Lesley Candace Visser, born September 11, 1953, better known as Lesley Visser, is a prominent American sportscaster, television and radio personality, and sportswriter. The only sportscaster in history to have worked on network broadcasts of the Final Four, NBA Finals, World Series, Triple Crown, Monday Night Football, Olympics, Super Bowl, World Figure Skating Championships, and U.S. Open is Visser. She was the first female NFL commentator on television.
Lesley Visser Bio:
| Full Name: | Lesley Candace Visser |
| Date of Birth: | September 11, 1953 |
| Place of Birth: | Quincy, Massachusetts |
| State of Origin: | Massachusetts |
| Nationality: | American |
| Occupation: | Journalist |
| Net Worth: | $11 million |
| Husband/Spouse: | Bob Kanuth |
Early Life and Education
Lesley Visser, who was born on September 11, 1953, in Quincy, Massachusetts, to a teacher and an engineer, has always been a sports fan.
When other young girls dressed as Mary Poppins for Halloween, she chose to dress as Sam Jones, a former Boston Celtics guard. She had wanted to work as a sportswriter since she was ten years old, but there was a barrier: women couldn’t hold the position.
She was not discouraged by her relatives. My mother said to me, “Sometimes you have to cross when it says “don’t walk,”” so my parents didn’t imply that girls shouldn’t do it.
Visser attended Boston College after completing his high school education in South Hadley, where he majored in English.
Career
In 1974, Visser was awarded a prestigious Carnegie Foundation grant, which granted her the opportunity to work as a sportswriter at The Boston Globe.
Over the course of 14 years, she covered a wide range of sports, including college basketball, the NBA, Major League Baseball, tennis, college football, golf, and horse racing.
In 1976, she made history by becoming the first female NFL beat writer when she was assigned to cover the New England Patriots.
The sports sections of The Boston Globe during her tenure from 1975 to 1980 were recognized as the best sports section of all time by Sports Illustrated in 2009.
In January 1981, Visser gained national attention with her story about the 1978-79 Boston College basketball point-shaving scandal.
However, she later discovered that she was misinformed by gamblers and members of the New York Mafia, and the Boston Globe reached a settlement with the involved player, Michael Bowie, which included a confidentiality clause. Bowie eventually broke the silence and spoke about the matter to ESPN.
During her career, Visser contributed features to CBS in 1983 and joined CBS Sports part-time in 1984, transitioning to full-time work in 1987.
Her assignments covered a wide array of events, including the NBA Finals, college basketball’s Final Four, MLB’s World Series, the College World Series, college football, horse racing, tennis (including the U.S. Open), and the Olympics.
In 1989, she covered the fall of the Berlin Wall and explored how sports would change in East Germany. In 1990, Visser became a regular member of The NFL Today show alongside Greg Gumbel, Terry Bradshaw, and Pat O’Brien.
Additionally, she made history as the first woman to cover the World Series in the same year. In 1992, she achieved another milestone by becoming the first and only female sportscaster to preside over the Super Bowl Trophy presentation.
Lesley Visser Net Worth
Lesley Visser is a prominent American sportscaster, television and radio personality, and sportswriter who has garnered an estimated net worth of $11 million.
Personal Life
Lesley Visser was married to Dick Stockton, a sportscaster who covered baseball and the NBA for Turner Sports and Fox until retiring in 2021. Their union lasted from 1983 to 2010.
When Visser was covering the game for The Boston Globe and Stockton was calling Carlton Fisk’s historic home run for NBC, the two of them first crossed paths at the sixth game of the 1975 World Series.
She got married to businessman and former Harvard basketball captain Bob Kanuth in July 2011.
