Wonderful Story About Harper Lee And Alabama Football - From Wall Street Journal

I couldn't love this more! Thanks for posting.

SavannahDare said:

I couldn't love this more! Thanks for posting.

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A Savannah D sighting. Our day has been made.

This is awesome! Thanks so much for sharing it... RTR!

Thank you for sharing. I’d say most of us probably never knew that Harper Lee had this side to her. Surprisingly, also I never realized that Lee Roy Jordan’s home town, Excel, is in the same area as where Ms. Lee was from(Monroeville). I should have put that together a long time ago, but just never did.

Any links to read it without paying the WSJ

I worked many years for the original publisher of “Mockingbird” (J.B. Lippincott). JBL had traditionally been a medical and health sciences publisher. It was one of very few books outside that realm they every published.

Many great stories about Harper Lee circulated through the company and among the old time editors. In the very early days, Harper Lee would return home to Monroeville from New York. While there, she would autograph a few copies of Mockingbird for the downtown bookstore. If you happened in at the right time, you might just happen to purchase one.

Probably my favorite story was when the movie was being made, Harper Lee was on the set much of the time watching the production. At the conclusion of one of the courtroom scenes, she walked over to Gregory Peck who was playing the role of Atticus Finch. She remarked to him “how much he reminded her of her father, from the way he was dressed, the way spoke and all the way down to his “little pooch” of a belly.”

Peck responded to her, “Miss Lee, that is NOT a pooch. That is GREAT ACTING....” ������

One of the great mysteries is what happened to her estate. Died without heirs. Will changed shortly before her death. Contents sealed by the court.Tens of millions (including future royalties) at stake. Curiouser and curiouser...

The author of the article was on Finebaum yesterday. Said Lee and her sister were fans of Finebaum’s show. Finebaum had heard that but this guy confirmed it. Said she and Pat Dye had visited several times and she’d write him letters. When asked what was in them Dye refused saying one doesn’t divulge private conversations.

Great stuff. I love it when Alabama reaches even the most curious of places, like the heart of Harper Lee.

One of the things that I took particular pride in was even after Harper and Row, the parent company of J.B. Lippincott Company, moved them to exclusively medical and health sciences publishing in the early 1970's, "To Kill a Mockingbird" was still the title that the company took the most pride in 20, 30 and even 40 years later. And that title was produced by a quiet, introspective southern lady from a small town in Alabama and a graduate of the University of Alabama.

VirginiaTide57 said:

I hope the link works and is not behind a paywall. Harper Lee was a Bama fan, of course, and wrote letters about Bear Bryant! Interesting tale.

https://emailshare.cmail20.com/t/n/d-l-f4c85f8fd58011e9b81df8802defcf03-l-d-r-l/

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Can't read the article but "To Kill a Mockingbird" is my favorite book and movie. There's so much in both that I can identify with coming from a small rural Alabama town.

The scenes where they are walking in the neighborhood and folks calling out from the porch or yard to say hello takes me back to a similar time.

The scene where the Sheriff hands the rifle to Atticus to shoot the rabid dog is another because my dad fought in WWII and Korea but never owned or shot a gun as long as I knew him but people that knew him before the war told me he was an amazing marksman with pistol, rifle or shotgun.

Unfortunately the scenes where Blacks are in the balcony watching the trial are also reminiscent of those times as well.

Harper Lee went to Huntington College and the University of Alabama but didn't graduate as I recall.

EnterBama said:

Can't read the article but "To Kill a Mockingbird" is my favorite book and movie. There's so much in both that I can identify with coming from a small rural Alabama town.

The scenes where they are walking in the neighborhood and folks calling out from the porch or yard to say hello takes me back to a similar time.

The scene where the Sheriff hands the rifle to Atticus to shoot the rabid dog is another because my dad fought in WWII and Korea but never owned or shot a gun as long as I knew him but people that knew him before the war told me he was an amazing marksman with pistol, rifle or shotgun.

Unfortunately the scenes where Blacks are in the balcony watching the trial are also reminiscent of those times as well.

Harper Lee went to Huntington College and the University of Alabama but didn't graduate as I recall.

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You're right. I stand corrected. She attended Law School at the Capstone but never finished.

CB4 said:

I worked many years for the original publisher of “Mockingbird” (J.B. Lippincott). JBL had traditionally been a medical and health sciences publisher. It was one of very few books outside that realm they every published.

Many great stories about Harper Lee circulated through the company and among the old time editors. In the very early days, Harper Lee would return home to Monroeville from New York. While there, she would autograph a few copies of Mockingbird for the downtown bookstore. If you happened in at the right time, you might just happen to purchase one.

Probably my favorite story was when the movie was being made, Harper Lee was on the set much of the time watching the production. At the conclusion of one of the courtroom scenes, she walked over to Gregory Peck who was playing the role of Atticus Finch. She remarked to him “how much he reminded her of her father, from the way he was dressed, the way spoke and all the way down to his “little pooch” of a belly.”

Peck responded to her, “Miss Lee, that is NOT a pooch. That is GREAT ACTING....” ������

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Great story! To Kill A Mockinbird is a fantastic novel. It may be my favorite, yet there is so much painful truth hidden behind the eyes of a youth. I've often wondered if Lee didn't use Scout as the innocent eyes to say more critical things about the belief system in our state at the time. Of course, then I realize that of course she did. It's both a celebration and a condemnation of sweet home Alabama.

Folks, as of yesterday the article was NOT behind the pay wall on wsj.com. A banner will come up asking you to sign up for a paid subscription, but I just hit the “x” in the corner of it and had full access to the article. It really is a good read.

The WSJ story is republished at this site:

https://www.archysport.com/2019/09/harper-lee-also-wrote-about-football-in-alabama/

Thanks for posting such a great story. It's a very fun read.

Did anybody else notice the writer seemed to confuse Lee's gender several times? I noticed one example, but in reading through it, I lost count.

What in the world? I'm wondering, then I get to the part about Lee Roy.

There was actually one more reason to believe that she wanted to believe about Bryant. When a former Alabama linebacker, Lee Roy Jordan, said, "As far as he knows, this is not the case," Harper Lee trusted him. She knew her family. They came from the neighboring city. "Jordans are known for their veracity in these areas," she wrote.

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Did they really mean "his" family?

Sorry to nitpick, but I'm thinking the editor dropped the ball here on the proof reading. It doesn't detract from a super story, it just seems a little sloppy. On the other hand, it may just be a fault of my reading comprehension. :blush:

Great read...also the article below it on Syracuse and playing football like speed chess. However, I think SU got all they wanted of that from the Terps.