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| Furman Bisher interviewing Shoeless Joe Jackson in 1949 |
When I was in elementary school and on through high school
graduation I was avid reader of the paper…..not just comics as you might
think. It began as a job…something added
to my allowance list. It was my
assignment each day at 5:30 p.m. to walk across the railroad tracks in front of
my house and visit the black vinyl Atlanta
Journal-Constitution box that clung to a wooden pole by the highway. Gradually, instead of just getting the paper for my father....I began to actually read it.
I always turned to Lewis Grizzard’s column…..then
Celestine Sibley and of course, Furman Bisher.
I didn’t always know exactly what Mr. Bisher was discussing because
sports was not my favorite topic, but I did like the way he put words
together.
Now like Grizzard, like Sibley……Bisher is gone dying
yesterday of a heart attack at the age of 93.
I was amazed to discover he managed to get the only
interview with Shoeless Joe Jackson regarding the 1919 Black Sox Scandal, and he didn’t just write for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, but was
published in Sports Illustrated and
even The Saturday Evening Post.
I only read one of Mr. Bisher’s books…..his biography of
Henry Aaron, of course.
During the same year I was born….1962…..Mr. Bisher’s
reputation came under fire when his name was attached to an article regarding
UGA’s Wally Butts and Alabama’s Bear Bryant and allegations they both had been
involved with fixing games. Bisher did
conduct a few interviews for the article, but they were not included in the
final piece….and he didn’t write it.
Still ….there are some who think he wrote it.
It’s not fun to hold you head high when
folks around think one thing…..and a whole other scenario of events make up the
real truth. I’ve had some experience
with that, and it’s a character-shaping episode for sure.
Bisher often ended him columns with the Hebrew word “Selah”. This is a word that often appears in the
Book of Psalms and has been interpreted different ways, but many sources state
it can be translated as “Stop, and think on that….”.
As someone who writes I can appreciate the direction. Too often we read something as we eat, as
have a few minutes waiting for our oil to be changed, or just to get a quick
rundown on the news of the day.
Do we
really know what we have read? Have we
truly comprehended what the writer….what the reporter was trying to get
across? Do we under the implications of
what they are trying to say?
Bisher just wanted you to take a few minutes and ponder.
He estimated that across the span of his career he had
written 15,000 daily sports columns, 1,200 magazine articles, and more than a
dozen books.
Dedicated and disciplined……most certainly.
Selah….
