ANew York Times, New York, New York, Friday, January 09, 1959
A Medal for Bobby Fischer
They gave Bobby Fischer a gold medal yesterday at Erasmus Hall High School in Brooklyn. It was the first time in that school's long and honorable history that the Student Council has ever done such a thing, but then 15-year-olds like Bobby Fischer don't come along every day, or even every decade. At that age youngsters are likely to be playing junior varsity football or basketball, while Bobby has just won the United States chess championship for the second year in a row. Last year he won the right to compete with the world's chess greats in a competition to decide who will challenge the present world champion next year.
We find Bobby Fischer a comforting phenomenon after all the recent talk about the faults of our young people. He has grown up in the television age, but he prefers playing chess to watching Westerns. He may listen to rock 'n' roll occasionally, but his marks in geometry and Spanish are nothing to be ashamed of.
This country must have many, many thousands of talented youngsters. It is the job of us adults to make sure that all of them get the opportunity and incentive to develop their talents.
