Fresno State Athletics
Fresno Bee Sportswriter Bruce Farris Dies at 88
5/7/2015 12:00:00 AM | General
Hall of Fame Fresno Bee Sportswriter Bruce Farris dies at 88 - By Andy Boogaard, Fresno Bee
May 7, 2015
By Patrick Ogle, Development Officer
Bulldog Foundation
FRESNO, Calif. - For the first 20 years of his Hall of Fame writing career, Bruce Farris was the lone Fresno Bee beat writer for Fresno State, covering every sport. For the final 30-plus-years with the Bee he continued to write Bulldog related stories. After retirement from the Bee, he authored the 352 page history of the Bulldog Foundation, "The Team Behind the Teams". In his 52-year Bee career Farris worked for 10 sports editors and wrote about even more (13) Fresno State athletic directors, hundreds of coaches and thousands of student-athletes. One of those athletic directors, Jack Lengyel, reflected "He was an excellent sportswriter in the mode of all the great sportswriter legends like Grantland Rice, Red Smith and Allison Danzig. A true gentleman through and through and loved by everyone he covered and everyone who read his sports articles. He will truly be missed but never forgotten." When he wrote "The Team Behind the Teams" in 2000 Farris called it "a nostalgic trip down memory lane. I relished reliving some of the events of the past, but even more, I enjoyed renewing friendships with those BDF members I have known for decades and meeting new people who will shape the future of the university and the BDF." Farris' style was to accentuate the positive and allow athletes to tell their own unique stories, interviewing everyone with the same grace, honesty and respect.
Fresno State athletics will honor Bruce and his accomplishments with a permanent plaque in the working media center in the press box. And he will always have a seat in the working center.
