Lesley Visser
Encyclopedia
Lesley Candace Visser (born September 11, 1953 in Quincy, Massachusetts
) is an American sportscaster
, radio personality
, and sportswriter. Visser is the first female NFL analyst on TV, and the only sportscaster in history, male or female, who has worked on Final Four, NBA Finals
, World Series
, Triple Crown
, Monday Night Football
, the Olympics, the Super Bowl
, the World Figure Skating Championships
and the U.S. Open
network broadcasts. Visser, who was voted the No. 1 Female Sportscaster of all-time in a poll taken by the American Sportscasters Association
, recently became the first female to be an analyst for an NFL game on TV and is currently a reporter for CBS Sports
and News
, writes for CBSSports.com
and is also part of WFTL
640 Fox Sports' morning drive in South Florida.
as the 2006 recipient of the Pete Rozelle Radio-Television Award
which recognizes long-time exceptional contributions to radio
and television
in professional football. Pro Football Hall of Famer Troy Aikman
said about Visser in his 2006 induction speech, "She brought respect and professionalism to the field of journalism for her work in print and broadcasting. It makes me proud to be in her company today."
A pioneer among woman sports journalists, Visser re-joined CBS Sports
in August 2000 after a six-year hiatus after being relieved of her duties as the sideline reporter for Monday Night Football
among other assignments she had at ESPN
and ABC Sports
. She serves as correspondent for the network's NFL
and college basketball
programming.
guard Sam Jones
. From the age of 10 she wanted to be a sportswriter, but there was one problem—the job didn’t exist for women. Her family didn't discourage her. “My parents didn’t say girls can’t do that, and my mother told me, ‘Sometimes you have to cross when it says “don’t walk.”’” Visser was educated at Boston College
, majoring in English.
grant which entitled her to work as a sportswriter at the Boston Globe. In 14 years at the Globe, she covered college basketball
, the NBA
, the MLB
, tennis
, college football
, golf
and horse racing
. In 1976, she was assigned to cover the New England Patriots
, becoming the first ever female NFL beat writer. In 2009, Sports Illustrated named the Boston Globe sports sections (1975–1980) the best sports section of all time.
. In 1984, Visser joined CBS Sports part-time and went full-time in 1987. Her assignments included the NBA including the NBA Finals
, college basketball
including the Final Four
, MLB including the World Series
, College World Series
, college football
, horse racing
, Tennis
including the U.S. Open
of Tennis (1984–1993) and the Olympics
.
In 1989 she covered the fall of the Berlin Wall
, focusing on how sports would change in East Germany. In 1990
she became a regular on The NFL Today
with Greg Gumbel
, Terry Bradshaw
and Pat O'Brien
. Also in 1990
, Visser became the first woman to cover the World Series
. In 1992
, she became the first and only woman to handle the Super Bowl Trophy
presentation.
lost television rights to NFL games in 1993, Visser went to ABC Sports and ESPN
. In 1995, she became the first woman ever to report from the sidelines during a Super Bowl when she covered Super Bowl XXIX
for ABC. In 1998, she became the first woman ever assigned to Monday Night Football
. She also covered Super Bowl XXXIV
for ABC in 2000.
While at ABC Sports, Visser served as a reporter for college football
bowl games and the NFL playoffs
games during Wild Card Saturday. She also contributed to horse racing
including the Triple Crown
, ABC's Wide World of Sports, Major League Baseball, including the 1995 World Series
, figure skating
, Special Olympics
, skiing
, the Pro Bowl
, and an ABC series A Passion to Play. She co-hosted the network's coverage of the "Millennium
Tournament of Roses Parade
."
For ESPN, Visser covered the Super Bowl, college basketball
, figure skating
, and horse racing
including the Triple Crown
. She also contributed to SportsCenter
, NFL GameDay, and Monday Night Countdown
.
, with her assignments being NFL
, college basketball
, Tennis
, Figure Skating
and Horse Racing
as well as special projects for CBS News
. Today Visser's assignments are a contributor to The NFL Today
and college basketball
. In 2004, she became the first woman sportscaster to carry the Olympic Torch when she was honored in 2004 by the International Olympic Committee as a "pioneer and standard-bearer."
During the 2001 NFL season
Visser became the first female color analyst (NBC
's Gayle Sierens
was the first female play-by-play announcer) on an NFL broadcast booth. She joined play-by-play announcer Howard David
and analyst Boomer Esiason
in the booth for Westwood One
/CBS Radio
. Visser also joined HBO's highly acclaimed Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel
.
Visser was a pre-game reporter for The Super Bowl Today, where she covered the Super Bowl XXXV
in February 2001, Super Bowl XXXVIII
in February 2004, and the Super Bowl XLI
in February 2007 pre-game broadcasts and during that 2007 Super Bowl she did serve as a sideline reporter too. Visser did contribute to the pre-game broadcast of the 2010 Super Bowl as well. Visser was loaned to NBC Sports
twice to cover the Olympics as she covered the 2004 Summer Olympics
in Athens when she served as the Equestrian reporter. She also covered the 2006 Winter Olympics
in Torino as a reporter for Short Track Speed Skating.
In September 2007, she returned back to roots as she now writes a column for CBSSports.com
.
, who broadcasts football
and baseball for Fox
and baseball and the NBA for Turner Sports
from 1983 to 2010. Visser is now married to millionaire Bob Kanuth. Visser and Stockton met at the sixth game of the 1975 World Series
, where Stockton called Carlton Fisk
's iconic home run for NBC and Visser was covering for the Boston Globe.
In June 1993, Visser suffered a jogging accident in New York
's Central Park
in which she broke her hip and skidded face-first across the pavement. She required surgery on her face and hip and in 2006 she required an artificial hip replacement.
, Caroline Kennedy
and Donna Brazile
—and in 2007, she was honored at the 22nd Annual Sports Legend Dinner, along with Magic Johnson, Gary Player and John Elway to benefit the Buoniconti fund to cure paralysis. In 2005 she won the Pop Warner female achievement award and was inducted into the New England Sports Museum Hall of Fame, along with Boston Celtics legend Bob Cousy
and the 1980 United States Olympic Hockey team
.
Visser has been honored with the Compass Award for "changing the paradigm of her business" and was one of the 100 luminaries commemorating the 75th anniversary of the CBS Television Network in 2003. She was named "WISE Woman of the Year" in 2002 and voted the "Outstanding Women's Sportswriter in America" in 1983 and won the "Women's Sports Foundation Award
for Journalism" in 1992. In 1999 she won the first AWSM Pioneer Award. Visser earned her bachelor's degree in English from Boston College
and received an honorary doctorate of Journalism from her alma mater in May 2007.
Visser became the first woman sportscaster to carry the Olympic Torch when she was honored in 2004 by the International Olympic Committee as a "pioneer and standard-bearer." Visser worked her 31st Final Four/NCAA Men's Basketball Championship this April 2009, having worked the tournament for the Boston Globe, ESPN
and CBS Sports
. This past season marked her 34th year covering the NFL and for covering the NFL.
In 2005, Visser was elected to the Museum of Television and Radio. Sean McManus, President of CBS News and CBS Sports, summed up her contributions this way: "Lesley Visser's career has broken many barriers and defined previously unimagined roles for women in professional sports and sports broadcasting."
Quincy, Massachusetts
Quincy is a city in Norfolk County, Massachusetts, United States. Its nicknames are "City of Presidents", "City of Legends", and "Birthplace of the American Dream". As a major part of Metropolitan Boston, Quincy is a member of Boston's Inner Core Committee for the Metropolitan Area Planning Council...
) is an American sportscaster
Sportscaster
In sports broadcasting, a commentator gives a running commentary of a game or event in real time, usually during a live broadcast. The comments are normally a voiceover, with the sounds of the action and spectators also heard in the background. In the case of television commentary, the commentator...
, radio personality
Radio personality
A radio personality is a person with an on-air position in radio broadcasting. A radio personality can be someone who introduces and discusses various genres of music, hosts a talk radio show that may take calls from listeners, or someone whose primary responsibility is to give news, weather,...
, and sportswriter. Visser is the first female NFL analyst on TV, and the only sportscaster in history, male or female, who has worked on Final Four, NBA Finals
NBA Finals
The NBA Finals is the championship series of the National Basketball Association . The series was named the NBA World Championship Series until 1986....
, World Series
World Series
The World Series is the annual championship series of Major League Baseball, played between the American League and National League champions since 1903. The winner of the World Series championship is determined through a best-of-seven playoff and awarded the Commissioner's Trophy...
, Triple Crown
Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing
The Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing consists of three races for three-year-old Thoroughbred horses. Winning all three of these Thoroughbred horse races is considered the greatest accomplishment of a Thoroughbred racehorse...
, Monday Night Football
Monday Night Football
Monday Night Football is a live broadcast of the National Football League on ESPN. From to it aired on ABC. Monday Night Football was, along with Hallmark Hall of Fame, and the Walt Disney anthology television series, one of the longest running prime time commercial network television series...
, the Olympics, the Super Bowl
Super Bowl
The Super Bowl is the championship game of the National Football League , the highest level of professional American football in the United States, culminating a season that begins in the late summer of the previous calendar year. The Super Bowl uses Roman numerals to identify each game, rather...
, the World Figure Skating Championships
World Figure Skating Championships
The World Figure Skating Championships is an annual figure skating competition sanctioned by the International Skating Union in which elite figure skaters compete for the title of World Champion...
and the U.S. Open
U.S. Open (tennis)
The US Open, formally the United States Open Tennis Championships, is a hardcourt tennis tournament which is the modern iteration of one of the oldest tennis championships in the world, the U.S. National Championship, which for men's singles was first contested in 1881...
network broadcasts. Visser, who was voted the No. 1 Female Sportscaster of all-time in a poll taken by the American Sportscasters Association
American Sportscasters Association
American Sportscasters Association was founded in 1979 by broadcaster Dick London and associate attorney Harold Foner as a non profit association to represent sportscasters by promoting and supporting the needs and interests of the professional sports broadcaster.-History:In 1980, Louis O...
, recently became the first female to be an analyst for an NFL game on TV and is currently a reporter for CBS Sports
CBS Sports
CBS Sports is a division of CBS Broadcasting which airs sporting events on the American television network. Its headquarters are in the CBS Building on West 52nd Street in midtown Manhattan, New York City, with programs produced out of Studio 43 at the CBS Broadcast Center on West 57th Street.CBS...
and News
CBS News
CBS News is the news division of American television and radio network CBS. The current chairman is Jeff Fager who is also the executive producer of 60 Minutes, while the current president of CBS News is David Rhodes. CBS News' flagship program is the CBS Evening News, hosted by the network's main...
, writes for CBSSports.com
CBSSports.com
CBSSports.com was founded in 1994 as SportsLine USA, and today is a CBS-owned website that provides sports scores, news, statistics, live and on-demand video, mobile apps, e-commerce, fantasy sports products, services, and information..Headquartered in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, CBSSports.com it is...
and is also part of WFTL
WFTL
WFTL is a radio station with studios in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, and licensed to West Palm Beach, Florida.WFTL serves Fort Lauderdale, Miami and The Palm Beaches. The station broadcasts a mix of news and mostly syndicated talk programming. Its signal is broadcast at 50,000 watts, covering all of...
640 Fox Sports' morning drive in South Florida.
Biography
Lesley Visser was the first woman to be recognized by the Pro Football Hall of FamePro Football Hall of Fame
The Pro Football Hall of Fame is the hall of fame of professional football in the United States with an emphasis on the National Football League . It opened in Canton, Ohio, on September 7, 1963, with 17 charter inductees...
as the 2006 recipient of the Pete Rozelle Radio-Television Award
Pete Rozelle Radio-Television Award
The Pete Rozelle Radio-Television Award, created in 1989 and named for the late longtime NFL commissioner, is bestowed annually by the Pro Football Hall of Fame "for longtime exceptional contributions to radio and television in professional football". Unlike the Baseball Hall of Fame's comparable...
which recognizes long-time exceptional contributions to radio
Radio
Radio is the transmission of signals through free space by modulation of electromagnetic waves with frequencies below those of visible light. Electromagnetic radiation travels by means of oscillating electromagnetic fields that pass through the air and the vacuum of space...
and television
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
in professional football. Pro Football Hall of Famer Troy Aikman
Troy Aikman
Troy Kenneth Aikman is a former American football quarterback for the Dallas Cowboys in the National Football League. The number one overall draft pick in 1989, Aikman played twelve consecutive seasons as quarterback with the Cowboys...
said about Visser in his 2006 induction speech, "She brought respect and professionalism to the field of journalism for her work in print and broadcasting. It makes me proud to be in her company today."
A pioneer among woman sports journalists, Visser re-joined CBS Sports
CBS Sports
CBS Sports is a division of CBS Broadcasting which airs sporting events on the American television network. Its headquarters are in the CBS Building on West 52nd Street in midtown Manhattan, New York City, with programs produced out of Studio 43 at the CBS Broadcast Center on West 57th Street.CBS...
in August 2000 after a six-year hiatus after being relieved of her duties as the sideline reporter for Monday Night Football
Monday Night Football
Monday Night Football is a live broadcast of the National Football League on ESPN. From to it aired on ABC. Monday Night Football was, along with Hallmark Hall of Fame, and the Walt Disney anthology television series, one of the longest running prime time commercial network television series...
among other assignments she had at ESPN
ESPN
Entertainment and Sports Programming Network, commonly known as ESPN, is an American global cable television network focusing on sports-related programming including live and pre-taped event telecasts, sports talk shows, and other original programming....
and ABC Sports
ESPN on ABC
ESPN on ABC is the brand used for sports programming on the ABC television network. Officially the broadcast network retains its own sports division; however, for all practical purposes, ABC's sports division has been merged with ESPN, a sports cable network majority-owned by ABC's parent, The...
. She serves as correspondent for the network's NFL
NFL on CBS
The NFL on CBS is the brand name of the CBS television network's coverage of the National Football League's American Football Conference games, produced by CBS Sports.-Market coverage and television policies:...
and college basketball
College Basketball on CBS
College Basketball on CBS presented by State Farm is a presentation of men's NCAA Division I basketball games on CBS...
programming.
Early life and career
Born on September 11, 1953, in Quincy, Massachusetts, to a school teacher and engineer, Visser loved sports from an early age. On Halloween, when other little girls would dress up as Mary Poppins, she would go as former Boston CelticsBoston Celtics
The Boston Celtics are a National Basketball Association team based in Boston, Massachusetts. They play in the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference. Founded in 1946, the team is currently owned by Boston Basketball Partners LLC. The Celtics play their home games at the TD Garden, which...
guard Sam Jones
Sam Jones (basketball)
Samuel Jones is a retired American professional basketball player at shooting guard and a member of the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. He was known for his quickness and game-winning shots, especially during the NBA Playoffs...
. From the age of 10 she wanted to be a sportswriter, but there was one problem—the job didn’t exist for women. Her family didn't discourage her. “My parents didn’t say girls can’t do that, and my mother told me, ‘Sometimes you have to cross when it says “don’t walk.”’” Visser was educated at Boston College
Boston College
Boston College is a private Jesuit research university located in the village of Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts, USA. The main campus is bisected by the border between the cities of Boston and Newton. It has 9,200 full-time undergraduates and 4,000 graduate students. Its name reflects its early...
, majoring in English.
Boston Globe
In 1974, she won a prestigious Carnegie FoundationCarnegie Corporation of New York
Carnegie Corporation of New York, which was established by Andrew Carnegie in 1911 "to promote the advancement and diffusion of knowledge and understanding," is one of the oldest, largest and most influential of American foundations...
grant which entitled her to work as a sportswriter at the Boston Globe. In 14 years at the Globe, she covered college basketball
College basketball
College basketball most often refers to the USA basketball competitive governance structure established by the National Collegiate Athletic Association . Basketball in the NCAA is divided into three divisions: Division I, Division II and Division III....
, the NBA
National Basketball Association
The National Basketball Association is the pre-eminent men's professional basketball league in North America. It consists of thirty franchised member clubs, of which twenty-nine are located in the United States and one in Canada...
, the MLB
Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball is the highest level of professional baseball in the United States and Canada, consisting of teams that play in the National League and the American League...
, tennis
Tennis
Tennis is a sport usually played between two players or between two teams of two players each . Each player uses a racket that is strung to strike a hollow rubber ball covered with felt over a net into the opponent's court. Tennis is an Olympic sport and is played at all levels of society at all...
, college football
College football
College football refers to American football played by teams of student athletes fielded by American universities, colleges, and military academies, or Canadian football played by teams of student athletes fielded by Canadian universities...
, golf
Golf
Golf is a precision club and ball sport, in which competing players use many types of clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a golf course using the fewest number of strokes....
and horse racing
Horse racing
Horse racing is an equestrian sport that has a long history. Archaeological records indicate that horse racing occurred in ancient Babylon, Syria, and Egypt. Both chariot and mounted horse racing were events in the ancient Greek Olympics by 648 BC...
. In 1976, she was assigned to cover the New England Patriots
New England Patriots
The New England Patriots, commonly called the "Pats", are a professional football team based in the Greater Boston area, playing their home games in the town of Foxborough, Massachusetts at Gillette Stadium. The team is part of the East Division of the American Football Conference in the National...
, becoming the first ever female NFL beat writer. In 2009, Sports Illustrated named the Boston Globe sports sections (1975–1980) the best sports section of all time.
Begins television career at CBS Sports
In 1983, she did a few features for CBSCBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
. In 1984, Visser joined CBS Sports part-time and went full-time in 1987. Her assignments included the NBA including the NBA Finals
NBA Finals
The NBA Finals is the championship series of the National Basketball Association . The series was named the NBA World Championship Series until 1986....
, college basketball
College Basketball on CBS
College Basketball on CBS presented by State Farm is a presentation of men's NCAA Division I basketball games on CBS...
including the Final Four
Final four
Final Four isa sports term that is commonly applied to the last four teams remaining in a playoff tournament, most notably NCAA Division I college basketball tournaments. The term usually refers to the four teams who compete in the two games of a single-elimination tournament's semi-final round...
, MLB including the World Series
World Series
The World Series is the annual championship series of Major League Baseball, played between the American League and National League champions since 1903. The winner of the World Series championship is determined through a best-of-seven playoff and awarded the Commissioner's Trophy...
, College World Series
College World Series on CBS
From 1988-2002, CBS Sports televised a portion of the annual College World Series. From 1988-1990, CBS only televised the championship game. From 1991 until the end of their coverage in 2002, CBS televised one game on the first Saturday of the World Series besides the championship game.-Format...
, college football
SEC on CBS
The SEC on CBS is a presentation of the college football television package owned by CBS Sports...
, horse racing
Horse racing
Horse racing is an equestrian sport that has a long history. Archaeological records indicate that horse racing occurred in ancient Babylon, Syria, and Egypt. Both chariot and mounted horse racing were events in the ancient Greek Olympics by 648 BC...
, Tennis
Tennis
Tennis is a sport usually played between two players or between two teams of two players each . Each player uses a racket that is strung to strike a hollow rubber ball covered with felt over a net into the opponent's court. Tennis is an Olympic sport and is played at all levels of society at all...
including the U.S. Open
U.S. Open (tennis)
The US Open, formally the United States Open Tennis Championships, is a hardcourt tennis tournament which is the modern iteration of one of the oldest tennis championships in the world, the U.S. National Championship, which for men's singles was first contested in 1881...
of Tennis (1984–1993) and the Olympics
Olympics on CBS
The Olympics on CBS was a sports telecast that aired on CBS Sports. The last airing of the telecast was for the 1998 Winter Games in Nagano.-1960s coverage:...
.
In 1989 she covered the fall of the Berlin Wall
Berlin Wall
The Berlin Wall was a barrier constructed by the German Democratic Republic starting on 13 August 1961, that completely cut off West Berlin from surrounding East Germany and from East Berlin...
, focusing on how sports would change in East Germany. In 1990
1990 NFL season
The 1990 NFL season was the 71st regular season of the National Football League. To increase revenue, the league changed the regular season so that all NFL teams would play their 16-game schedule over a 17-week period...
she became a regular on The NFL Today
The NFL Today
The NFL Today is an American sports series that precedes the American football program The NFL on CBS on CBS Sports. The program usually airs at noon on Sundays of the National Football League regular season...
with Greg Gumbel
Greg Gumbel
Greg Gumbel is an American television sportscaster. He is best known for his various assignments on the CBS network...
, Terry Bradshaw
Terry Bradshaw
Terry Paxton Bradshaw is a former American football quarterback with the Pittsburgh Steelers in the National Football League . He played 14 seasons. He is a football analyst and co-host of Fox NFL Sunday...
and Pat O'Brien
Pat O'Brien (television)
Pat O'Brien is currently a radio host with Fox Sports Radio as well as an author. He is best known for his time as a sportscaster with CBS Sports and as anchor/host of Access Hollywood and The Insider .O'Brien covered five Olympic Games, two for CBS...
. Also in 1990
1990 Major League Baseball season
-Awards and honors:*Most Valuable Player**Rickey Henderson, Oakland Athletics **Barry Bonds, Pittsburgh Pirates *Cy Young Award**Bob Welch, Oakland Athletics **Doug Drabek, Pittsburgh Pirates *Rookie of the Year...
, Visser became the first woman to cover the World Series
1990 World Series
- Game 1 :Tuesday, October 16, 1990 at Riverfront Stadium in Cincinnati, OhioUntil , this was the last World Series to be scheduled to begin play on a Tuesday, and the first since . The schedule called for the seven-game series to be held Tue–Wed, Fri–Sat–Sun, Tue–Wed. Games 5, 6, and 7, however...
. In 1992
Super Bowl XXVI
Super Bowl XXVI was an American football game played on January 26, 1992 at the Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome in Minneapolis, Minnesota to decide the National Football League champion following the 1991 regular season...
, she became the first and only woman to handle the Super Bowl Trophy
Vince Lombardi Trophy
The Vince Lombardi Trophy is the trophy awarded each year to the winning team of the National Football League's championship game, the Super Bowl.-History:...
presentation.
ABC Sports and ESPN
After CBSCBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
lost television rights to NFL games in 1993, Visser went to ABC Sports and ESPN
ESPN
Entertainment and Sports Programming Network, commonly known as ESPN, is an American global cable television network focusing on sports-related programming including live and pre-taped event telecasts, sports talk shows, and other original programming....
. In 1995, she became the first woman ever to report from the sidelines during a Super Bowl when she covered Super Bowl XXIX
Super Bowl XXIX
Super Bowl XXIX was an American football game played on January 29, 1995 at Joe Robbie Stadium in Miami, Florida to decide the National Football League champion following the 1994 regular season...
for ABC. In 1998, she became the first woman ever assigned to Monday Night Football
Monday Night Football
Monday Night Football is a live broadcast of the National Football League on ESPN. From to it aired on ABC. Monday Night Football was, along with Hallmark Hall of Fame, and the Walt Disney anthology television series, one of the longest running prime time commercial network television series...
. She also covered Super Bowl XXXIV
Super Bowl XXXIV
Super Bowl XXXIV featured the National Football Conference champion St. Louis Rams and the American Football Conference champion Tennessee Titans in an American football game to decide the National Football League champion for the 1999 regular season...
for ABC in 2000.
While at ABC Sports, Visser served as a reporter for college football
College Football on ABC
ESPN College Football on ABC presented by Kay Jewelers is a presentation of the American Broadcasting Company's regular season American college football television package...
bowl games and the NFL playoffs
NFL playoffs
The National Football League playoffs are a single-elimination tournament held at the end of the regular season to determine the NFL champion. Six teams from each of the league's two conferences qualify for the playoffs based on regular season records, and a tie-breaking procedure exists in the...
games during Wild Card Saturday. She also contributed to horse racing
Horse racing
Horse racing is an equestrian sport that has a long history. Archaeological records indicate that horse racing occurred in ancient Babylon, Syria, and Egypt. Both chariot and mounted horse racing were events in the ancient Greek Olympics by 648 BC...
including the Triple Crown
Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing
The Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing consists of three races for three-year-old Thoroughbred horses. Winning all three of these Thoroughbred horse races is considered the greatest accomplishment of a Thoroughbred racehorse...
, ABC's Wide World of Sports, Major League Baseball, including the 1995 World Series
1995 World Series
-Game 1:Saturday, October 21, 1995 at Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium in Atlanta, GeorgiaAtlanta ace Greg Maddux pitched a two-hit complete game victory in his first World Series appearance ....
, figure skating
Figure skating
Figure skating is an Olympic sport in which individuals, pairs, or groups perform spins, jumps, footwork and other intricate and challenging moves on ice skates. Figure skaters compete at various levels from beginner up to the Olympic level , and at local, national, and international competitions...
, Special Olympics
Special Olympics
Special Olympics is the world's largest sports organization for children and adults with intellectual disabilities, providing year-round training and competitions to more than 3.1 million athletes in 175 countries....
, skiing
Skiing
Skiing is a recreational activity using skis as equipment for traveling over snow. Skis are used in conjunction with boots that connect to the ski with use of a binding....
, the Pro Bowl
Pro Bowl
In professional American football, the Pro Bowl is the all-star game of the National Football League . Since the merger with the rival American Football League in 1970, it has been officially called the AFC–NFC Pro Bowl, matching the top players in the American Football Conference against those...
, and an ABC series A Passion to Play. She co-hosted the network's coverage of the "Millennium
Millennium
A millennium is a period of time equal to one thousand years —from the Latin phrase , thousand, and , year—often but not necessarily related numerically to a particular dating system....
Tournament of Roses Parade
Tournament of Roses Parade
The Tournament of Roses Parade, better known as the Rose Parade, is "America's New Year Celebration", a festival of flower-covered floats, marching bands, equestrians and a college football game on New Year's Day , produced by the non-profit Pasadena Tournament of Roses Association.The annual...
."
For ESPN, Visser covered the Super Bowl, college basketball
College Basketball on ESPN
College Basketball on ESPN is a presentation of the college basketball television package on the ESPN family of networks. The television network broadcasts games of all the major conferences and many mid-major conferences of Division I NCAA basketball....
, figure skating
Figure skating
Figure skating is an Olympic sport in which individuals, pairs, or groups perform spins, jumps, footwork and other intricate and challenging moves on ice skates. Figure skaters compete at various levels from beginner up to the Olympic level , and at local, national, and international competitions...
, and horse racing
Thoroughbred Racing on ESPN
ESPN and ESPN2's coverage of Thoroughbred racing currently consists of NTRA Racing to the Kentucky Derby, The Breeders' Cup on ESPN. In addition, ESPN on ABC broadcasts a portion of the Breeders Cup. Among its regulars on its horse racing telecasts are hosts Joe Tessitore and Kenny Mayne, along...
including the Triple Crown
Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing
The Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing consists of three races for three-year-old Thoroughbred horses. Winning all three of these Thoroughbred horse races is considered the greatest accomplishment of a Thoroughbred racehorse...
. She also contributed to SportsCenter
SportsCenter
SportsCenter is a daily sports news television show, and the flagship program of American cable network ESPN since the network launched on September 7, 1979. Originally broadcast only daily, SportsCenter is now shown up to twelve times a day, replaying the day's scores and highlights from major...
, NFL GameDay, and Monday Night Countdown
Monday Night Countdown
Monday Night Countdown, which debuted in 1993 on ESPN, is a television program featuring analysis and news on that night's NFL match to be broadcast on ESPN...
.
Return to CBS Sports
In August 2000, Visser returned to CBSCBS Sports
CBS Sports is a division of CBS Broadcasting which airs sporting events on the American television network. Its headquarters are in the CBS Building on West 52nd Street in midtown Manhattan, New York City, with programs produced out of Studio 43 at the CBS Broadcast Center on West 57th Street.CBS...
, with her assignments being NFL
NFL on CBS
The NFL on CBS is the brand name of the CBS television network's coverage of the National Football League's American Football Conference games, produced by CBS Sports.-Market coverage and television policies:...
, college basketball
College Basketball on CBS
College Basketball on CBS presented by State Farm is a presentation of men's NCAA Division I basketball games on CBS...
, Tennis
Tennis
Tennis is a sport usually played between two players or between two teams of two players each . Each player uses a racket that is strung to strike a hollow rubber ball covered with felt over a net into the opponent's court. Tennis is an Olympic sport and is played at all levels of society at all...
, Figure Skating
Figure skating
Figure skating is an Olympic sport in which individuals, pairs, or groups perform spins, jumps, footwork and other intricate and challenging moves on ice skates. Figure skaters compete at various levels from beginner up to the Olympic level , and at local, national, and international competitions...
and Horse Racing
Horse racing
Horse racing is an equestrian sport that has a long history. Archaeological records indicate that horse racing occurred in ancient Babylon, Syria, and Egypt. Both chariot and mounted horse racing were events in the ancient Greek Olympics by 648 BC...
as well as special projects for CBS News
CBS News
CBS News is the news division of American television and radio network CBS. The current chairman is Jeff Fager who is also the executive producer of 60 Minutes, while the current president of CBS News is David Rhodes. CBS News' flagship program is the CBS Evening News, hosted by the network's main...
. Today Visser's assignments are a contributor to The NFL Today
The NFL Today
The NFL Today is an American sports series that precedes the American football program The NFL on CBS on CBS Sports. The program usually airs at noon on Sundays of the National Football League regular season...
and college basketball
College Basketball on CBS
College Basketball on CBS presented by State Farm is a presentation of men's NCAA Division I basketball games on CBS...
. In 2004, she became the first woman sportscaster to carry the Olympic Torch when she was honored in 2004 by the International Olympic Committee as a "pioneer and standard-bearer."
During the 2001 NFL season
2001 NFL season
The 2001 NFL season was the 82nd regular season of the National Football League.Following a pattern set in 1999, the first week of the season was permanently moved to the weekend following Labor Day...
Visser became the first female color analyst (NBC
NFL on NBC
NFL on NBC is the brand given to NBC Sports coverage of National Football League games until 1998, when NBC lost the NFL American Football Conference rights to CBS...
's Gayle Sierens
Gayle Sierens
Gayle Sierens is a news anchor on WFLA-TV. She joined the Tampa NBC affiliate in 1977 as a weekend sports anchor and reporter after working with WFSU in Tallahassee while she was attending Florida State University...
was the first female play-by-play announcer) on an NFL broadcast booth. She joined play-by-play announcer Howard David
Howard David
-Biography:Over the years, David has been the radio play-by-play man for several pro sports teams including the NBA's New Jersey Nets, Milwaukee Bucks, and Boston Celtics, and the NFL's New York Jets and Miami Dolphins...
and analyst Boomer Esiason
Boomer Esiason
Norman Julius "Boomer" Esiason is a former American football quarterback and current network color commentator. He played for the National Football League's Cincinnati Bengals, New York Jets, and Arizona Cardinals before working as an analyst for ABC and HBO...
in the booth for Westwood One
NFL on Westwood One
The NFL on Westwood One is the brand name given to weekly National Football League games carried on the radio over the Dial Global Radio Network...
/CBS Radio
CBS Radio
CBS Radio, Inc., formerly known as Infinity Broadcasting Corporation, is one of the largest owners and operators of radio stations in the United States, third behind main rival Clear Channel Communications and Cumulus Media. CBS Radio owns around 130 radio stations across the country...
. Visser also joined HBO's highly acclaimed Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel
Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel
Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel is a monthly sports newsmagazine on HBO that debuted on April 2, 1995. The show was "spawned by the fact that sports have changed dramatically, that it's no longer just fun and games, and that what happens off the field, beyond the scores, is worthy of some serious...
.
Visser was a pre-game reporter for The Super Bowl Today, where she covered the Super Bowl XXXV
Super Bowl XXXV
Super Bowl XXXV was played on January 28, 2001 at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida to decide the National Football League champion following the 2000 regular season. The American Football Conference champion Baltimore Ravens defeated the National Football Conference champion New York...
in February 2001, Super Bowl XXXVIII
Super Bowl XXXVIII
Super Bowl XXXVIII was an American football game played on February 1, 2004 at Reliant Stadium in Houston, Texas to decide the National Football League champion following the 2003 regular season....
in February 2004, and the Super Bowl XLI
Super Bowl XLI
Super Bowl XLI was an American football game that featured the American Football Conference champion Indianapolis Colts and the National Football Conference champion Chicago Bears to decide the National Football League champion for the 2006 season...
in February 2007 pre-game broadcasts and during that 2007 Super Bowl she did serve as a sideline reporter too. Visser did contribute to the pre-game broadcast of the 2010 Super Bowl as well. Visser was loaned to NBC Sports
NBC Sports
NBC Sports is the sports division of the NBC television network. Formerly "a service of NBC News," it broadcasts a diverse array of programs, including the Olympic Games, the NFL, the NHL, MLS, Notre Dame football, the PGA Tour, the Triple Crown, and the French Open, among others...
twice to cover the Olympics as she covered the 2004 Summer Olympics
2004 Summer Olympics
The 2004 Summer Olympic Games, officially known as the Games of the XXVIII Olympiad, was a premier international multi-sport event held in Athens, Greece from August 13 to August 29, 2004 with the motto Welcome Home. 10,625 athletes competed, some 600 more than expected, accompanied by 5,501 team...
in Athens when she served as the Equestrian reporter. She also covered the 2006 Winter Olympics
2006 Winter Olympics
The 2006 Winter Olympics, officially known as the XX Olympic Winter Games, was a winter multi-sport event which was celebrated in Turin, Italy from February 10, 2006, through February 26, 2006. This marked the second time Italy hosted the Olympic Winter Games, the first being the VII Olympic Winter...
in Torino as a reporter for Short Track Speed Skating.
In September 2007, she returned back to roots as she now writes a column for CBSSports.com
CBSSports.com
CBSSports.com was founded in 1994 as SportsLine USA, and today is a CBS-owned website that provides sports scores, news, statistics, live and on-demand video, mobile apps, e-commerce, fantasy sports products, services, and information..Headquartered in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, CBSSports.com it is...
.
Personal life
Visser was married to sportscaster Dick StocktonDick Stockton
Dick Stockton is an American sportscaster. He is currently employed by Fox Sports and Turner Sports as a football, baseball, and basketball play-by-play announcer.-Early life and career:...
, who broadcasts football
NFL on FOX
NFL on Fox is the brand name of the Fox Broadcasting Company's coverage of the National Football League's National Football Conference games, produced by Fox Sports...
and baseball for Fox
Fox Sports (USA)
Fox Sports is a division of the Fox Broadcasting Company . It was formed in 1994 with Fox's acquisition of broadcast rights to National Football League games...
and baseball and the NBA for Turner Sports
Turner Sports
Turner Sports is the division of Turner Broadcasting System responsible for sports broadcasts on Turner channels including TBS, TNT, and TruTV, and for operating the interactive properties , , , and...
from 1983 to 2010. Visser is now married to millionaire Bob Kanuth. Visser and Stockton met at the sixth game of the 1975 World Series
1975 World Series
The 1975 World Series was played between the Boston Red Sox and Cincinnati Reds . It has been ranked by ESPN as the second-greatest World Series ever played...
, where Stockton called Carlton Fisk
Carlton Fisk
Carlton Ernest Fisk , nicknamed "Pudge" or "The Commander", is a former Major League Baseball catcher. During a 24-year baseball career, he played for both the Boston Red Sox and Chicago White Sox .Fisk was known by the nickname "Pudge" due to his 6'2", 220 lb frame...
's iconic home run for NBC and Visser was covering for the Boston Globe.
In June 1993, Visser suffered a jogging accident in New York
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
's Central Park
Central Park
Central Park is a public park in the center of Manhattan in New York City, United States. The park initially opened in 1857, on of city-owned land. In 1858, Frederick Law Olmsted and Calvert Vaux won a design competition to improve and expand the park with a plan they entitled the Greensward Plan...
in which she broke her hip and skidded face-first across the pavement. She required surgery on her face and hip and in 2006 she required an artificial hip replacement.
Events
Visser has covered a number of events:- 31 times the Final FourFinal fourFinal Four isa sports term that is commonly applied to the last four teams remaining in a playoff tournament, most notably NCAA Division I college basketball tournaments. The term usually refers to the four teams who compete in the two games of a single-elimination tournament's semi-final round...
/NCAA Men's Basketball Championship - 12 times the NBA FinalsNBA FinalsThe NBA Finals is the championship series of the National Basketball Association . The series was named the NBA World Championship Series until 1986....
- 7 times World SeriesWorld SeriesThe World Series is the annual championship series of Major League Baseball, played between the American League and National League champions since 1903. The winner of the World Series championship is determined through a best-of-seven playoff and awarded the Commissioner's Trophy...
- 15 times the Kentucky DerbyKentucky DerbyThe Kentucky Derby is a Grade I stakes race for three-year-old Thoroughbred horses, held annually in Louisville, Kentucky, United States on the first Saturday in May, capping the two-week-long Kentucky Derby Festival. The race is one and a quarter mile at Churchill Downs. Colts and geldings carry...
- 7 times the Preakness
- 10 times the Belmont StakesBelmont StakesThe Belmont Stakes is an American Grade I stakes Thoroughbred horse race held every June at Belmont Park in Elmont, New York. It is a 1.5-mile horse race, open to three year old Thoroughbreds. Colts and geldings carry a weight of 126 pounds ; fillies carry 121 pounds...
- 3 times the Summer Olympics
- 3 times the Winter Olympics
- 22 times the Super BowlSuper BowlThe Super Bowl is the championship game of the National Football League , the highest level of professional American football in the United States, culminating a season that begins in the late summer of the previous calendar year. The Super Bowl uses Roman numerals to identify each game, rather...
- 7 times the World Figure Skating Championships
- 29 times US Open (tennis)
- 15 times WimbledonThe Championships, WimbledonThe Championships, Wimbledon, or simply Wimbledon , is the oldest tennis tournament in the world, considered by many to be the most prestigious. It has been held at the All England Club in Wimbledon, London since 1877. It is one of the four Grand Slam tennis tournaments, the other three Majors...
Honors
Visser was honored by the American Women in Radio and Television in June 2006 as the first woman sportscaster recipient of a Gracie Allen Award which celebrates programming created for women, by women and about women, as well as individuals who have made exemplary contributions to the industry. In 2007, she became the first woman sportscaster to host the Gracie Awards. Visser also, in 2007, received the Emily Couric Leadership Award—previously given to Sandra Day O'ConnorSandra Day O'Connor
Sandra Day O'Connor is an American jurist who was the first female member of the Supreme Court of the United States. She served as an Associate Justice from 1981 until her retirement from the Court in 2006. O'Connor was appointed by President Ronald Reagan in 1981...
, Caroline Kennedy
Caroline Kennedy
Caroline Bouvier Kennedy is an American author and attorney. She is a member of the influential Kennedy family and the only surviving child of U.S. President John F...
and Donna Brazile
Donna Brazile
Donna Brazile is an American author, professor, and political analyst affiliated with the Democratic Party. She was the first African American to direct a major presidential campaign, for Al Gore in 2000...
—and in 2007, she was honored at the 22nd Annual Sports Legend Dinner, along with Magic Johnson, Gary Player and John Elway to benefit the Buoniconti fund to cure paralysis. In 2005 she won the Pop Warner female achievement award and was inducted into the New England Sports Museum Hall of Fame, along with Boston Celtics legend Bob Cousy
Bob Cousy
Robert Joseph "Bob" Cousy is a retired American professional basketball player. The 6'1" , 175-pound Cousy played point guard with the National Basketball Association's Boston Celtics from 1951 to 1963 and briefly with the Cincinnati Royals in the 1969–70 season...
and the 1980 United States Olympic Hockey team
Miracle on Ice
The "Miracle on Ice" is the name in American popular culture for a medal-round men's ice hockey game during the 1980 Winter Olympics at Lake Placid, New York, on Friday, February 22...
.
Visser has been honored with the Compass Award for "changing the paradigm of her business" and was one of the 100 luminaries commemorating the 75th anniversary of the CBS Television Network in 2003. She was named "WISE Woman of the Year" in 2002 and voted the "Outstanding Women's Sportswriter in America" in 1983 and won the "Women's Sports Foundation Award
Women's Sports Foundation
The Women's Sports Foundation "is an educational nonprofit organization founded in 1974 by tennis legend Billie Jean King." Its stated mission statement is "To advance the lives of girls and women through sports and physical activity."...
for Journalism" in 1992. In 1999 she won the first AWSM Pioneer Award. Visser earned her bachelor's degree in English from Boston College
Boston College
Boston College is a private Jesuit research university located in the village of Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts, USA. The main campus is bisected by the border between the cities of Boston and Newton. It has 9,200 full-time undergraduates and 4,000 graduate students. Its name reflects its early...
and received an honorary doctorate of Journalism from her alma mater in May 2007.
Visser became the first woman sportscaster to carry the Olympic Torch when she was honored in 2004 by the International Olympic Committee as a "pioneer and standard-bearer." Visser worked her 31st Final Four/NCAA Men's Basketball Championship this April 2009, having worked the tournament for the Boston Globe, ESPN
College Basketball on ESPN
College Basketball on ESPN is a presentation of the college basketball television package on the ESPN family of networks. The television network broadcasts games of all the major conferences and many mid-major conferences of Division I NCAA basketball....
and CBS Sports
College Basketball on CBS
College Basketball on CBS presented by State Farm is a presentation of men's NCAA Division I basketball games on CBS...
. This past season marked her 34th year covering the NFL and for covering the NFL.
In 2005, Visser was elected to the Museum of Television and Radio. Sean McManus, President of CBS News and CBS Sports, summed up her contributions this way: "Lesley Visser's career has broken many barriers and defined previously unimagined roles for women in professional sports and sports broadcasting."
External links
- http://www.lesleyvisser.com www.lesleyvisser.com
- http://www.cbssports.com/cbssports/team/lvisser
- http://www.shemadeit.org/meet/biography.aspx?m=105
- http://www.roadtotheroses.com/G=74/meet_the_pros/pro_template.phtml?pro=pro_lesley_visser
- http://www.onlinesports.com/sportstrust/sports43.html
- http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0EIN/is_2001_June_26/ai_75894031
- http://progressiveboink.com/archive/ncaa.htm
- http://nacda.cstv.com/convention/proceedings/1999/scholarship.html
- http://www.lordly.com/index.php?option=com_speakers&task=view&contact_id=424&Itemid=47
- http://www.rateitall.com/i-13739-lesley-visser.aspx
- http://vault.sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/article/magazine/MAG1139880/2/index.htm
- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vCAvZBXu_VE
- Visser one of sports' true veterans