports coverage. Look forward to your next column