my grandfather is on the left

All in the Family

My grandfather, Vince Bagli, was the sports director at WBAL in Baltimore, Maryland for 30 years. He has interviewed countless sports stars, there is a picture in my aunt’s living room of my granddad interviewing Johnny Unitas and Joe Namath at the same time! I love my granddad, but I lived in Baltimore for 12 years and he took me to a grand total of ONE baseball game. It’s unfortunate that I wasn’t able to take advantage of the great opportunity of living in the same city as he does. My mom said that it was difficult growing up because Granddad loved taking the boys (my mom has two brothers) to sporting events but did not encourage my mom and her three sisters to play sports. In fact, my mom was a talented field hockey goalie in high school but got no support from her dad in terms of playing in college. This was the 1970s, and they felt that my mom had better ways of occupying her time in college other than playing sports. My parents have encouraged my sisters and me to play sports our whole lives, and it’s continued to confirm how much I love sports. But after a while, I got tired of hearing my mom say, " I wish I had had the opportunity to explore sports when I was growing up the way you girls can now." That broken record comment was laid to rest when she completed her first marathon, walking the 26.2 miles in five and a half hours. My admiration for my mom grew ten fold that day, as it did when she completed the marathon in three successive years.

My cousin, Ben, apparently was the only one in our large family to get the sportscaster gene. He has begun calling football and lacrosse games for his school in Baltimore. With a last name like Bagli, it didn't take long for people to catch on to his lineage in the sports world. Granddad has repeatedly said how proud he is of Ben for taking such a big risk and being so dedicated to becoming a better sportscaster. While Granddad doesn't always call just to see how we're doing, I know that if I sit down with him to talk sports, I'll come away with stories I'll never here anywhere else.

Granddad called the 1958 NFL championship game between the New York Giants and the Baltimore Colts. It was the first championship game of the newly formed NFL (before, there had been the NFL and the AFL-American Football League). The Colts won, and I was lucky enough to be visiting him a couple of years ago and he brought out the CD of his call of that game. For almost two hours, we (my sisters and I) sat with him and literally watched him listen to his own call of that historic game. He sounded so young and passionate on that called from over 50 years ago. The pride that we saw in his eyes was something I'll never forget. I saw in his eyes the type of jornalist I aspire to be; passionate, dedicated, and always looking for ways to improve. He watched an incredible era of evolution in sports, but it's my generation, especially women, who can make a huge difference over the next years. In this age of female athletes having to "take it off", I want to interview athletes looking to involve youth, be role models. People like Lisa Leslie of the WNBA, Mia Hamm of women's pro soccer, Cat Osterman of USA Softball. Their sports may not make the front page, but they make their mark, fully clothed, in their sports and in their communities.

here's a story that a Baltimore newspaper did on my granddad