Leslie Visser
Overview
Lesley Visser is a woman of many talents. Her drive, passion, humor, kindness, and work ethic are what make her one of, if not the greatest sports reporters of all time. Her list of accomplishments is the size of a book, but the impression she left on people was even more than her accomplishments. Her impact was so tremendous that she was asked directly by the Madden family to speak at John Madden's funeral. In addition, according to John Feinstein, a New York Times Best Selling Author and a columnist for the Washington Post: "Every single woman writing sports today owes a debt to Lesley Visser, who proved that women could both out-report and out-write men long before we took that for granted, as we do now." Feinstein was right on the money with this comment considering Visser was the leader of this organization in so many ways. Her nickname is “The Woman of Firsts”. Contrary to popular belief, this did not just mean first for women, this was first for everyone.
Accomplishments
Leslie Visser’s career took off in 1974 when she began her work with the Boston Globe. She won a grant that only 20 other women received in a 95% male-dominated field, and this kickstarted her to greatness. After this she spent time at CBS, ABC, and even had a podcast for quite some time. She was so passionate about all forms of reporting and did not have a weakness. Her career started her on the path of being a print journalist, but in the end broadcast was where she flourished the most.
She was the first to ever be inducted into the NFL Hall of Fame after her many appearances on the sidelines of NFL games, first woman to appear on Monday night football, and even reported on the SuperBowl. Not only was she present as a reporter at the SuperBowl, she was the first and only woman ever to present the Lombardi Trophy.
Moving out of the NFL specifically, she was not only inducted into the NFL Hall of Fame, but 5 others while being voted the #1 Female Sportscaster of All-Time by the National Sportscasters of America. This was due to the fact of her firsts being and not limited to: “She is the only sportscaster, male or female, to have worked on the Network Broadcasts of the Final Four, the Super Bowl, the NBA Finals, the Olympics, the World Series, the Triple Crown, the World Figure Skating Championship and the US Open Tennis.” stated on her personal website.
Conclusion
Leslie Visser is an inspiration to many, personally as a young journalist, I am incredibly inspired by her work, her dedication, and her confidence in herself. I envy the way she has made this career and life for herself and she never backed down just because of the fear of being the “first” to do it. Also admittedly, I purchased her book immediately after researching her for this specific blog post and I am thankful that I now know the work of Leslie Visser.
