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{{Short description|American sportscaster, television and radio personality, and sportswriter}}
{{Refimprove|date=January 2009}}
{{Infobox person
{{Cleanup|date=January 2009}}
| name = Lesley Visser
| image =
| image_size = 220px
| birth_name = Lesley Candace Visser
| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1953|09|11}}
| birth_place = ], U.S.
| death_date = <!-- {{Death date and age|YYYY|MM|DD|YYYY|MM|DD}} -->
| death_place =
| occupation = Sportscaster, Radio-TV Personality, Sportswriter
| website = {{URL|http://www.lesleyvisser.com| LesleyVisser.com}}
| signature =
| module = {{ infobox sports announcer details
| team = ], ], ], ], ]
| genre =
| sport = ], ], ], ], ], ], ]
}}
}}


'''Lesley Visser''' (born September 11, 1953 in ]) is an ] ], ], ], and ]. She is the only sportscaster, male or female, who has worked on the network broadcasts of the ], ], ], ], ], ], '']'', the ], the ], the ], the ] and the ]. She is currently working as a reporter for ] as she covers the ], ], ], ], and ] as well as for special projects for CBS Sports and ]. Returning to her roots, Visser now writes for CBSSports.com. Visser joined a local radio station in ], to be part of their morning show a few days per week. She can be heard regularly on Fridays&ndash;Sundays on ] 640 Fox Sports (], Boca Raton) as part of "South Florida's First Team". She is well known for her TV stint at CBS Sports. '''Lesley Candace Visser''' (born September 11, 1953) is an American ], television and ], and ]. Visser is the first female NFL analyst on TV,<ref>{{cite web|last=Hiestand |first=Michael |url=https://www.usatoday.com/sports/football/nfl/2009-09-02-teams-values_N.htm |title=Economy affects some NFL teams' worth |website=Usatoday.com |date=2009-09-04 |access-date=2016-11-15}}</ref> and the only sportscaster in history who has worked on ], ], ], ], ], the ], the ], the ] and the ] network broadcasts. Visser, who was voted the No. 1 Female Sportscaster of all time in a poll taken by the ],<ref>{{cite web | url=http://blogs.tampabay.com/twocents/2009/07/two-centsbest-female-broadcasters.html | archive-url=https://archive.today/20150118204059/http://blogs.tampabay.com/twocents/2009/07/two-centsbest-female-broadcasters.html | url-status=dead | archive-date=2015-01-18 | title=Tampa Bay, Florida news}}</ref> was inducted into the ]'s ] in 2015<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.nssafame.com |title=National Sports Media Association (NSMA) |website=Nssafame.com |access-date=2016-11-15}}</ref> and the ] in 2020.<ref>{{cite web |title=2020 International Sports Hall of Fame Inductees |url=https://sportshof.org/2020-hall-of-fame/ |website=www.sportshof.org |author=Dr. Robert Goldman | date=March 10, 2020 | access-date=July 14, 2023}}</ref>


In 2009, Visser became the first woman to be an analyst for an NFL game on TV{{Citation needed|date=September 2024}}. She is currently a reporter for ] and ], writes for ] and is also part of ] 640 Fox Sports' morning drive in ], as well as one of the hosts of a ] weekly television show, ''We Need to Talk''.
==Legacy==
Lesley Visser added another first to her long and prestigious trailblazing career as the first woman to be recognized by the ] as the 2006 recipient of the ] which recognizes long-time exceptional contributions to ] and ] in professional football. Pro Football Hall of Famer ] 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."


Visser<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.cbssports.com/cbssports/team/lvisser |title=Archived copy |access-date=2009-02-19 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110519092105/http://www.cbssports.com/cbssports/team/lvisser |archive-date=2011-05-19 }}</ref> was the first woman to be recognized by the ] as the 2006 recipient of the ] which recognizes long-time exceptional contributions to ] and ] in professional football. Pro Football Hall of Famer ] said about Visser in his 2006 induction speech, " brought respect and professionalism to the field of journalism for her work in print and broadcasting. It makes me proud to be in company today."<ref>{{cite book |last1=Stallard |first1=Mark |last2=Garrison |first2=Walt |title="Then Landry Said to Staubach. . .": The Best Dallas Cowboys Stories Ever Told |date=2007 |publisher=Triumph Books |isbn=9781617490323}}</ref>
As a child she was a big sports fan. "When I decided I wanted to be a woman sportswriter, which was when I was 12, the job didn't exist." (12) In high school she captained the field hockey and basketball teams and as a sophomore was named the school's best athlete.


A pioneer among women sports journalists, Visser re-joined ] in August 2000 after a six-year hiatus. She serves as correspondent for the network's ] programming, as well as for ], ], and ] programming. A pioneer among women sports journalists, Visser re-joined ] in August 2000 after a six-year hiatus. She was formerly the sideline reporter for '']'' among other assignments she had at ] and ], such as the World Series, the Triple Crown and the World Figure Skating Championship. She serves as correspondent for the network's ] and ] programming.


===Events=== ==Early life==
Born on September 11, 1953, in ],<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.shemadeit.org/meet/biography.aspx?m%3D105 |title=Austin Dental Implant Center - Dental Implants Expert |access-date=2009-02-19 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090611081135/http://www.shemadeit.org/meet/biography.aspx?m=105 |archive-date=2009-06-11 }}</ref> 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 ] guard ]. 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.”’” After graduating from ], Visser was educated at ], majoring in English.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.mediabistro.com/articles/details.asp?aID=10770& |title=So What Do You Do, Lesley Visser, CBS Sports Reporter and Hall of Fame Sportscaster? |publisher=Mediabistro.com |date=January 27, 2010 |first=Brian T. |last=Horowitz |access-date=November 21, 2014 }}</ref>
Visser has covered many big events:
*30 times the ] (]: 1974&ndash;1988, ]: 1984&ndash;1993, 2001&ndash;present and ]: 1994&ndash;2000)
*17 times the ] (Boston Globe: 1974&ndash;1988 and ]: 1984&ndash;1990)
*20 times ] (Boston Globe: 1974&ndash;1988, ]: 1990&ndash;1993, ]: 1995)
*22 times the ] (Boston Globe: 1974&ndash;1988, ABC: 1994&ndash;2000)
*22 times the ] (Boston Globe: 1974&ndash;1988, ABC: 1994&ndash;2000)
*22 times the ] (Boston Globe: 1974&ndash;1988, ABC: 1994&ndash;2000)
*6 times the ] (Boston Globe: 1976, 1980, 1984, 1988, ]: 2004, 2006)
*6 times the ] (Boston Globe: 1976, 1980, 1984, 1988, CBS: 1992, ]: 2006)
*22 times the ] (Boston Globe: 1974&ndash;1988, ]: 1992, 2001, 2004, 2007, ]: 1995, 2000, ]: 2002)
*15 times the ]s (ABC/ESPN/]: 1994&ndash;2000, CBS: 2001&ndash;2009)
*19 times ] (CBS: 1984&ndash;1993, 2000&ndash;present)
*15 times ] (Boston Globe: 1974&ndash;1988)
*7 times the ] (Boston Globe: 1984&ndash;1988, Breeders Cup Simulcast Show: 1998&ndash;1999)


===Honors=== ==Career==
Visser was honored by the ]. in June 2006 as the first woman sportscaster recipient of a ] which celebrates programming created for women, by women and about women, as well as individuals who have made exemplary contributions to the industry. This year,{{when}} she became the first woman sportscaster to host the Gracie Awards. Visser also, this year, received the ]—previously given to ], ] and ]—and this fall{{when}} she will be honored at the 22nd Annual ], to benefit the Buoniconti fund to cure paralysis. In 2005 she won the ] and was inducted into the ], along with Boston Celtics legend ] and the ].


===The Boston Globe===
Visser has been honored with the ] 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 "]" in 2002 and voted the "]" in 1983 and won the "] for Journalism" in 1992. In 1999 she won the first ]. Visser earned her bachelor's degree in English from ] and received an honorary doctorate of Journalism from her alma mater in May 2007.
In 1974, Visser won a prestigious ] grant which entitled her to work as a ] at '']''.<ref>{{cite web |title=Breaking Barriers with Sportscaster Lesley Visser |url=https://www.episcopalacademy.org/news-post-details/~post/sportscaster-lesley-visser-shares-career-experiences-with-upper-school-students-20180507 |website=episcopalacademy.org |date=8 May 2018 |access-date=12 October 2019}}</ref> In 14 years at the ''Globe'', she covered ], the ], ], ], ], ] and ]. In 1976, she was assigned to cover the ], 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 January 1981, Visser made national news with her story regarding the ] after gamblers and members of the New York Mafia erroneously told her Boston College Eagle basketball player Michael Bowie was involved. The Globe subsequently reached a settlement with Bowie which included a confidentially clause. ESPN producer Joe Levine convinced Bowie to break and speak to the network.<ref>{{Cite book | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=TLZtnH-hUO4C&q=heating+the+Spread:+Gamblers,+Point+Shavers,+and+Game+Fixers+in+College+. |title = Cheating the Spread: Gamblers, Point Shavers, and Game Fixers in College Football and Basketball|isbn = 9780252094453|last1 = Figone|first1 = Albert J.|date = 2012-10-30| publisher=University of Illinois Press }}</ref>
Visser became the first woman sportscaster to carry the ] when she was honored in 2004 by the International Olympic Committee as a "pioneer and standard-bearer" and the first woman analyst in an NFL broadcast booth. She has been covering sports for 35 years, nearly half of them for CBS Sports. Visser worked her 30th ] last March of 2008, having worked the tournament for the ], ] and ]. This past season marked her 34th year covering the NFL and for covering other sports. Los Angeles Dodgers manager ] once said of Visser: "She doesn't demand respect, she commands it."

==Career==
===Her career at the Boston Globe===
Visser was educated at ], majoring in English. She received an honorary doctorate from her alma mater on May 21, 2007. But Visser remembers a time when credentials specifically barred women and children from press boxes, women's restrooms were nowhere to be found in the press area, and players and coaches were rude and threatening and refused to allow women reporters access to locker rooms. In January 1974, she won a prestigious ] grant which entitled her to work as a ] at the highly regarded '']''. In her 14 years at the Globe, she covered ], the ], the ], ], ], and ]. In 1976, she was assigned to cover the ], becoming the first ever female ]. She was also assigned to cover the ], and the ], becoming the first ever female ] and ]. She covered for the Globe the ] (1978-1988), ] (1974-1988) (Did cover the NBA Finals on CBS while working for the Globe from, ] (1974-1988), the ] (1974-1988), ] (1974-1988), ] (1974-1988), the ] (1974-1988), the ] (1976, 1980, 1984, 1988). the ] (1976, 1980, 1984, 1988), the ] (1984-1988), ] (1974-1988).

During her time at the Globe,"she wasn't at the dawn of women covering sports. But she made the breakfast." (13) She wasn't always welcomed in the locker room, but she stuck it out.


===Begins television career at CBS Sports=== ===Begins television career at CBS Sports===
In 1983, she did a few features for ]. In 1984, Visser joined CBS Sports part-time and went full-time in 1987. Her assignments included the ] including the ], ] including the '']'', ] including the ], ],<ref name="lordly1">{{cite web|url=http://www.lordly.com/index.php?option%3Dcom_speakers%26task%3Dview%26contact_id%3D424%26Itemid%3D47 |title=Lordly & Dame and Strategic Events International |access-date=2009-02-19 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090609232433/http://www.lordly.com/index.php?option=com_speakers&task=view&contact_id=424&Itemid=47 |archive-date=2009-06-09 }}</ref> ], ], ] including the ] of Tennis (1984–1993) and the ].
In December 1983, she did a few features for CBS. Lesley said:

"In television, usually it's, 'Let's hire somebody who knows television and we'll teach them sports.'

But CBS said:

'Let's hire somebody who knows sports and teach them television.'" (14) But it took time. "I looked like I had rigor mortis. It's a learned skill." (15)

In January 1984, Visser joined CBS Sports part-time and going full-time in January 1987. In 1984, she became the first woman to cover the ] and the ]. Her assignments included the ] inculding the NBA Finals (1984-1990), ] inculding the ] (1984-1993), ] inculding the ] (1990-1993), college football, Tennis inculding the ] of Tennis (1984-1993) and the ] inculding the ] in ] where Visser coined this phrase, "Hey Snooze you luge." In 1990 she became a regular on "]." She said that contacts she had made over the years while covering the sport allowed her to get interviews that others might not have been able to get. "I had gained respect with 14 years covering pro football and 14 (years) at the Globe. I understood what a box-and-one and a two-three zone defense was. Knowledge is the key." (16)


In 1989, she covered the fall of the ], focusing on how sports would change in East Germany.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Swartz |first1=Josh |title=Sportscaster Lesley Visser On Her Hall Of Fame Career |url=https://www.wbur.org/seasonticket/2018/01/10/lesley-visser |website=wbur.org |date=10 January 2018 |publisher=WBUR |access-date=12 October 2019}}</ref> In ], she became a regular on '']'' with ], ] and ]. Also in ], Visser became the first woman to cover the ].<ref>{{cite book |last1=Ham |first1=Eldon L. |title=Broadcasting Baseball: A History of the National Pastime on Radio and Television |date=2011 |publisher=McFarland |page=233}}</ref> In ], she became the first and to date, only female sportscaster to preside over the ] presentation.<ref>{{cite web |title=Lesley Visser broke down barriers |url=http://www.startribune.com/lesley-visser-broke-down-barriers/471704013/ |website=startribune.com |date=30 January 2018 |publisher=Star Tribune |access-date=12 October 2019}}</ref>
In 1990, she also became the first woman to cover the ]. In 1992, she became the first woman to handle the televised Super Bowl postgame presentation ceremonies and in 1989 she covered the fall of the ], focusing on how sports would change in East Germany for ].


===ABC Sports and ESPN=== ===ABC Sports and ESPN===
After CBS lost television rights to NFL games, Visser spent the next six years with ] and ] (1994-2000) and was a ] for "]," becoming the first woman assigned to the series in 1998 and the first woman ever to report from the sidelines during a ] when she covered ] in 1995. She also covered for ABC ] in 2000. While at ABC Sports, Visser served as a reporter for ] bowl games and ] games. She also contributed to ], "]," ], including the ], ], ], ], the ], and an ABC series "]." She co-hosted the network's coverage of the "Millennium Tournament of ]." Visser covered ] and ] for ]. Also for ESPN, she contributed to shows such as ], ], and ]. After ] lost television rights to NFL games in 1993, Visser went to ] and ]. In 1995, she became the first woman ever to report from the sidelines during a Super Bowl when she covered ] for ABC. In 1998, she became the first woman ever assigned to '']''. She also covered ] for ABC in 2000.


While at ABC Sports, Visser served as a reporter for ] bowl games and the ] games during ''Wild Card Saturday''. She also contributed to ] including the ], '']'', ], including the ] and ], ], ], ], the ], and an ABC series ''A Passion to Play''. She co-hosted the network's coverage of the "] ]."
"When CBS lost the NFL , we all had to leave."


For ESPN, Visser covered the Super Bowl, ], ], and ] including the ].<ref name="autogenerated1999">{{cite web|url=http://nacda.cstv.com/convention/proceedings/1999/scholarship.html |title=NACDA Official Web Site |website=Nacda.cstv.com |access-date=2016-11-15}}</ref> She also contributed to '']'', '']'', and '']''.
During the 1998 NFL season she was a sideline reporter for "Monday Night Football," making her the first woman to become a member of the Monday night football broadcast team. She feels she's earned it after covering the NFL for 24 years. "Credibility doesn't come from gender. It comes from the work you've done. ...


===Return to CBS Sports===
"When I started out in the '70s, people wrote to ask me why I was doing this. Now they write to ask me if I think the Dallas Cowboys are going to get to the playoffs." (18)
In August 2000, Visser returned to ], with her assignments being ], ], ], ] and ] as well as special projects for ]. Today Visser's assignments are a contributor to '']'' and ]. In 2004, she became the first woman sportscaster to carry the ] when she was honored in 2004 by the International Olympic Committee as a "pioneer and standard-bearer."<ref>{{cite web |last1=Swartz |first1=Josh |title=Sportscaster Lesley Visser On Her Hall Of Fame Career |url=https://www.wbur.org/seasonticket/2018/01/10/lesley-visser |website=wbur.org |date=10 January 2018 |publisher=WBUR |access-date=8 October 2019}}</ref>


During the ] Visser became the first female color analyst<ref name="findarticles1">{{cite web|url=http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0EIN/is_2001_June_26/ai_75894031 |title=CBSi |website=FindArticles.com |access-date=2016-11-15 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071227100735/http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0EIN/is_2001_June_26/ai_75894031 |archive-date=2007-12-27 }}</ref> (]'s ] was the first female play-by-play announcer) on an NFL broadcast booth. She joined play-by-play announcer ] and analyst ] in the booth for ]/]. Visser also joined ]'s highly acclaimed '']''.<ref name="CBSPE">{{cite web |title=Lesley Visser |url=https://www.viacomcbspressexpress.com/cbs-sports/shows/nfl-today/bios?id=lesley-visser|website=ViacomCBS Press Express |access-date=25 June 2020}}</ref>
In June 2000, Visser's career suffered a highly publicized setback when she was famously bounced as the Monday Night Football sideline reporter for a less experienced, much younger woman and man. "It was staggering to me," Visser later recalled. However, she wound up returning to ], philosophical as ever."You can have a short career if it's based on looks and youth," she said, "but legitimacy is what lasts." Which ABC replaced her with both ] and ]. Visser sued ] who was the president of ABC Sports and ] who was the new Exectuive Producer for both MNF and ABC Sports for ] for $800,000.


Visser was a pre-game reporter for ''The Super Bowl Today'', where she covered ], ], ], and ] pre-game broadcasts, and during Super Bowl XLI she also served as a sideline reporter, becoming the first woman ever to do so.<ref name="CBSPE"/> Visser was loaned to ] twice to cover the Olympics as she covered the ] in Athens when she served as the Equestrian reporter. She also covered the ] in Torino as a reporter for Short Track Speed Skating.<ref>{{cite web |title=NBC Announces Unprecedented Coverage of the 2006 Torino Olympic Winter Games |url=https://www.kcbd.com/story/4363959/nbc-announces-unprecedented-coverage-of-the-2006-torino-olympic-winter-games/ |website=kcbd.com |date=15 January 2006 |access-date=12 October 2019}}</ref>
===Return to CBS===
On August 28, 2000, Visser returned to ] on camera where she covered the ] of Tennis. That is where she continues to work today, as a contributor to the ]/], ], ] and ] as well as for special projects for CBS Sports and ]. In 2004, Visser became the first woman sportscaster to carry the ] when she was honored in 2004 by the International Olympic Committee as a "pioneer and standard-bearer." Returning to her roots, Visser now is a sportswriter for CBSSports.com. Previously, she covered for CBS College Football, and Figure Skating.


In September 2007, she returned to her roots as she now writes a column for ].<ref name="CBSPE"/>
Being a woman in a male-dominated field, Visser has had to prove herself time and again,a challenge she has welcomed and met throughout the past thirty years. As Visser herself has said, "Credibility doesn't come from gender. It comes from the work you've done. "], president of CBS News and Sports and one of Visser's biggest fans, 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."


==Personal life==
On June 10, 2001, she became a reporter for the "]" on CBS Sports which that show changed the following year. She was on-site at ] to cover the event.
Visser was married from 1983 to 2010 to sportscaster ], who broadcast ] and ] for ] and ] and the ] for ] before his retirement in 2021. Visser and Stockton met at the sixth game of the ], where Stockton called ]'s iconic home run for ] and Visser was covering the game for '']''.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Brown |first1=Garry |title=Sports broadcaster Lesley Visser comes home to South Hadley to share memoir of trailblazing career |url=https://www.masslive.com/sports/2018/05/heading_back_to_south_hadley_l.html |website=masslive.com |access-date=12 October 2019|date=2018-05-20 }}</ref> Since July 2011, she has been married to businessman and former Harvard basketball captain Bob Kanuth.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2011/07/24/fashion/weddings/lesley-visser-robert-kanuth-weddings.html |title=Lesley Visser, Robert Kanuth: Weddings |newspaper=] |date=2011-07-22 |access-date=2016-11-15}}</ref>


In June 1993, Visser suffered a jogging accident in ]'s ], breaking her hip and skidding head-first across the pavement, requiring surgery on her face and hip.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1993/07/25/sports/sports-people-broadcasting-a-recuperating-visser-aims-for-nfl-opener.html |title=A Recuperating Visser Aims for N.F.L. Opener|newspaper=]|date=25 July 1993 |access-date=2020-06-25}}</ref> In 2006, she required an artificial hip replacement.
During the ] Visser became the became the first female color analyst on an NFL broadcast booth. She joined play-by-play announcer ] and analyst ] in the booth for ]/]. As the 3 of them worked the ]. She resigned from Westwood One after the 2002 Super Bowl to focus exclusively on CBS and HBO. She joined Westwood One in August 2001-February 2002.


==Achievements==
On June 15, 2002, she became a reporter and analyst for the "]" on CBS Sports which she was on-site at ] to cover the event. She returned to the show on June 14, 2003 as she was on-site at ]. The show was cancelled.
===Events===
Visser has covered a number of events:
*34 ]s
*12 ]
*7 ]
*15 ]s
*7 ]
*10 ]
*3 ]
*3 ]
*28 ]s
*7 ]s
*29 ]
*15 ]s


===Honors===
Visser served as lead reporter for the Network's coverage of the ], teaming with CBS Sports' No. 1 announce team of ] and ] for the ] and the ] replacing ] who took her spot on ] for 2 seasons. In 2006, she returned to the NFL Today as a Reporter.
In June 2006, Visser was named the first female recipient of the ] by the ].<ref>{{cite news |last1=Sandomir |first1=Richard |title=With Lesley Visser |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2006/08/06/sports/football/06seconds.html?_r=3&oref=slogin |newspaper=The New York Times |access-date=12 October 2019|date=2006-08-06 }}</ref> That same month, she was honored by the ] as the first woman sportscaster recipient of a Gracie Allen Award that 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.<ref name="CBSPE"/> Also in 2007, Visser received the Emily Couric Leadership Award—previously given to ], ] and ]—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.<ref name="NSMA">{{cite web |title=2015 -- Lesley Visser |url=https://nationalsportsmedia.org/awards/hall-of-fame/lesley-visser |website=nationalsportsmedia.org |publisher=NSMA |access-date=12 October 2019}}</ref> 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 ] and the ].<ref name="NSMA"/>


Visser was honored with the Compass Award for 'changing the paradigm of her business' and was one of 100 luminaries commemorating the 75th anniversary of the CBS Television Network in 2003. She was also named "WISE Woman of the Year" in 2002 and voted the "Outstanding Women's Sportswriter in America" in 1983 and won the "] for Journalism" in 1992, and in 1999 she won the first AWSM Pioneer Award.<ref name="NSMA"/> Visser received an honorary doctorate of journalism from her alma mater in May 2007.<ref>{{cite web |title=Lesley Visser Bio |url=http://www.lonestar.edu/lombardiaward/Lesley-Visser-Bio.pdf |website=lonestar.edu |access-date=12 October 2019}}</ref>
Visser was a pre-game analyst for ], where she covered the ] in February 2001, ] in February 2004, and the ] in February 2007 pre-game broadcasts. Visser was also a Sideline Reporter for the ] besides pre-game analyst. Visser also contributes reports for ] and served as a reporter for ]' "]" for 10 years (1995-2005).


Visser became the first woman sportscaster to carry the ] when she was honored in 2004 by the International Olympic Committee as a "pioneer and standard-bearer." Visser worked her 34th ''Final Four''/] in April 2012,<ref>{{cite web |last1=Hiestand |first1=Michael |title=CBS' Visser absent from sidelines at NCAA men's tournament |url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/columnist/hiestand-tv/2013/03/10/lesley-visser-ending-sideline-reporting/1977357/ |website=usatoday.com |access-date=12 October 2019}}</ref> having worked the tournament for the ], ], and ].
Visser was loaned to ] twice to cover the ] as covered the ] in ] when she served as the ] Reporter. She also covered the ] in ] as a Reporter for ].


In 2005, Visser was elected to the Museum of Television and Radio. ], 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."<ref>{{cite web |title=Visser first woman to win Rozelle broadcasting award |url=https://www.espn.com/nfl/news/story?id=2504733 |website=espn.com |publisher=ESPN, Inc. |access-date=12 October 2019|date = 2006-06-29}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Quotes About Lesley Visser as the Recipient of the Pro Football Hall of Fame's Pete Rozelle Radio and {{sic|Telev|ison|nolink=y}} Award |url=https://www.viacomcbspressexpress.com/cbs-sports/releases/view?id=12783 |website=ViacomCBS Press Express| date=29 June 2006 |access-date=25 June 2020}}</ref>
On July 21, 2007 she served as a Handicapper for the ]/] on CBS Sports. She served the same role the next year for the same races on July 19, 2008.


On June 8, 2015, Visser was inducted in the ], along with ], ] and the late ]. She is the third woman to be accorded this honor since the National Sportscasters and Sportswriters Association began presenting it in 1962.<ref>{{cite web |title=Visser to headline NSSA festivities in Salisbury; complete list of winners |url=https://www.wbtv.com/story/27799958/visser-to-headline-nssa-festivities-in-salisbury-complete-list-of-winners/ |website=wbtv.com |date=9 January 2015 |access-date=12 October 2019}}</ref>
===Personal===
Visser is married to sportscaster ], who calls games for both ] and ]. They live in ], ]. Visser and Stockton met at the ], when Visser was covering for the ''Boston Globe'' and Stockton was a broadcaster for ]. Dick says, "We're together maybe four days a week. Lesley says, That way we don't get tired of each other," she said. The couple wed on January 23, 1983.


In February 2020, ESPN reported that Visser would receive the Sports Emmys Lifetime Achievement Award, the first woman to be so honored.
In June 1993, Visser suffered a bizarre jogging accident in ]'s ] in which she broke her hip and skidded face-first across the pavement.<ref></ref> She required reconstructive plastic surgery on her face and in 2006 she required an artificial hip replacement. She returned to CBS Sports in July 1993 to cover the ] as a pre-game analyst instead of a field reporter due to the bizzare jogging accident as in her place came ].

In March 2008, Visser joined a local radio station in Fort Lauderdale, FL, to be part of their morning show a few days per week. She can be heard regularly on Fridays-Sundays on ] 640 Fox Sports (], Boca Raton) as part of "South Florida's First Team."


==References== ==References==
{{reflist}} {{Reflist}}


==External links== ==External links==
* *{{cite web|url=http://www.lesleyvisser.com |title=The official website for Lesley Visser |website=Lesleyvisser.com |access-date=2016-11-15}}
*{{cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vCAvZBXu_VE |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211221/vCAvZBXu_VE |archive-date=2021-12-21 |url-status=live|title=Lesley Visser with The Sportschix and Friends |publisher=] |date=2009-03-18 |access-date=2016-11-15}}{{cbignore}}


{{The NFL Today CBS}}
{{Major League Baseball on CBS}} {{Major League Baseball on CBS}}
{{NBA on CBS}}
{{Major League Baseball on ABC}}
{{The Baseball Network}}
{{Pete Rozelle Radio-Television Award}}
{{Sports Lifetime Achievement Award}}
{{Monday Night Football}}

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Latest revision as of 11:07, 15 November 2024

American sportscaster, television and radio personality, and sportswriter
Lesley Visser
BornLesley Candace Visser
(1953-09-11) September 11, 1953 (age 71)
Quincy, Massachusetts, U.S.
Occupation(s)Sportscaster, Radio-TV Personality, Sportswriter
Sports commentary career
Team(s)The NFL Today, Major League Baseball on CBS, NBA on CBS, Major League Baseball on ABC, CBS Sports
Sport(s)NFL, NCAA men's basketball, NBA, MLB, Figure skating, Tennis, Horse racing
WebsiteLesleyVisser.com

Lesley Candace Visser (born September 11, 1953) is an American sportscaster, television and radio personality, and sportswriter. Visser is the first female NFL analyst on TV, and the only sportscaster in history 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, was inducted into the National Sportscasters and Sportswriters Association's Hall of Fame in 2015 and the International Sports Hall of Fame in 2020.

In 2009, Visser became the first woman to be an analyst for an NFL game on TV. She 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 well as one of the hosts of a CBS Sports Network weekly television show, We Need to Talk.

Visser was the first woman to be recognized by the Pro Football Hall of Fame 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, " brought respect and professionalism to the field of journalism for her work in print and broadcasting. It makes me proud to be in company today."

A pioneer among women sports journalists, Visser re-joined CBS Sports in August 2000 after a six-year hiatus. She was formerly the sideline reporter for Monday Night Football among other assignments she had at ESPN and ABC Sports, such as the World Series, the Triple Crown and the World Figure Skating Championship. She serves as correspondent for the network's NFL and college basketball programming.

Early life

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 Celtics 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.”’” After graduating from South Hadley High School, Visser was educated at Boston College, majoring in English.

Career

The Boston Globe

In 1974, Visser won a prestigious Carnegie Foundation 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, Major League Baseball, 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 January 1981, Visser made national news with her story regarding the 1978-79 Boston College basketball point shaving scandal after gamblers and members of the New York Mafia erroneously told her Boston College Eagle basketball player Michael Bowie was involved. The Globe subsequently reached a settlement with Bowie which included a confidentially clause. ESPN producer Joe Levine convinced Bowie to break and speak to the network.

Begins television career at CBS Sports

In 1983, she did a few features for CBS. 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 to date, only female sportscaster to preside over the Super Bowl Trophy presentation.

ABC Sports and ESPN

After CBS 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 All-Star Game and 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.

Return to CBS Sports

In August 2000, Visser returned to CBS, 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 Super Bowl XXXV, Super Bowl XXXVIII, Super Bowl XLI, and Super Bowl XLIV pre-game broadcasts, and during Super Bowl XLI she also served as a sideline reporter, becoming the first woman ever to do so. 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 to her roots as she now writes a column for CBSSports.com.

Personal life

Visser was married from 1983 to 2010 to sportscaster Dick Stockton, who broadcast football and baseball for Fox and baseball and the NBA for Turner Sports before his retirement in 2021. 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 the game for The Boston Globe. Since July 2011, she has been married to businessman and former Harvard basketball captain Bob Kanuth.

In June 1993, Visser suffered a jogging accident in New York's Central Park, breaking her hip and skidding head-first across the pavement, requiring surgery on her face and hip. In 2006, she required an artificial hip replacement.

Achievements

Events

Visser has covered a number of events:

Honors

In June 2006, Visser was named the first female recipient of the Pete Rozelle Radio-Television Award by the Pro Football Hall of Fame. That same month, she was honored by the American Women in Radio and Television as the first woman sportscaster recipient of a Gracie Allen Award that 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. Also in 2007, Visser received the Emily Couric Leadership Award—previously given to Sandra Day O'Connor, 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 was honored with the Compass Award for 'changing the paradigm of her business' and was one of 100 luminaries commemorating the 75th anniversary of the CBS Television Network in 2003. She was also 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, and in 1999 she won the first AWSM Pioneer Award. Visser 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 34th Final Four/NCAA men's basketball championship in April 2012, having worked the tournament for the Boston Globe, ESPN, and CBS Sports.

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."

On June 8, 2015, Visser was inducted in the NSSA Hall of Fame, along with Bill Raftery, Hal McCoy and the late Dick Schaap. She is the third woman to be accorded this honor since the National Sportscasters and Sportswriters Association began presenting it in 1962.

In February 2020, ESPN reported that Visser would receive the Sports Emmys Lifetime Achievement Award, the first woman to be so honored.

References

  1. Hiestand, Michael (2009-09-04). "Economy affects some NFL teams' worth". Usatoday.com. Retrieved 2016-11-15.
  2. "Tampa Bay, Florida news". Archived from the original on 2015-01-18.
  3. "National Sports Media Association (NSMA)". Nssafame.com. Retrieved 2016-11-15.
  4. Dr. Robert Goldman (March 10, 2020). "2020 International Sports Hall of Fame Inductees". www.sportshof.org. Retrieved July 14, 2023.
  5. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2011-05-19. Retrieved 2009-02-19.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  6. Stallard, Mark; Garrison, Walt (2007). "Then Landry Said to Staubach. . .": The Best Dallas Cowboys Stories Ever Told. Triumph Books. ISBN 9781617490323.
  7. "Austin Dental Implant Center - Dental Implants Expert". Archived from the original on 2009-06-11. Retrieved 2009-02-19.
  8. Horowitz, Brian T. (January 27, 2010). "So What Do You Do, Lesley Visser, CBS Sports Reporter and Hall of Fame Sportscaster?". Mediabistro.com. Retrieved November 21, 2014.
  9. "Breaking Barriers with Sportscaster Lesley Visser". episcopalacademy.org. 8 May 2018. Retrieved 12 October 2019.
  10. Figone, Albert J. (2012-10-30). Cheating the Spread: Gamblers, Point Shavers, and Game Fixers in College Football and Basketball. University of Illinois Press. ISBN 9780252094453.
  11. "Lordly & Dame and Strategic Events International". Archived from the original on 2009-06-09. Retrieved 2009-02-19.
  12. Swartz, Josh (10 January 2018). "Sportscaster Lesley Visser On Her Hall Of Fame Career". wbur.org. WBUR. Retrieved 12 October 2019.
  13. Ham, Eldon L. (2011). Broadcasting Baseball: A History of the National Pastime on Radio and Television. McFarland. p. 233.
  14. "Lesley Visser broke down barriers". startribune.com. Star Tribune. 30 January 2018. Retrieved 12 October 2019.
  15. "NACDA Official Web Site". Nacda.cstv.com. Retrieved 2016-11-15.
  16. Swartz, Josh (10 January 2018). "Sportscaster Lesley Visser On Her Hall Of Fame Career". wbur.org. WBUR. Retrieved 8 October 2019.
  17. "CBSi". FindArticles.com. Archived from the original on 2007-12-27. Retrieved 2016-11-15.
  18. ^ "Lesley Visser". ViacomCBS Press Express. Retrieved 25 June 2020.
  19. "NBC Announces Unprecedented Coverage of the 2006 Torino Olympic Winter Games". kcbd.com. 15 January 2006. Retrieved 12 October 2019.
  20. Brown, Garry (2018-05-20). "Sports broadcaster Lesley Visser comes home to South Hadley to share memoir of trailblazing career". masslive.com. Retrieved 12 October 2019.
  21. "Lesley Visser, Robert Kanuth: Weddings". The New York Times. 2011-07-22. Retrieved 2016-11-15.
  22. "A Recuperating Visser Aims for N.F.L. Opener". The New York Times. 25 July 1993. Retrieved 2020-06-25.
  23. Sandomir, Richard (2006-08-06). "With Lesley Visser". The New York Times. Retrieved 12 October 2019.
  24. ^ "2015 -- Lesley Visser". nationalsportsmedia.org. NSMA. Retrieved 12 October 2019.
  25. "Lesley Visser Bio" (PDF). lonestar.edu. Retrieved 12 October 2019.
  26. Hiestand, Michael. "CBS' Visser absent from sidelines at NCAA men's tournament". usatoday.com. Retrieved 12 October 2019.
  27. "Visser first woman to win Rozelle broadcasting award". espn.com. ESPN, Inc. 2006-06-29. Retrieved 12 October 2019.
  28. "Quotes About Lesley Visser as the Recipient of the Pro Football Hall of Fame's Pete Rozelle Radio and Televison [sic] Award". ViacomCBS Press Express. 29 June 2006. Retrieved 25 June 2020.
  29. "Visser to headline NSSA festivities in Salisbury; complete list of winners". wbtv.com. 9 January 2015. Retrieved 12 October 2019.

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