Terry R. Taylor retired from The Associated Press in 2014 after spending most of her career in sports journalism. She became the first woman sports editor at the news agency in 1992, and at the time of her retirement, was the longest-serving sports editor in AP history. She currently works for the International Olympic Committee as an adviser for the Olympic Information Service.
Taylor earned a degree in journalism from Temple University and worked at The Temple News until she graduated in 1974. She interned at The Philadelphia Inquirer her junior year and the paper subsequently helped her get a job at The Charlotte (N.C.) News, where she covered schools and edited sports wire copy on weekends.
Her AP career began in 1977 in Philadelphia, where she was a writer, editor and desk supervisor. In 1981, she transferred to the company’s national sports desk in New York, rising to deputy sports editor in the late ’80s.
During her sports career at AP, Taylor led the agency’s international sports coverage, overseeing Olympic coverage for 14 games and leading coverage on nearly every other high-profile event, including Super Bowls, World Series, Triple Crown races, Masters, World Cups and college championships.
Among her most memorable stories/events:
The rise and fall of Tiger Woods; Michael Jordan’s NBA championships; Kirk Gibson’s double pump after hitting the game-winning homer in the 1988 LA-Oakland World Series; David Tyree’s helmet catch in the New York Giants’ Super Bowl win over the New England Patriots in 2008; The U.S. women beating China to win the soccer World Cup in 1999; Serena Williams and Roger Federer in any tennis major. Non-event: Seeing Muhammad Ali in his prime when he came to AP headquarters to talk to the boxing writer.
Last year, the Association for Women in Sports Media honored Taylor with its Mary Garber Pioneer Award, named after the Winston-Salem (N.C.) Journal reporter whose work, starting in 1944, helped clear a path for women in sports journalism. The award is given annually.