Penn State Sports Magazine
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/523134
NEWS & NOTES I still can't believe Fran Fisher is gone. Fran was such a big part of my life, just as he was for many others outside of his own family. No one was more beloved by Penn State sports fans – especially the Nit- tany Lion football nation – than Fran Fisher. His death in mid-May was not as shocking or as consequential as the sud- den passing of Joe Paterno three years ago, but within Penn State fandom it was more personal. Paterno was a national icon and for decades the most famous person associ- ated with Penn State. He was idolized by thousands, and fans were awed to be in his presence. Fran Fisher may not have been idolized by thousands, but he certainly was ad- mired and respected by just about everyone he met. Even people who never had the good fortune to meet him cher- ished him for being their direct bond to Penn State football for three decades. They listened to his radio broadcasts of the games and his repartee with Paterno during the weekly coach's call-in radio show and the now defunct "TV Quar- terbacks" program, and when they had a chance to meet him they could not be- lieve how affable he was. He treated everyone he met like a personal friend. If Fran had any enemies I sure didn't know it, and I knew the man for almost 50 years. Since his passing, I have been de- scribed as a close friend. I was just one of dozens. I've never known anyone with so many close friends. Fran's close friends included people he had known since his days growing up in Greensburg and working in Lewistown before moving to State College after be- F R A N F I S H E R | 1 9 2 3 - 2 0 1 5 At PSU, 'The Voice' will always resonate BEHIND THE MIC Fisher champi- oned Penn State both on radio and televi- sion, including the popular show "TV Quar- terbacks." He died May 14 at age 91. Photo courtesy of the Fisher family