P f . . Its a cliché to say that Tom Leach is liv-
r O '   ' n ing his dream job, but there’s no way
around it — that’s simply the truth. He is
one of those few individuals who knew as
a teenager what he wanted to do with his
life. Through hard work, persistence, and
O I I I €   a bit of luck, he’s built a career for himself
around sports that now entitles him to the
V A A A A . “Voice ofthe \Wildcats” moniker.
g ,· . A » Leach, who earned a degree in journalism
{   { C from UK in 1983, began his sportscasting
A Y, .7 T 1, . F {T   7  ·· , career at age 16 when he worked for his
  ‘A AL T   P hometown radio station in Paris.
',’r ._   l _ __  A _A Ab Pursuing his dream career just out of
_AA   °   high school, he sought guidance from
  ( A A sportscasting icon Cawood Ledford and
jg, A sent him a tape to critique. “My mom and
YF} _ _ A .A A O dad always encouraged me to shoot for
~ _ .»9‘I`\   ` Al the moon. Don’t set limits on yourself,”
A "  ~ F says Leach.
Af-; l • Ledford gave the young reporter valu-
A.     ~\ _  __·- A· able insight. “Cawood told me it’s good
A 4,;AA;\ Al _   `   l for the audience to know the UK broad-
___,, i     | ` A v ·,.;  AA   _ i ’§;_ A caster wants to see the Cats win? says
  {  » A     §§_;A;AiAA A» Leach, “ but you must also tell your listen-
    \AA tt. A   .',. EAA A A A ’ AA A  j Af    A· ers when the team is playing poorly
    A \\   1 A ~__AAA   g A 5    __ CLeach Iplaylecgblaseialllat ABoAurbc;1A A
‘ /·, -A A \A jx ‘A A   A _· ‘ A . 1 `    `§ ounty 1 c oo . is at er, VIH,
C T//3/%yD\\\l     A A\ A-   L A ’ l       played for tie Lexington Hustlers, a semi-
, AA/‘ ij gy Ar j /`;,_     AM A A\ AA A » _A\_ \\  \A‘A A  ,   pro baseball team. Brother Steve played
'A.·A Al  / * /// ;{/rl A . Allj [ * l _ \\ AlA, A for the Georgetown College football
        jljl lj*A·AAA~ team.AnuncleplayedforUKduringthe
—.A •‘A AA WA! `: Ap All AI AI j¤jx`A ‘“ “Bear”Bryantdays.
Ejl»Al \A `jl\ l ll   l   All l j A l g vi j    ·   Leach loved UK sports and he sought a
. FA ¤ · ` ·   A  j s   A ` ‘   ~AA\A   w   A=.A‘ front row seat calling UK gamesjust like
I {     __ {gl ‘ l   ‘ A ,{kA\   \‘ l K lj `A   L€Clf0rd and Ralph Hacker.
1    7// i · l I ;   J _   ` _ l   A Leach began on the UK Radio Network
Q '.  A; 2 , , » A    // \_\\ iQ * · \/lj L lA » in 1989 and eight years later was doing
 “ " _ _  ; Pf _ '   /AA/' A, /j  5   " · *', if play-by-play for Kentucky football, adding
A A Q A __ _A\ __; 1; _-ir `*A{   V fir \\ A   ·   basketball in the 2001-O2 season. He is
\·   `· { ‘- H-T;\S`;¥L.— --{~·’ . . , ‘`  = r ir r f r l r h mi l i f
  `` ··-i` Q     l a 1 t     ·. ’=—.# J   0 ”" iii.? doigd alcgoii aftjefhooch   °
`· j;   A A A A A 2 AA    ·  , i- reporting on WLAP 630, the flagship sta-
"' ; _ fi`) /_ J - ` ‘ tion for the Big Blue Sports Network. He
' 4 T K handles NBC and ESPN assignments.
He’s been Kentucky Sportscaster of the
Year four times and is a two -time winner
ofthe prestigious Eclipse Award for excel-
lence in coverage of Thoroughbred racing.
He is kicking his career up a notch with
Tom Leach Productions, launched last
year with ]im Host of Lexington and ].C.
Faulkner of Charlotte, NC.
Married for almost 20 years to Robyn
, Rabbeth, formerly of WLEX-TV they are
§ the parents of two children, Connor, 15,
E and Caroline, 9, both of whom enjoy
i competing in .... y ou guessed it...sports!
E
>} 22 Spring 2008