Legendary sports anchor Bob Ley announced his plans to retire from ESPN at the end of the month in a heartfelt statement on Twitter on Wednesday.
The Outside the Lines host and longtime ESPN broadcaster — he joined ESPN in 1979, the year the network launched — explained that this was “entirely” his decision, and it’s not as the result of any health problems but rather because he’s in good health.
Ley, who is 64, announced late last summer that he planned to take a six-month sabbatical starting in October, but he has not returned to Outside the Lines since he began his break, ESPN confirmed. He is ESPN’s longest tenured anchor after starting with the company on September 9, 1979, and he’s won 11 Emmy Awards.
Ley wrote in his statement on Twitter:
Across 40 years I have enjoyed a professional journey unimaginable when I joined ESPN on its first weekend of existence in 1979. Each day since has been a unique adventure, one I embraced for the challenge and unequaled fun of a job like no other.
Now, it is time for change.
I will be retiring from ESPN, as of the end of the month.
To be clear, this is entirely my decision. I enjoy the best of health, and the many blessings of friends and family, and it is in that context that I’m making this change.
To Jimmy Pitaro and his senior leadership team, my sincere personal thanks for their understanding and patience over the past months.
Through the decades, and my innumerable experiences at ESPN, I have built many deep and fulfilling friendships. You know who you are. I hope you also know how much you mean to me. We have shared an American story unlike any other. And we will continue to do so in the years ahead.
I have been gifted by our viewers and consumers with a precious commodity – your trust. To be invited into your homes was a privilege I never took for granted, one I worked each day to uphold. Thank you for that.
In September, I signed off my last show saying, “I’ll catch you on the flip side.” Now it’s time to take that vinyl off the turntable (ask your folks), flip it over, and drop the needle on the B-side. There are always great cuts, and hidden gems on the B-side.
Thank you for a great run.
Ley was the original host of Outside the Lines when the show debuted in 1990 as ESPN’s first investigative news program. Throughout the last 40 years, his coverage ranged from Pete Rose’s suspension from MLB to the O.J. Simpson trial to CTE and the NFL to the Penn State and Michigan State sexual abuse scandals.
Going forward, Ryan Smith and Jeremy Schaap “will handle the bulk of anchoring duties” on OTL, network executive Norby Williamson said in a statement. Here is a statement from ESPN president Jimmy Pitaro on Ley’s impact on the network and journalism over the course of the last four decades:
People in the sports world reacted to Ley’s announcement praising his work ethic and talent, and some shared their memories of what it was like to work with him.
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