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Eleanor Sanger
Eleanor Sanger Riger Photo c. 1961.jpg
Sanger in 1961
Born
Mary Eleanor Sanger

(1929-09-15)September 15, 1929
Died March 7, 1993(1993-03-07) (aged 63)
Nationality American
Education Smith College, Columbia University
Known for Television Producer, Sports, Writing
Movement Women's Sports, Women in Television
Awards 7 Emmy Awards, Smith College Medal

Eleanor Sanger (born September 15, 1929 – died March 7, 1993) was a very important person in television. She won seven Emmy Awards for her work as a writer and producer. She was also the very first woman to be a Network Sports Producer. This was a big deal because, as The New York Times said in 1974, women in sports TV were very rare back then. Eleanor Sanger helped break through these barriers.

Early Life and Education

Eleanor Sanger was born in Hong Kong in 1929. Her father, Richard Sanger, worked for an oil company in Asia for many years. Her mother, Lonni Wheeler, was from Germany.

While in Hong Kong, Eleanor went to the Peak School and the British Central School. When her family was in Cambridge, Massachusetts, she attended the Buckingham Browne & Nichols School.

In 1950, Eleanor graduated with high honors from Smith College. She studied Government there. Later, in 1952, she did more studies at Columbia University's Russian Institute (now called The Harriman Institute).

Starting Her Career in TV

From 1957 to 1960, Eleanor worked at Station WNBC-TV in New York City. She was the Manager of Public Affairs. She later shared that women were mostly allowed in "Religious Programming" at that time. When she left WNBC in 1961, two men replaced her, and they each earned twice as much as she did.

During this time, she also worked on a TV show called The Open Mind. She was an Associate Producer from 1957 to 1960 and then a Producer from 1960 to 1963. This show, hosted by Richard Heffner, was very successful and ran for over 50 years.

In 1966, Eleanor moved into sports television. She joined ABC Sports as Manager of Client Relations and Associate Producer. She stayed there until 1970. For a short time in 1967, she also wrote for ABC News.

From 1970 to 1973, Eleanor was a Producer Writer for Tomorrow Entertainment. She produced many documentaries. One of these was "Day of the Big Horn," which featured singer John Denver and Big horn sheep.

Becoming the First Woman Sports Producer

It was a big step for Eleanor to become a full-time Producer, Writer, and Director at ABC Sports in 1973. This happened after a group called the National Organization for Women challenged ABC. They said ABC was not fair in how it hired people and made shows. Eleanor also had a long working relationship with Roone Arledge, who was in charge of Sports.

Her new role at ABC Sports began in 1974. She focused on women in sports. One of her first big projects was a special TV show about women's sports. It was sponsored by Colgate and hosted by Dinah Shore. It featured famous athletes like Billie Jean King and Olga Korbut.

Eleanor continued to support women in sports. She helped other women in the TV business. She believed that women could be successful without trying to act like men.

In 1974, Eleanor told the New York Times, "I'll leave the football games to the guys." But she was wrong! She later won an Emmy Award for her coverage of NCAA football in 1988. In fact, during her time at ABC, Eleanor produced almost every sport you can imagine, for both men and women. This included the Scottish Highland Games. She also traveled to China and North Korea to cover ping pong tournaments. This made her an expert on how Western media was treated in those countries early on.

Winning Emmy Awards for the Olympics

Eleanor Sanger won six Emmy Awards for her amazing work as a Producer for the Olympics. She worked on both the Winter and Summer Games.

  • 1968: Grenoble, France (Winter) and Mexico City, Mexico (Summer)
  • 1976: Innsbruck, Austria (Winter) and Montreal, Canada (Summer)
  • 1984: Sarajevo, Yugoslavia (Winter) and Los Angeles, California (Summer)

She also produced the Winter Olympics in 1980 in Lake Placid, USA. In 1988, she produced the Bobsled and Luge competitions in Calgary, Canada. For the Summer Olympics in Seoul, South Korea, in 1988, she produced the Equestrian Events for NBC Sports.

Honors and Memberships

In 1982, Eleanor received the Smith College Medal. This award is given to former students who show what a great education can do through their lives and work. From 1991 to 1993, Eleanor was part of the committee that chose who would receive this medal. Her personal papers are kept in the Sophia Smith Collection at Smith College.

Eleanor was also a member of several important groups:

She was also a founding Editor of Ms. Magazine in 1972. This was a very important magazine for women. She was also on the Advisory Board of the National Women's Conference to Prevent Nuclear War in 1974. Finally, from 1990 to 1993, she led the Advisory Board of the Media Arts Department at the University of Arizona.

Her Family Life

In 1950, Eleanor married Robert Nelson Riger, who was a sports artist and photographer. They had four children: Christopher (born 1951), Victoria (born 1952), Robert (born 1960), and Charlotte (born 1963).

Eleanor and Robert divorced in 1981. In 1984, she married Peter L. Keys. They first moved to England, where Eleanor produced weekly US Football games for British television. Then, she moved back to Tucson, Arizona.

Before she passed away from cancer in 1993, Eleanor moved back to Martha's Vineyard. She had first visited this island in the 1930s and 40s. She and Robert Riger were married there, and they spent summers in Edgartown and later West Tisbury.

Eleanor Sanger and Robert Riger are buried next to each other in the Village Cemetery in West Tisbury, Massachusetts, on Martha's Vineyard.

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