The NFL Today on CBS, with Brent Musberger, Irv Cross and Jimmy “The Greek” Snyder, that is a place and a land where Phyllis George thrived back in the mid-1970’s and early 1980’s…
Every Sunday at around Noon, and back in those days it would be right at 12:30pm, the NFL Today on CBS, would take to the TV airwaves, and Phyllis George would be right there in the middle of all of that pro football talk, with Brent, Irv, and Jimmy “The Greek”…
The main CBS set of Brent, Irv and Phyllis would be heartily welcomed into the homes of millions each Sunday afternoon, from September until December, just like clockwork, year-in and year-out, for years…
Phyllis George was part of the #1 studio team in professional football broadcasting, and she paved the way for those that came after her, like Jayne Kennedy, Lesley Visser and Hannah Storm…And it didn’t hurt that Phyllis George was a beautiful woman and she was a former Miss America…..But, Phyllis George had a very pleasant and friendly voice, to go along with that beautiful face…
Phyllis George was accepted in the male-drive sports broadcasting fraternity, and she paid her dues and earned her way into the hearts and minds of millions…
Now the beautiful Phyllis George is gone….We were just talking about the former sportscasters on Saturday, and now Phyllis George joins the list of those that are no longer with us…Phyllis George gone at age 70…
Here is the news as it was coming out on Sunday, from ESPN.com…..
Phyllis George, the former Miss America who became a female sportscasting pioneer on CBS’ “The NFL Today” and served as the first lady of Kentucky, has died. She was 70.
A family spokeswoman said George died Thursday at a Lexington, Kentucky, hospital after a long fight with a blood disorder.
Her children, Lincoln Tyler George Brown and CNN White House correspondent Pamela Ashley Brown, remembered George as “the most incredible mother we could ever ask for.”
“The CBS Sports family is deeply saddened by the passing of Phyllis George, an icon in the sports broadcasting industry who contributed greatly to the rich history and tradition of CBS Sports,” Sean McManus, chairman of CBS Sports, said in a statement. “Phyllis was not only a key member of a show that remains the gold standard of NFL pregame shows, the NFL Today with Brent, Irv and ‘The Greek,’ but also a pioneer for all women in broadcasting.”
++++++++++“When you’re the first, you’re a pioneer,” George told USA Today in 1999. “I felt they didn’t know who Phyllis George was. They played me up as a former Miss America, a sex symbol. I can’t help how I look, but below the surface, I was a hard-working woman. If I hadn’t made that work, women eventually would have come into sportscasting, but it would have taken them longer.”++++++++++
*****CLICK HERE to read more and to see photos from ESPN.com…..