Outdoorsman Grits Gresham Dies at 85

2/18/2008 -- NATCHITOCHES, La. -- Grits Gresham, noted outdoorsman, writer, author, and television personality, died Monday (Feb. 18), in his hometown of Natchitoches, after a lengthy illness at the age of 85.


Gresham served as field host and producer for "The American Sportsman" television series on the ABC network, host of "Shooting Sports America" on ESPN, was shooting editor of Sports Afield magazine for 26 years, and was published in such wide-ranging magazines as Sports Illustrated and Gentleman's Quarterly. He authored eight books, but may be best known for his role in the series of commercials for Miller Lite beer.

Gresham was the fisherman among the athletes who made "Tastes Great, Less Filling" marketing buzzwords for more than a decade.

His affable personality and love for the outdoors combined with his trademarks, a driftwood hat and white muttonchops, to make him a recognizable figure around the world. Entertainers such as Bing Crosby, Burt Reynolds, Jonathan Winters and Andy Griffith joined him on hunting and fishing trips, with a wide array of sports figures such as Olympic decathalon gold medalist Bruce Jenner, Pro Football Hall of Fame defender Buck Buchanan and 1976 NFL Most Valuable Player Bert Jones. Some celebrities maintained friendships with Grits, with quite a few traveling to visit him through the years at his home on the banks of Cane River Lake in Natchitoches.

Arrangements are being made through the Blanchard St. Denis Funeral Home in Natchitoches, at 318-357-8271.
http://www.blanchardstdenisfuneralhome.com.

The service will be at 10 a.m. Friday at the funeral home. Visitation will be from 5-9 p.m. Thursday evening.

In lieu of flowers, the family asks that donations be made to The Gresham Collection at the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame Foundation, 321 Bienville Street, Natchitoches, LA 71457, or in the name of Grits Gresham to the Alzheimer's Association.

Grits traveled the world for his work, and he particularly enjoyed his many trips to various African countries as well as fishing and hunting in South America. He served in the U.S. Army Air Corps during WWII.

A tireless worker for conservation, he was one of the first public voices bringing attention to the loss of wetlands along the Louisiana coastline, an area where he did much of his graduate work while at LSU.

Gresham's books include "The Complete Book of Bass Fishing," "Fishes and Fishing In Louisiana," "Fishing and Boating in Louisiana," "The Sportsman and his Family Outdoors," The Complete Wildfowler," "Grits on Guns," and "Weatherby: The Man, The Gun, The Legend."

One of Gresham's proudest moments as an outdoor journalist came during an interview with President Ronald Reagan. The President shared with Grits a story no one in the national media had heard, that when he was a broadcaster in Des Moines, Iowa, Reagan had used a Colt pistol to save a nurse from a mugging on the street. After the story broke, the nurse came forward and confirmed the tale, although she did not know until then that the young man who had saved her with a gun so many years before had turned out to be the famous actor and United States President.

Born Claude Hamilton Gresham, Jr. on June 21, 1922, in Spartanburg County, S.C., Grits was the fourth of five children of Claude H. Gresham and Belle Hill Gresham. He attended Blue Ridge School for Boys, the University of North Carolina, Vanderbilt, Yale and received his B.S. and M.S. from Louisiana State University.

He is survived by his sons, Kent and Tom Gresham, and a daughter, Barbara Gresham Hammerman, along with three sisters and three grandchildren.

Gresham's many awards include the Winchester Outdoorsman of the Year, Alumnus of the Year in the LSU School of Forestry and Wildlife Management; induction into the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame and LSU Hall of Distinction; awards for excellence in writing and contributions to conservation from the Outdoor Writers Association of America, and an honorary doctorate of humane letters from Northwestern State University. In 2006 he received the only Lifetime Achievement Award from the National Shooting Sports Foundation, which then established, with the Professional Outdoor Media Association, an ongoing "Grits Gresham Shooting Sports Communicator" award.

Last summer, his family announced the donation to the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame Foundation of a wide array of items from "The Gresham Collection," including memorabilia, writings, photography, outdoor art and audio and video recordings by Grits and his late wife Mary.

The Hall of Fame Foundation is currently engaged with the state of Louisiana and the Louisiana State Museum System to develop an innovative Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame museum in Natchitoches. The items donated by the Gresham family will be featured in the mutli-faceted museum, which had ground-breaking ceremonies Jan. 10.

Items to be included in the collection from the entire scope of the life and work of Grits and Mary Gresham include ABC-TV's "American Sportsman" series memorabilia, "Miller Lite All Stars" memorabilia, Crosby Golf Tournament memorabilia; firearms, fishing gear, camping, birding and boating items; an array of awards, books, writings, recordings, illustrations, art and photography; and Grits' trademark, "The Hat." Also to be included are National Duck Stamp process items, memorabilia from Gresham's international travel, as well as his history and formative years, which included a collegiate baseball career before World War II and a professional baseball contract signed in 1946 with the Chicago Cubs organization.

I grew up reading him. Some of us are still growing up.

He made a difference.

Here's Grits G. in a beer commercial. First time I heard of him was in 1978:

Grits Gresham on Miller Lite

The American Sportsman was one of my earliest memories. I will always remember him.

RIP Grits,

I'm sad to see him go.

He was an Icon if there ever was one.
Rest in Peace Grits..

Don

Like some of you, I grew up reading Grits and watching him and Curt Gowdy on American Sportsman.

I had the pleasure of first meeting Grits at an Outdoor Writers Association of America (OWAA) conference in Bismark way back in 1981 and continued to visit with him for many years at subsequent conferences and other events.

His son Tom -- the host of the radio show GUN TALK -- is also a long-time friend. We served on the board of OWWA together and more recently on the 10-member steering committee that gave birth to the Professional Outdoor Media Association (POMA) and the "Grits Gresham Shooting Sports Communicator" award.

A little humorous aside to this sad happening:

At the SHOT show in LV a few years ago, Tom and I were just chatting a bit over a cup of coffee in the press room. With a big smile, he said something along the lines of, "Dad fell in love again and just got married."

Of course, I chuckled since Grits was already in his early 1980s. -TONY

I will always remember watching Grits on American Sportsman with my Dad.

RIP

The last time I saw him he was driving across a Wyoming ranch with a buck antelope strapped atop his SUV. A sad day for us old timers.
WYLD

One of my favorites.He led a long,interesting,and what appeared to be, fun life.
We should all do as well!
RIP Grits.

More on Grits.

Thanks OW. I'd never have heard about it if I didn't catch your posting.

OW-

Thanks for letting us know of Grits' passing.

We all need to hoist a glass in Grits' honor.

Grits, may your new found hunting grounds be better than ever!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

He was the epitome of the American Sportsman. I grew up watching him on TV and dreaming of the day when I could travel to distant lands in search of game and fish. Here's to you Grits May you rest in peace!
LDK

RIP Mr. Gresham, you lived a long, and enviable life.

I really enjoyed reading his articles and I am sad to see him leave this world.