Furman Bisher
Furman Bisher was a prominent American sportswriter, born in 1918 in Denton, North Carolina. He pursued a degree in journalism at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, graduating in 1938. Throughout his career, Bisher worked for several newspapers, starting as editor of the Lumberton Voice and later serving at the High Point Enterprise and the Charlotte News, before moving to the Atlanta Constitution. His career was briefly interrupted by World War II, during which he served as a naval airman. Bisher made significant contributions to sports journalism, covering numerous high-profile events, including fifty Kentucky Derbies and every Super Bowl game except the inaugural one. He authored several books on sports, highlighting his deep engagement with the field. Recognized for his contributions, Bisher received multiple awards, including fifteen Georgia State Sports Writing Awards and induction into the Sportswriters' Hall of Fame. He is remembered as one of the leading sportswriters in the United States, esteemed for his insightful coverage and personal connections within the sports community.
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Subject Terms
Furman Bisher
Writer
- Born: November 4, 1918
- Birthplace: Denton, North Carolina
- Died: March 18, 2012
Biography
Furman Bisher was born in 1918 in Denton, North Carolina, the son of Chisholm N. Bisher, a textile manufacturer, and Mamie Morris Bisher. After graduating from high school at the age of sixteen, Bisher attended Furman University in Greenville, South Carolina, but after two years there he transferred to the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where he earned a bachelor’s degree in journalism in 1938. He received a distinguished alumnus award from Furman University in 1978.
After earning his degree in journalism, Bisher worked on several North Carolina newspapers. He was the editor of the Lumberton Voice from 1938 until 1939, when he moved to the High Point Enterprise, where he was wire service and sports editor. In 1940, he took a job at the Charlotte News, working as a reporter and departmental editor until 1950.
His work at the Charlotte News was interrupted by World War II. Bisher was a navy airman from 1942 until 1946, attaining the rank of lieutenant senior grade. While living in North Carolina, Furman was vice president of Bisher Hosiery Mills and was actively engaged in civic projects. He served on the broad of directors of the Salvation Army and as state chairperson of the Christmas Seal drive.
In 1950, Bisher moved to the prestigious Atlanta Constitution, where he was sports editor until 1957; that year, he took a similar job at the Atlanta Journal and Sunday Journal-Constitution. In 1954, he married a fashion model, Montyne Harrell, with whom he had four children before the couple divorced.
In addition to covering sporting events for newspapers, Bisher also wrote several books about sports. These books include Strange but True Baseball Stories, Arnold Palmer’s Golden Year, and The Masters: Augusta Revisited, an Intimate View. He was a close friend of legendary golfer Bobby Jones in Jones’s later years, when the famed golfer was too incapacitated to play any longer.
Bisher is acknowledged to be one of the leading sportswriters in the United States and received considerable recognition for his work. He won fifteen Georgia State Sports Writing Awards, two Florida Turf Writing Awards from the Thoroughbred Breeders Association, and the Jake Wade Award from the College Sports Information Directors organization in 1979. On his eighty-eighth birthday on November 4, 2006, Bisher recounted how he covered fifty Kentucky Derbies and every Super Bowl game, except for the first. He was elected to the Sportwriters’ Hall of Fame in recognition of his long career as a sportswriter.