Did Bisher have an issue with Butts or was he just unfortunate to get caught up in the libel against Bryant?
AJC Columnist Furman Bisher Dead at 93
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I would say that Butts was more or less a bystander. However, he was known to be a friend of Bryant's, and that's really all it too for Bisher...
Yes sir, you are absolutely right. That's one of the characteristics that let us easily separate the journalists from the hacks.
Sorry to the loved ones in his life, as I'm sure he had kids and grandkids that had nothing to do with his underhanded works, but truly a miserable human being. While I hope he R.I.P., its impossible to forget the pain he brought to others not only with the "game fixing" charge, but the negative press he gave to UA and Coach after the Darwin Holt legal hit against Tech in 1960. He basically wrote in a well publicized article that Bryant taught brutality when it was really just "rock em sock football". Simply because the powerhouse of the South in the 50's GT had been usurped by the new power in T Town. The fact he never apologized to CPB or to Bama is makes me despise him as much as any AU fan. Coach Bryant and Coach Dodd were close, had their problems, but became close once again in their later years. Furman could never follow that example. Good riddance.
Good read on ESPN site from Nascar writer Ed Hinton and his mentor Furman. Goes into good detail about Bisher's hate for CPB and UA. I'm sure he had a lot of good points and probably treated many folks very well. But you mess with The Coach I got no use for you.
My family and I moved to ATL for a few years in the 90's. I was well aware of what he had written about Coach. I thought sure he would sometimes write something positive. Bisher was still writing and all I read was an unhappy, bitter man who never seemed to have any happiness in his life. He was always criticizing someone when it was not Bama and that seemed to be his satisfaction. I am sorry for his family and loved ones. But that is where it ends for me.
I googled "Furman Bisher Bear Bryant" and came across an article from some Georgia sports blog written about four years ago. I can't link it due to some language issues, but the writer was not a big fan of Bisher's, nor were a couple of people who posted to his blog.
I also found a Georgia sports message board, which seemed somewhat like this place, with a brief mention of Bisher. Someone started a thread commenting on his death and it got one reply from someone who recounted the Post scandal and wasn't too fond of the man, either.
I had read his columns a few times over the years when the AJC crossed my hands and never found anything he wrote that great. I knew he did not like Bryant, but never read anything specifically he wrote about him.
I went over to ITAT to see their reaction. They loved him..........not exactly a shocker he is a hero to those people.
Prayers goes out to Bisher's Family..No need to bash the man..I'm sure "The Bear" had already laid the smackdown on Bisher..Coach Bryant has a handle on the situation as we speak..
Furman Bisher did NOT write the article that caused the problem. But he DID get the ball rolling. It's sort of
like those folks who didn't bother to ask whether those were forged National Guard documents. Dan Rather
did the story (and lost his job because of it), but you can put a heap of blame on the lackeys who brought it
to him in the first place.
like those folks who didn't bother to ask whether those were forged National Guard documents. Dan Rather
did the story (and lost his job because of it), but you can put a heap of blame on the lackeys who brought it
to him in the first place.
Good question, and for one who has lived in the Atlanta area for 40 of the past 45 years I should be able to answer it, but I can't. I will, however, give you my best educated guess. As "uppity" as Bisher was, I suspect he looked upon GT and Dodd as his equals and looked down his nose at Butts and the Dawgs.
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For more than fifty years he bashed Alabama and Bear Bryant without relent, all the while glorifying the Georgia v. Auburn rivalry as the greatest thing since sliced bread. With their delusional mindset, he's the pinnacle of so-called sports journalism.
Unfortunately, Bisher caused much more harm to GT than he did to either Alabama or UGA. He inflamed the anti-SEC and anti-Alabama situation at Tech enough to lead to GT exiting the conference.
Bryant & Dodd were good friends but Bisher's crusade took it's toll. As a GT grad, Bisher is one of my least favorite people.
He ushed in a "other teams only win because they cheat" attitude that stains GT to this day.
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Did he ever offer an opinion on the racism and sexism that is behind the gates at his beloved Augusta National?
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