Former Miss America, CBS football host Phyllis George dies at 70

Phyllis George had a remarkable life. Miss America, pioneer for women in sports broadcasting and a First Lady of Kentucky.

Phyllis George, one of the pioneers for women in sports broadcasting, died Thursday at age 70.

The former Miss American and First Lady of the State of Kentucky had developed a rare blood disorder in his 30s and had been told it would be problematic as she aged.

“Phyllis was a fighter and her children have shown her incredible love during this struggle,” Gov. John Y. Brown. “She was an incredible first lady for Kentucky.”

Per Kentucky.com:

The Browns, who divorced in 1998, had two children: Lincoln Tyler George Brown, a Lexington businessman, and Pamela Ashley Brown, who is White House correspondent for CNN.

Lincoln Brown said that he and his sister were with their mother during her final days.

“It’s an extraordinary story what she has been through in the last seven years with this,” he said.

George lived and extraordinary life.

She was crowned Miss America in 1971.

In 1975, George joined the cast of CBS Sports’ “The NFL Today.” She co-hosted live pre-game shows before NFL games, one of the first women to hold such a job. She worked with Brent Musburger, Jimmy “The Greek” Snyder, and Irv Cross on the pre-eminent show.

Each Sunday afternoon, The NFL Today aired three live versions of the half-hour pregame show — one at 12:30 p.m. for the East, another at 1:30 for Midwest stations and again at 3:30 for the West Coast — in addition to brief half-time breaks during the long afternoon. Until then, pregame shows had little cache; it was the postgame program with highlights from the Sunday games that held sway.

“When you’re the first, you’re a pioneer,” George told USA Today in a 1999 interview. “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.”