Grits Gresham

Claude Hamilton Gresham, Jr., known as Grits Gresham (June 21, 1922 – February 18, 2008), was an internationally known American sportsman, author, photographer and television personality who hosted ABC's The American Sportsman series from 1966 to 1979. Gresham, who resided on the historic Cane River Lake in Natchitoches, the oldest city in Louisiana, traveled throughout the globe, particularly South America and Africa, to engage in hunting, fishing and shooting with various American celebrities. He was a champion of the environment and conservation, the subject of his graduate school thesis.

Early years, education, military

Gresham was born in Spartanburg County, South Carolina, to Claude Gresham, Sr. and the former Belle Hill. He inherited his nickname from his father, a semi-professional baseball player known as "Grit". Gresham grew up in rural South Carolina. As a small boy, he was so interested in hunting that he slept with his air rifle beside his bed. He took his first shot of the day out of his bedroom window. "Two things were going to happen every day when I was growing up. The sun was going to rise, and I was going to shoot something," Gresham said in a 1996 interview. Before Gresham began his long career in outdoor journalism, he signed a baseball contract with the Chicago Cubs organization but never played.