C. W. Bishop

Cecil William Bishop was an American politician who was a member of the United States House of Representatives from Illinois for seven terms, from 1941 to 1955.

Biography

Bishop was born on a farm near West Vienna, Illinois. After attending the public schools and Union Academy in Anna, Illinois, he became a tailor. As quarterback on an elementary school football team he weighed less than 90 pounds, giving rise to the nickname "Runt."
Bishop was engaged in the cleaning and tailoring business from 1910 to 1922. He later worked as a coal miner, a telephone lineman, and a player for and manager of professional football and baseball teams. He became city clerk of Carterville, Illinois in 1915, and served until 1918. He was town postmaster from 1923 to 1933.

Congress

Bishop was elected as a Republican to the Seventy-seventh Congress and to six succeeding Congresses, serving from January 3, 1941, to January 3, 1955. He served as chairman of the Special Committee on Campaign Expenditures in the Eighty-third Congress. He ran unsuccessfully for reelection to the Eighty-fourth Congress in 1954, and was succeeded by Kenneth J. Gray.

Later career

After serving in Congress, Bishop held several other positions, including congressional liaison assistant, Post Office Department, and Department of Labor conciliator for the State of Illinois.

Death and burial

Bishop died in Marion, Illinois on September 21, 1971. He was interred in Oakwood Cemetery in Carterville.