1950s Fame and Family
1950 Atlanta!
In 1950, Furman Bisher was hired by The Atlanta Constitution newspaper...
"On my first full day in Atlanta," he wrote, "I was busy unloading our meager belongings from the... truck that had arrived from Charlotte the day before. It was Saturday. I, being used to a paper with only one edition and a late deadline, was moving along casually when a lady appeared at the door of my Rock Springs apartment. "'Are you Furman Bisher?' she asked. I admitted I was. She admitted she was Rita Van Pelt, who had been sent out by The Constitution to track me down. 'We need your first column and our first edition deadline is 6 o'clock,' she said. It was then 2 o'clock. 'Come on with me,' and she drove me into town. I had no office, no desk, not even a paper clip, so she took me to Ralph McGill's office, sat me down to his typewriter and said, 'Write.'" Bisher was still pecking on the same typewriter the day he died in 2012.
In 1950 he covered his first Masters golf tournament and fell in love with the southern charm of the Augusta National Golf Club. He would return every year until 2011... He also covered his first Georgia vs. Georgia Tech football game; he'd be a fixture at that event until 2007.
In 1950, Furman Bisher was hired by The Atlanta Constitution newspaper...
"On my first full day in Atlanta," he wrote, "I was busy unloading our meager belongings from the... truck that had arrived from Charlotte the day before. It was Saturday. I, being used to a paper with only one edition and a late deadline, was moving along casually when a lady appeared at the door of my Rock Springs apartment. "'Are you Furman Bisher?' she asked. I admitted I was. She admitted she was Rita Van Pelt, who had been sent out by The Constitution to track me down. 'We need your first column and our first edition deadline is 6 o'clock,' she said. It was then 2 o'clock. 'Come on with me,' and she drove me into town. I had no office, no desk, not even a paper clip, so she took me to Ralph McGill's office, sat me down to his typewriter and said, 'Write.'" Bisher was still pecking on the same typewriter the day he died in 2012.
In 1950 he covered his first Masters golf tournament and fell in love with the southern charm of the Augusta National Golf Club. He would return every year until 2011... He also covered his first Georgia vs. Georgia Tech football game; he'd be a fixture at that event until 2007.
1950-1968
Football Review, a Sunday afternoon talk show hosted by Furman Bisher, began its long run on WSB-TV, filmed live at "White Columns on Peachtree."
Football Review, a Sunday afternoon talk show hosted by Furman Bisher, began its long run on WSB-TV, filmed live at "White Columns on Peachtree."
1951 Joe Jackson
In 1949, Furman Bisher's interview with Shoeless Joe Jackson broke a silence that had fostered mystery since the scandalous 1919 World Series. He wrote Jackson's obituary in 1951...
In 1949, Furman Bisher's interview with Shoeless Joe Jackson broke a silence that had fostered mystery since the scandalous 1919 World Series. He wrote Jackson's obituary in 1951...
1952
Dan Magill, University of Georgia Sports Information Director and former Atlanta
sports writer, sent this congratulatory telegram after a memorable column.
Dan Magill, University of Georgia Sports Information Director and former Atlanta
sports writer, sent this congratulatory telegram after a memorable column.
1954
Furman & Montyne Bisher married in December. It was a quiet, private affair, being a second marriage for both of them in an era when divorce was relatively uncommon. They vacationed at Sarasota, Florida, as in this picture.
Furman & Montyne Bisher married in December. It was a quiet, private affair, being a second marriage for both of them in an era when divorce was relatively uncommon. They vacationed at Sarasota, Florida, as in this picture.
Click to read 1955 column "I'm Thankful"
1955 Fatherhood!
Bisher had become a father when he married Montyne Harrell Green in 1954 and adopted her 5 year old son, Nicky. In 1955, his first natural son Roger was born. Another followed just 11 months later, James, and a fourth arrived in 1961.
Roger's birth inspired Bisher’s famous annual Thanksgiving Day column. Bursting with gratitude for his many blessings, he pecked out a column of one-liners about things that made him thankful when the holiday rolled around six weeks after baby Roger arrived. "It begat a tradition that, to AJC readers, became a Thanksgiving Day appetizer," wrote Mike Tierney.
Bisher had become a father when he married Montyne Harrell Green in 1954 and adopted her 5 year old son, Nicky. In 1955, his first natural son Roger was born. Another followed just 11 months later, James, and a fourth arrived in 1961.
Roger's birth inspired Bisher’s famous annual Thanksgiving Day column. Bursting with gratitude for his many blessings, he pecked out a column of one-liners about things that made him thankful when the holiday rolled around six weeks after baby Roger arrived. "It begat a tradition that, to AJC readers, became a Thanksgiving Day appetizer," wrote Mike Tierney.
1957 Furman on Wives...
A stereotypical monologue on the American housewife in the late 1950s, from his speech notes: "Wives are very important home appliances... sometimes found in the kitchen, in the nursery, in the bathroom, but seldom ever ready on time... Sometimes in good spirits, sometimes piqued, sometimes distraught, and almost always in need of money... Sometimes wearing peddle pushers, sometimes in pin curls, sometimes wondering what she's going to wear, and almost always wondering how Mrs. Jones could afford that mink stole. But almost always wonderful. My wife never meant so much to me as when our first baby was born last October. No man can ever know how to appreciate a wife until he sees them go through childbirth for him."
A stereotypical monologue on the American housewife in the late 1950s, from his speech notes: "Wives are very important home appliances... sometimes found in the kitchen, in the nursery, in the bathroom, but seldom ever ready on time... Sometimes in good spirits, sometimes piqued, sometimes distraught, and almost always in need of money... Sometimes wearing peddle pushers, sometimes in pin curls, sometimes wondering what she's going to wear, and almost always wondering how Mrs. Jones could afford that mink stole. But almost always wonderful. My wife never meant so much to me as when our first baby was born last October. No man can ever know how to appreciate a wife until he sees them go through childbirth for him."
1958 Honorary Scholarship
Auburn University and Georgia Tech gave Furman Bisher's infant children "honorary scholarships." This would create an embarrassing problem 15 years later when a campus newspaper "exposed" one son attending Georgia Tech on a football scholarship, though he played no football. By the time Bisher died, he sponsored a scholarship at Georgia Tech to honor that son (who died in 2000), and four scholarships at Furman University for athletes with good grades.
Auburn University and Georgia Tech gave Furman Bisher's infant children "honorary scholarships." This would create an embarrassing problem 15 years later when a campus newspaper "exposed" one son attending Georgia Tech on a football scholarship, though he played no football. By the time Bisher died, he sponsored a scholarship at Georgia Tech to honor that son (who died in 2000), and four scholarships at Furman University for athletes with good grades.
1958 Family
The Bisher family gathered in Furman's wood paneled office for this photo in their home at the corner of Northside Parkway (Highway 41) and Rilman Road. A large autographed print of Bobby Jones adorned the wall behind them. The home sat near the northern fringe of Atlanta in those days; it was mostly woods from West Paces Ferry Road to Dobbins Air Force Base.
The Bisher family gathered in Furman's wood paneled office for this photo in their home at the corner of Northside Parkway (Highway 41) and Rilman Road. A large autographed print of Bobby Jones adorned the wall behind them. The home sat near the northern fringe of Atlanta in those days; it was mostly woods from West Paces Ferry Road to Dobbins Air Force Base.
1959 President Bisher and Vice President Nixon
In 1959, Furman Bisher, the president of the Football Writers Association of America, horsed around with Vice President of the United States, Richard Nixon, a former sports broadcaster.
In 1959, Furman Bisher, the president of the Football Writers Association of America, horsed around with Vice President of the United States, Richard Nixon, a former sports broadcaster.
Some random photos from the 50s...
