R.I.P. Phyllis George

It feels like it's been obit week at DOL, but another incredibly important person from the world of American pop culture has passed away.  On Thursday Phyllis George died from blood complications. She was just 70 years old. 

If you're young and unaware of Phyllis George's legacy she won Miss America in 1971 and parlayed that into a career as the first female co-anchor of a national sports program. For parts of seven seasons Phyllis was an analyst on the CBS Pregame Show "The NFL Today" with Irv Cross, Jimmy the Greek and Brent Musburger. 

pic.twitter.com/NtnabGz6yy

— Brent Musburger (@brentmusburger) May 16, 2020

Before Phyllis was hired there were no women in sports media at the national level.  00 like Jim Otto. The old boys club adage rang true at every station in the country. It was Phyllis George who paved the way for every female in the sports media field.  She was the trail blazer for your Andrea Kremer's, Hannah Storm's, Pam Oliver's, Michele Tafoya's, Linda Cohn's, Sage Steele's, Jamie Erdahl's, Lindsay Czarniak's, Erin Andrews' and countless other women in world of sports media.

Phyllis George was at the other end of one the most famous sports interviews of the 1970's; she got straight laced Roger Staubach to admit he's had sex on TV (which in those days could result in jail time). 

She also got Staubach to say something nobody thought he would. pic.twitter.com/2OpYUr8HJ0

— Old Time Football □ (@Ol_TimeFootball) May 17, 2020

As a lover of all things sports history you cannot tell the story of the NFL and sports in America without Phyllis George.  Not only was she a pioneer in her field, but she also was the First Lady of Kentucky. She even made an appearance in Meet the Parents.

​R.I.P. Phyllis George.