Published: September 2006
On August 5, Lesley Visser ’75 became the first woman recognized by the Pro Football Hall of Fame, in Canton, Ohio, when she received the 2006 Pete Rozelle Radio-Television Award—the latest honor in a 30-year career in sports journalism.
After graduating from Boston College as a psychology major, Visser became the first woman to be an NFL beat writer at the Boston Globe (where she started as an intern while an undergraduate); was the first to be an NFL color analyst for CBS Radio; the first to be assigned to a Super Bowl sideline; to appear on ABC’s Monday Night Football; to present a Super Bowl Trophy; and to carry the Olympic Torch. Additionally, she is the only sportscaster—male or female—to work on a network broadcast of all these sporting events: the Final Four, Super Bowl, World Series, NBA Finals, Triple Crown, Olympics, U.S. Open, and World Figure Skating Championship.
A native of Quincy, Massachusetts, Visser told the Los Angeles Times: “On Halloween, girls would dress up as Mary Poppins. I would dress up as [Boston Celtics player] Sam Jones.” She first met her husband, Fox broadcaster Dick Stockton, when they were both covering the sixth game of the 1975 World Series, she as a Globe reporter, he as a Red Sox broadcaster. This fall, she returns as a reporter on CBS’s The NFL Today.
- Official website
- Quotes about Visser’s award, from CBS SportsLine
- “She took the ball and ran with it,” from the Boston Globe
- “Visser is ground-breaking choice for the Hall of Fame,” from the Los Angeles Times
- “Visser to be honored at Hall of Fame ceremonies,” from the Seattle Times
