Valley Forge native Terry Taylor, the first woman to be named the sports editor of The Associated Press, died on Nov. 14 at her Paoli home at 71, writes Richard Sandomir for The New York Times.

Taylor became the sports editor at The Associated Press in 1992, fifteen years after she joined the wire service. For the following 21 years, she continuously elevated the journalistic standards of her reporters and editors, stressed the importance of investigative stories and in-depth features, and directed reporters to search for news that went beyond scores and on-field action.

“She was the most focused journalist I’ve ever worked with,” said Tom Curley, the former president and chief executive of The Associated Press. “She seemingly worked around the clock.”

During her career at the wire service, Taylor worked on location at 15 Olympics, finishing with the London Summer Games in 2012.

“Terry’s hiring and success certainly was part of a wonderful historic trend of women becoming more respected throughout sports journalism,” said Christine Brennan, a sports columnist for USA Today who chairs the board of the Association for Women in Sports Media.

Read more about Terry Taylor as the first woman sports editor of the Associated Press in The New York Times.

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