Gayle Gardner (born ca. 1950) is an American sportscaster who worked for ESPN and NBC Sports beginning in 1987 until 1993. Gardner is considered a pioneer in sports broadcasting, having been the first female sports anchor to appear weekly on a major network.[1][2]
Career[edit]
After being hired by ESPN in 1983, Gardner served as a SportsCenter anchor for three years. Gardner then worked for NBC from 1987-1993. Among the assignments that she undertook included anchoring NBC's New Year's Day college football bowl game coverage, NFL Live!, Major League Baseball: An Inside Look, NBC's 1988[3] and 1992 Summer Olympics[4] coverage, the French Open, Wimbledon, and NBC's "Prudential Sports Updates".
In January, 1989, Gardner was a member of the NBC broadcast team for Super Bowl XXIII (San Francisco vs. Cincinnati).
On August 3, 1993, Gardner became the first woman to do televised play-by-play of a baseball game when she called the action of a game between the Colorado Rockies and the Cincinnati Reds.[5]
Gardner later worked on the Food Network before writing a screenplay. She spent three years on the Food Network.[6]
In 2004 (to celebrate the 25th anniversary of SportsCenter), Gardner returned to anchor a special "old school" edition of SportsCenter alongside Stuart Scott.
References[edit]
- ^ Sports Illustrated, "London calling - What England lacks in TV programs, it makes up for in salacious tabloids", by Richard Deitsch, August 6, 2004, Retrieved March 3, 2012.[dead link]
- ^ American Sportscasters Online, "Women in Sportscasting: A Brief History", by Lou Schwartz, Retrieved March 3, 2012.
- ^ The New York Times, "SPORTS PEOPLE; Gardner to Shift", October 06, 1987, Retrieved March 3, 2012.
- ^ The Washington Post, "The Olympiad Covering the Best At Barcelona", by Patricia Brennan, July 26, 1992, Retrieved March 3, 2012.
- ^ American Sportscasters Online, "Sportscasting Firsts - 1920-Present, by Lou Schwartz, Retrieved March 3, 2012.
- ^ USA Today, "Disney-owned networks pass on early talks with NFL", by Rudy Martzke, August 10, 2004, Retrieved March 3, 2012.
External links[edit]
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