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George Bell, the tallest man in the United States at 7 feet 8 inches (234 cm) as recognized by Guinness World Records, was the guest speaker last Thursday night at the Upward Basketball Celebration at Second Baptist Church in Rutherfordton. Florence Baptist in Forest City and Second Baptist hosted the Upward 2023 season with more than 100 community children playing basketball and numbers of volunteers, parents, coaches and referees supporting the program.
The children were amazed at how "big" Bell was as they had photographs taken with him at the end of the program.
Florence children's minister, Rev. Tonya Garrison, said "George reminded us his God is bigger. George shared his testimony of how important prayer is and how often God answers prayers."
Bell told the standing room only crowd that in 1987 he was on an airplane waiting for take off at Boston airport. Bell said as the plane was on the runway it began shaking terribly.
"It was shaking from side to side. I was scared. I was terrified and didn't know if I would ever see my family again," Bell said.
He said he heard a voice asking him why he was scared. Bell said he knew he shouldn't be afraid and began saying the Lord's Prayer and he became calm.
"I am always saying the Lord's prayer," he said. He encouraged the audience to pray and have faith.
Bell also told the children that right now none of them could measure up to him at almost 8 feet tall, "but God made a way for everyone to get to God. He made a way."
He asked the children if they believed Jesus and to make that commitment.
Brandon Wood, Upward coordinator at Second Baptist, assured the children numerous times as the celebration came to a close, "We care about this generation."
Bell played basketball, was an actor and also a sheriff's deputy in Virginia.
According to Google, Bell showed signs of his impending tallness when he was 9 or 10, but through high school he never grew so tall that he felt out of place. By the time he hit his early 20s, however, his height had exceeded 7 feet. When he last measured himself, about 20 years ago, he said, he was 7 feet 7 inches. But the measurements for the Guinness book showed he had grown another inch. Bell said he has a medical condition called gigantism, which causes excessive growth hormone secretion during childhood. According to Google, Bell does not suffer from some of the other effects of gigantism, such as an enlarged heart, although he does have to take some medicines for the rest of his life.
