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Furman Bisher to speak at Class of 1953 Lectureship
Mar 11, 2008 12:00 AM
By Tannika King - Faculty
Sports columnist Furman Bisher, former sports editor for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution and moderator of the hugely popular Atlanta TV show “Football Review,” will visit Darlington April 30 as the fifth speaker in the annual Class of 1953 Lectureship Series. His presentation will begin at 11 a.m. in Morris Chapel.
According to class agent Mike Luxenberg (’53), the lectureship was established in April 2003 to commemorate the class’ 50th reunion. “It was a wonderful opportunity for each of us to help Darlington continue its tradition of providing an outstanding education for all students, and also a means for us to say ‘thank you’ for the fine education we received at Darlington,” Luxenberg said.
Born in Denton, N.C., Bisher attended Furman University for two years before graduating from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 1938 with a degree in journalism. At the age of 20, he became editor of the weekly Lumberton Voice. He went on to work at the High Point Enterprise and the Charlotte News, where he became sports editor in 1948.
During his career, Bisher has been recognized 18 times by the Georgia Associated Press for sports writing and is a four-time winner of United Press International awards. In September of 1961, Time magazine called him one of the nation’s five best columnists. He has been selected 23 times for the “Best Sports Stories of the Year” anthology. His features have appeared in “Sportswriter’s Choice,” “The Fireside Book of Football” and “A Treasury of Sports Stories,” a volume from Sport Magazine in 1955, as well as national magazines like Saturday Evening Post, True, Golf, Golf Digest, Sky and Sports Illustrated. In addition, his story “A Scholarship for Jackie” was selected for publication in “The Grantland Rice Prize Award for Sports Stories,” the 25 greatest sports stories since Rice’s death.
The author of 11 books, Bisher co-authored the first autobiography of Henry Aaron, titled “Aaron, R.F.,” upon its initial release in 1968 (reissued in 1974 as “Aaron”). In 1985, he became the first sports writer to be inducted into the University of North Carolina Journalism Hall of Fame. He also appears in the NSSA Hall of Fame, the International Golf Writers Hall of Fame, the World Writers Cup International Hall of Fame, the Georgia Sports Hall of Fame and the Georgia Soccer Hall of Fame.
Over the years, Bisher has received numerous honors and awards for his work in sports journalism. In 1979, he was named Furman University’s Distinguished Alumnus of the Year. He has also received the College Sports Information Directors Association’s Jake Wade Memorial Award, the Associated Press’ Red Smith Award, the Florida Thoroughbred Breeders Association Award for Best Column of the Year, the PGA of America Award for Distinguished Journalism in Golf, the Jack Nicklaus Memorial Award for Journalism, and the Atlantic Coast Conference’s Marvin Francis Award, to name a few.
In 2000, in recognition of Bisher’s 56th Masters Tournament coverage and his 50 years with the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, the newspaper published a special “Fifth Years of Furman” edition. In addition, during the 2006 tournament The Golf Channel profiled Bisher as the “dean” of Masters journalists.
Bisher has served as president of the Football Writers Association of America, the National Sportscasters and Sportswriters Association (NSSA) and the Golf Writers Association of America. He also served as the first chairman of the Atlanta Chapter of the Baseball Writers Association of America after having been instrumental in luring the Braves from Milwaukee, Wisc., to Atlanta. Other involvements include serving on the Peach of an Athlete Award Committee, the Bobby Dodd Coach of the Year Board of Trustees, College Football and NFL Hall of Fame selection committees, the President’s Executive Council of Furman University, and the Salvation Army Boy’s Club Board of Directors.
According to class agent Mike Luxenberg (’53), the lectureship was established in April 2003 to commemorate the class’ 50th reunion. “It was a wonderful opportunity for each of us to help Darlington continue its tradition of providing an outstanding education for all students, and also a means for us to say ‘thank you’ for the fine education we received at Darlington,” Luxenberg said.
Born in Denton, N.C., Bisher attended Furman University for two years before graduating from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 1938 with a degree in journalism. At the age of 20, he became editor of the weekly Lumberton Voice. He went on to work at the High Point Enterprise and the Charlotte News, where he became sports editor in 1948.
During his career, Bisher has been recognized 18 times by the Georgia Associated Press for sports writing and is a four-time winner of United Press International awards. In September of 1961, Time magazine called him one of the nation’s five best columnists. He has been selected 23 times for the “Best Sports Stories of the Year” anthology. His features have appeared in “Sportswriter’s Choice,” “The Fireside Book of Football” and “A Treasury of Sports Stories,” a volume from Sport Magazine in 1955, as well as national magazines like Saturday Evening Post, True, Golf, Golf Digest, Sky and Sports Illustrated. In addition, his story “A Scholarship for Jackie” was selected for publication in “The Grantland Rice Prize Award for Sports Stories,” the 25 greatest sports stories since Rice’s death.
The author of 11 books, Bisher co-authored the first autobiography of Henry Aaron, titled “Aaron, R.F.,” upon its initial release in 1968 (reissued in 1974 as “Aaron”). In 1985, he became the first sports writer to be inducted into the University of North Carolina Journalism Hall of Fame. He also appears in the NSSA Hall of Fame, the International Golf Writers Hall of Fame, the World Writers Cup International Hall of Fame, the Georgia Sports Hall of Fame and the Georgia Soccer Hall of Fame.
Over the years, Bisher has received numerous honors and awards for his work in sports journalism. In 1979, he was named Furman University’s Distinguished Alumnus of the Year. He has also received the College Sports Information Directors Association’s Jake Wade Memorial Award, the Associated Press’ Red Smith Award, the Florida Thoroughbred Breeders Association Award for Best Column of the Year, the PGA of America Award for Distinguished Journalism in Golf, the Jack Nicklaus Memorial Award for Journalism, and the Atlantic Coast Conference’s Marvin Francis Award, to name a few.
In 2000, in recognition of Bisher’s 56th Masters Tournament coverage and his 50 years with the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, the newspaper published a special “Fifth Years of Furman” edition. In addition, during the 2006 tournament The Golf Channel profiled Bisher as the “dean” of Masters journalists.
Bisher has served as president of the Football Writers Association of America, the National Sportscasters and Sportswriters Association (NSSA) and the Golf Writers Association of America. He also served as the first chairman of the Atlanta Chapter of the Baseball Writers Association of America after having been instrumental in luring the Braves from Milwaukee, Wisc., to Atlanta. Other involvements include serving on the Peach of an Athlete Award Committee, the Bobby Dodd Coach of the Year Board of Trustees, College Football and NFL Hall of Fame selection committees, the President’s Executive Council of Furman University, and the Salvation Army Boy’s Club Board of Directors.
