The answer, quite simply: “Because, in the world of golf, he is the best. The best ever.”
There is virtually no golf expert worth his or her salt who would give that statement much of a challenge. About the most they could muster in disagreement is that Woods’ resume is a work in progress, and on that point I just might yield. Slightly.
I enjoy watching and being in close proximity to the best ever, and so I am quite fortunate in the fact my family made Augusta their home. My profession of choice has given me a ringside seat to watch and interact with the some of the legends of the game.
Jack Nicklaus scoffed at one of my questions (20 years ago, and I never had the guts to ask him another), Larry Mize and Charles Howell have recognized me on the course as an old friend, Arnold Palmer invited me to walk with him during a practice round because he wanted to know what news I had on his beloved Steelers, Rocco Mediate and Jim Furyk singled me out for special interviews because of my choice of hat (again, with the Steelers), and, yes, Tiger Woods once asked me during a practice round in 1997 if I knew a good place for Italian (I told him Luigi’s).
But in all my interactions with celebrities during Masters Week, and of all my great encounters with everyone from Bing Crosby (as a small kid) to Donald Trump (his hair is funkier in person than on TV) to Ray Romano, no one ever impressed me more or was any kinder than another legend who is the very best at what he does: Furman Bisher.
Bisher’s final regular sports column for the <<italics>>Atlanta Journal-Constitution<<italics>> ran over the weekend, and he made sure his exit was as low-key and classy as has been his entire 59-year run at the paper. According to his colleagues, he simply attached a note to his column last week, saying in so many words, “This is it.”
How is that for calling it a career?
In a field that is known for its cynics and curmudgeons, the 91-year-old columnist certainly had every reason to become as jaded and bitter as many of his much, much, much younger co-workers (at the AJC, he has no peers), but instead has crafted a six-decade track record of being upbeat, insightful and, dare I say, optimistic?
He knew Ty Cobb well, and was granted one of the few, if not only, interviews with Shoeless Joe Jackson. Bobby Jones was a friend and, yes, Bish is on a first-name basis with everyone from Ted Turner to Hank Aaron, from Herschel Walker to Vince Dooley, from Billy Payne to Sam Sneed.
He saw them and lived them all, the golf Majors, the World Series, the Super Bowls, the Olympics, the college bowl games, and oh those Kentucky Derbys, how Bish could wax on and on about the Kentucky Derby. I never cared much for horse racing, but the way he described the party made me actually want to be a part of the pageantry and pomp.
Bisher has that rare gift, the ability to actually convey and inspire empathy from a reader. The loving tribute he penned on the occasion of losing his 44-year-old son is quite moving, and manages to convey the grief of a loving father without melodramatics or cliche. It is featured, along with many of his greatest columns, at the AJC’s website.
Furman Bisher shared 59 years of sports news and opinions with readers of the premier newspaper of the southeastern United States, and he did it in a way that separated him from the crowd and made him an inspiration to those of us who chose to make our living in communications.
Unlike Tiger Woods, who is still working on his career resume, Bish retires as perhaps the best ever. Resume complete.
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Furman Bisher: The Best Ever
by Austin Rhodes
On March 18 we lost the Living Dean of Southern Sports Writers to a sudden heart attack. Furman Bisher had slowed down in recent years, but was expected to be right here in Augusta this week for our annual festivities on Washington Road. It strikes me as odd that I should be shocked to hear of the death of a 93-year-old man, but I am, and now there is one less reason for me to love this amazing time of the year. I will miss his work and his smile, but, more than that, I will miss his friendship and guidance through the years. Oh to be able to hear his first conversation in 40 years with Bobby Jones… and all the many legends he called friends. From October 2009, my tribute to Bish on word of his sudden retirement. He liked this piece, and best of all, he said it made his wife smile.
I have been asked the question more times than I care to remember: “Why is it that you like to watch and pull for Tiger Woods so much?”
The answer, quite simply: “Because, in the world of golf, he is the best. The best ever.”
There is virtually no golf expert worth his or her salt who would give that statement much of a challenge. About the most they could muster in disagreement is that Woods’ resume is a work in progress, and on that point I just might yield. Slightly.
I enjoy watching and being in close proximity to the best ever, and so I am quite fortunate in the fact my family made Augusta their home. My profession of choice has given me a ringside seat to watch and interact with the some of the legends of the game.
Jack Nicklaus scoffed at one of my questions (20 years ago, and I never had the guts to ask him another), Larry Mize and Charles Howell have recognized me on the course as an old friend, Arnold Palmer invited me to walk with him during a practice round because he wanted to know what news I had on his beloved Steelers, Rocco Mediate and Jim Furyk singled me out for special interviews because of my choice of hat (again, with the Steelers), and, yes, Tiger Woods once asked me during a practice round in 1997 if I knew a good place for Italian (I told him Luigi’s).
But in all my interactions with celebrities during Masters Week, and of all my great encounters with everyone from Bing Crosby (as a small kid) to Donald Trump (his hair is funkier in person than on TV) to Ray Romano, no one ever impressed me more or was any kinder than another legend who is the very best at what he does: Furman Bisher.
Bisher’s final regular sports column for the <<italics>>Atlanta Journal-Constitution<<italics>> ran over the weekend, and he made sure his exit was as low-key and classy as has been his entire 59-year run at the paper. According to his colleagues, he simply attached a note to his column last week, saying in so many words, “This is it.”
How is that for calling it a career?
In a field that is known for its cynics and curmudgeons, the 91-year-old columnist certainly had every reason to become as jaded and bitter as many of his much, much, much younger co-workers (at the AJC, he has no peers), but instead has crafted a six-decade track record of being upbeat, insightful and, dare I say, optimistic?
He knew Ty Cobb well, and was granted one of the few, if not only, interviews with Shoeless Joe Jackson. Bobby Jones was a friend and, yes, Bish is on a first-name basis with everyone from Ted Turner to Hank Aaron, from Herschel Walker to Vince Dooley, from Billy Payne to Sam Sneed.
He saw them and lived them all, the golf Majors, the World Series, the Super Bowls, the Olympics, the college bowl games, and oh those Kentucky Derbys, how Bish could wax on and on about the Kentucky Derby. I never cared much for horse racing, but the way he described the party made me actually want to be a part of the pageantry and pomp.
Bisher has that rare gift, the ability to actually convey and inspire empathy from a reader. The loving tribute he penned on the occasion of losing his 44-year-old son is quite moving, and manages to convey the grief of a loving father without melodramatics or cliche. It is featured, along with many of his greatest columns, at the AJC’s website.
Furman Bisher shared 59 years of sports news and opinions with readers of the premier newspaper of the southeastern United States, and he did it in a way that separated him from the crowd and made him an inspiration to those of us who chose to make our living in communications.
Unlike Tiger Woods, who is still working on his career resume, Bish retires as perhaps the best ever. Resume complete.
You Might Also Like:
The answer, quite simply: “Because, in the world of golf, he is the best. The best ever.”
There is virtually no golf expert worth his or her salt who would give that statement much of a challenge. About the most they could muster in disagreement is that Woods’ resume is a work in progress, and on that point I just might yield. Slightly.
I enjoy watching and being in close proximity to the best ever, and so I am quite fortunate in the fact my family made Augusta their home. My profession of choice has given me a ringside seat to watch and interact with the some of the legends of the game.
Jack Nicklaus scoffed at one of my questions (20 years ago, and I never had the guts to ask him another), Larry Mize and Charles Howell have recognized me on the course as an old friend, Arnold Palmer invited me to walk with him during a practice round because he wanted to know what news I had on his beloved Steelers, Rocco Mediate and Jim Furyk singled me out for special interviews because of my choice of hat (again, with the Steelers), and, yes, Tiger Woods once asked me during a practice round in 1997 if I knew a good place for Italian (I told him Luigi’s).
But in all my interactions with celebrities during Masters Week, and of all my great encounters with everyone from Bing Crosby (as a small kid) to Donald Trump (his hair is funkier in person than on TV) to Ray Romano, no one ever impressed me more or was any kinder than another legend who is the very best at what he does: Furman Bisher.
Bisher’s final regular sports column for the <<italics>>Atlanta Journal-Constitution<<italics>> ran over the weekend, and he made sure his exit was as low-key and classy as has been his entire 59-year run at the paper. According to his colleagues, he simply attached a note to his column last week, saying in so many words, “This is it.”
How is that for calling it a career?
In a field that is known for its cynics and curmudgeons, the 91-year-old columnist certainly had every reason to become as jaded and bitter as many of his much, much, much younger co-workers (at the AJC, he has no peers), but instead has crafted a six-decade track record of being upbeat, insightful and, dare I say, optimistic?
He knew Ty Cobb well, and was granted one of the few, if not only, interviews with Shoeless Joe Jackson. Bobby Jones was a friend and, yes, Bish is on a first-name basis with everyone from Ted Turner to Hank Aaron, from Herschel Walker to Vince Dooley, from Billy Payne to Sam Sneed.
He saw them and lived them all, the golf Majors, the World Series, the Super Bowls, the Olympics, the college bowl games, and oh those Kentucky Derbys, how Bish could wax on and on about the Kentucky Derby. I never cared much for horse racing, but the way he described the party made me actually want to be a part of the pageantry and pomp.
Bisher has that rare gift, the ability to actually convey and inspire empathy from a reader. The loving tribute he penned on the occasion of losing his 44-year-old son is quite moving, and manages to convey the grief of a loving father without melodramatics or cliche. It is featured, along with many of his greatest columns, at the AJC’s website.
Furman Bisher shared 59 years of sports news and opinions with readers of the premier newspaper of the southeastern United States, and he did it in a way that separated him from the crowd and made him an inspiration to those of us who chose to make our living in communications.
Unlike Tiger Woods, who is still working on his career resume, Bish retires as perhaps the best ever. Resume complete.
You Might Also Like:
Posted in Austin