Wednesday, October 17, 2001

Story last updated at 9:34 p.m. on Tuesday, October 16, 2001 Ish Brant, pictured during a Kiwanis Club meeting at Max's International Cuisine at Jacksonville Beach, was honored at Fletcher High School football game Thursday night for his years of service.

 Event Honors An Icon

Friends pay tribute to 'Mr. Brant' By Caren Burmeister, Shorelines staff writer.

Some people call him the Silver Fox. Some people call him coach. Others, even those who have known him for decades, call him Mr. Brant. Whatever he's called, Ish Brant has helped so many athletes get college scholarships, given so many people their first jobs and established so many schools and libraries that he could be called an icon.

About 100 people whose lives have been influenced by Brant -- friends, former colleagues and football players -- attended a halftime ceremony at a Fletcher High School football game Thursday to honor his contributions to the community. They came onto the football field, shook his hand stood at his side as he spoke about the positive influence sports have on youth.

Ish Brant (left image, far right in white shirt) poses with the 1946 Fletcher football team.

-- Rick Wilson/Staff

 The familiar figure, in his early 90s, obviously enjoyed the event."You could just tell by his eyes he was really enjoying it," said Corky Borders, a Kiwanis of the Jacksonville Beaches member who is raising $10,000 to start an Ish Brant college scholarship fund. Brant said he appreciates the attention, but public service has always been important to him. "There's always a real need for people to contribute worthwhile projects," he said.

When congratulated last week for recently turning 94, Brant said no, he's 92. When asked if two years still make a difference, Brant said, "Call me in two years and I'll let you know."Brant's accomplishments read like an American Who's Who.

Brant coached the Fletcher High Senators from 1942 to 1956. He was elected Duval County school superintendent and ran the school system from 1957 to 1969. During that time, he was appointed by President Eisenhower to serve on the federal road board. He was city manager in Jacksonville Beach from 1974 to 1977, then was elected to the Neptune Beach City Council and became the city's mayor in 1981, an office he held until 1989. Along the way, he helped establish Florida Community College at Jacksonville and secured funding to build the Beaches branch library in Neptune Beach. Brant was also active on the Beaches Hospital board, Beaches Art Foundation, Boys Home Association, Boy Scouts and Kiwanis of Jacksonville's Beaches.

He was also inducted into the Jacksonville Sports Hall of Fame. A few years ago, he received the Heartland Award from Gov. Lawton Chiles, the state's highest recognition for leadership, philanthropy, integrity and service to the children and citizens of Florida.

"He's probably the most active community leader that we've had," said John "Wimpy" Sutton, whom Brant hired as a teacher and coach at Fletcher High in 1951. "He was a great boss. I learned a lot from Mr. Brant."

Brant, who was also assistant principal and dean of boys, had a reputation as a strict disciplinarian back then. Students were reminded of this every time they heard troublemakers being paddled in his office down the hallway.

"The only way you could do it was Ish's way," said Ed Holtsinger, Brant's first assistant football coach at Fletcher. "He demanded an awful lot. But I never had any discipline problems in three years." Jim Messinese, who played for Fletcher from 1947 to 1949, said he's glad Brant kept him in line. "You had to say 'yes sir' and 'no sir' and be on time and get decent grades," said Messinese, who moved to the Beaches when he was 15. Messinese had gotten into trouble with the law before he left Washington, D.C. He said Brant knew this and kept an eye on him. "He was a tough guy," Messinese said. "I never would have finished high school if it weren't for him."

One time, Brant, who never drank or smoked cigarettes, caught Messinese at a pool hall the night before a football game. Brant made him spend the night at his home so he couldn't get into trouble. The next day, Brant took him to the barber shop to cut off his ducktail hairdo and made him give up his suede shoes. "He just got all over me and he saved my life," he said.

Later, Messinese was stunned to learn, after being drafted by the Baltimore Colts in 1955, that Brant's reputation as a coach reached nationwide.

Colts Coach Weeb Ewbank, who years later in 1969 pulled off the biggest Super Bowl upset in history when he guided the New York Jets past the Colts, asked Messinese where he played high school football. Messinese told him Fletcher High School in Jacksonville Beach. "You played with Ish Brant?" Messinese said Ewbank asked, his eyebrows arched in astonishment. "Everybody knows Brant; he's an icon."

Later, Brant gave Messinese his first job as a teacher and coach. They've stayed in touch to this day. Messinese said Brant means so much to him that he still sends a card and gift to Brant every year on his birthday. "He's like my second father," Messinese said. "He's one of a kind."

Brant earned the nickname Silver Fox for his shock of premature gray hair. The name also implies his charm, wit and friendliness. Friends say Brant never met a stranger and that he was a diplomat who could have an angry parent laughing by the end of the conversation.

"Ish is quite a man," Holtsinger said. "He made me feel like I was one of his favorite people."

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