Barbara Borin (born March 6, 1949) is an American television sports anchor.
Early life and education Borin was born on March 6, 1949, in Miami, Florida, to Joe and Dorothy Levine. After attending local schools, she attended Ohio University. She was enrolled in her first theatrical performance class as a toddler and by six, she and her older sister were performing song and dance in the Greater Miami area. Her father, a serious all seasons, all sports fan, watched them with this youngest daughter by his side, teaching her all he knew, play-by-play, about every sport they watched together. As a result, she led the field in sports knowledge when competing for Boston's first female sports broadcasting spot.
Career Her career in communications began in 1969 as promotions manager for Sonesta Hotels.Ads & Agencies, Boston Globe, Page 56, October 25, 1971 In April, 1973, 24-year-old Borin was chosen from 200 applicants when WNAC launched its campaign to put the first woman behind their sports desk. She was the contestant adjudged to be "knowledgeable and confident, based on her cool all-or-nothing audition".Craig, Jack, SporTView column, "Destiny Awaits Ch. 7's Barbara", Page 83, The Boston Globe, March 18, 1973 Borin's interview included her belief that tie games in football and hockey should be ended and that too many athletes, especially in baseball, are "pampered" with overblown injuries.Fripp, Phil, Medley column, Page 31, The Boston Globe, March 22, 1973
On September 16, she was refused postgame entry to the dressing room for an O. J. Simpson interview, though many of the players favored her entrance. Simpson agreed to come out of the dressing room for his Borin interview.Craig, Jack, SporTView The Monday After column, "Blackout Law-An Addendum", Page 22, The Boston Globe, September 17, 1973 Despite New England Patriots' coach Chuck Fairbanks' pledge to allow her into the team dressing room for interviews, on October 7, 1973, Borin was denied entry following a scuffle with police.Craig, Jack, The Monday After column, Page 26, The Boston Globe, October 15, 1973 She threatened to sue Fairbanks for reneging on her agreed upon entry as a professional sports reporter.Craig, Jack, SporTView column, "Ch.7's Borin Slams Fairbanks on Ban", Page 53, The Boston Globe, October 8, 1973 Borin then ran a film on the post-game controversy highlighting her interview with Boston Celtics coach Tom Heinsohn who welcomed her into player locker rooms to perform her job.Craig, Jack, SporTView column, "Ratings Little Affected by Anti-Blackout Rule", Page 26, The Boston Globe, October 29, 1973 "I have to conduct my interviews in the players parking lot and that puts me an hour behind my competitors," she argued during her battle for equal "news-gathering" rights.Cheshire, Maxine, "The Sportscaster And the Senator?" The Washington Post, June 28, 1981
Borin tried to convince New York Jets Joe Namath to allow her to do her job by meeting him in the locker room by saying: "Don't think of me as a woman! Think of me as a sportscaster." His response was: "It's tough not to think of you as a woman."Brudnoy, David, "Young, Successful and First", The Saturday Evening Post, October 1974 Barbara's A-list interviews included Bobby Orr, Phil Esposito, Ted Williams, Carl Yastrzemski, John Havlicek, Billie Jean King, Chris Evert, Mickey Mantle, and Don Shula.
Barbara married Walter Dunfey of the Dunfey Hotel chain in 1975 and left broadcasting shortly thereafter. Divorcing the hotel magnate in 1980, she began pursuing activist political interests, spending time in Washington, DC, where she had ties to the Kennedy family as an outgrowth of her former husband's hotelier enterprises. These ties led to several headline rumors that the first Boston female sports anchor and the then divorcing Ted Kennedy were romantically involved.Today's People column, The Boston Globe, Page 2, June 30, 1981Schwartz, Dan and South, John, "False Rumors Wreck Ted and Joan's Reconciliation", P. 19, National Enquirer, Page 19, July 21, 1981
In 1993, she became one of the sports groundbreakers on the weekly "Sports Gals" talk show on New England's WEEI Sports Channel.McCabe, Bruce, "'Sports Gals' New on Sportschannel", Page 8, The Boston Globe, August 21, 1993 Reflecting on having been a female sports pioneer, Franzoso says she's still an all sports fan but believes she "worked in an era when much greater emphasis was on payment for what was done on the field. Now they're paid regardless of how they perform."Horn, Clare, "Where Are They Now? column "Barbara Borin", The Boston Globe, Page 295, April 4, 2004
Barbara subsequently moved to Portsmouth, New Hampshire and was married to Dan Franzoso, the Director of Golf at Wentworth By The Sea Country Club, who died in 2001 after a four-year battle with brain cancer.Covey, Terrill, "Doctor Comes to Aid of Golf Pro Who's In Fight For His Life", Seacoastonline, Portsmouth, N.H., March 25, 2001 She served as Chairman of the New Hampshire Commission on the Arts from 1978 to 1982; Trustee of Theatre By The Sea (now Seacoast Repertory Theatre) from 1975 to 1984; Founding Director of the University of New Hampshire Pro-Am Golf Classic from 1980 to 1990; Founding Director of the New Hampshire Film Bureau, 1979; Corporator, Portsmouth Community Hospital, 1980; Deputy Executive Director, William J. Clinton Presidential Inaugural Committee, 1992; Community Advisory Board of New Hampshire Public Television, 1981-1995; Founding Director, The First Tee of New Hampshire, 2005-2015; Development Committee, Families First Health and Support Center, 2006–Present.
Barbara joined Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage in Portsmouth in 1982. She currently is with Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Verani Realty in Portsmouth. She is married to Robert LeGros, a retired attorney, and resides in Portsmouth.
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