During the transition from the ABA to the NBA in the 1970s, the Indiana Pacers were in distress. Financial struggles mounted, and whispers grew louder about potential buyers who wanted to acquire the team and move it out west. But in the summer of 1977, one woman in the Pacers’ front office refused to let Indianapolis lose its team. Nancy Leonard stepped forward with a bold, unconventional idea that would change everything: a televised ‘Save the Pacers’ telethon.

The then-owner had warned her that the team needed to guarantee a certain amount of income for the season, or else… That was enough for her to set her mind to work. The telethon ran on television for 24 hours. They even spent 16+ hours pleading with Hoosiers to buy the Pacers’ season tickets. The impact was not just monetary, though. It showed that the community cared. After midnight, kids would hand in jars and cans of coins as donations. By the end of it, Nancy took the microphone and told her husband, “Bob, we’re at 8,020 tickets.” Everyone cheered.

That telethon idea not only saved the Pacers but also paved the way for professional sports’ future in the state. But Nancy, known as the first lady of Indiana basketball, died on September 23 at age 93. “The First Lady of Indiana basketball. Before every game, I knew I could count on a wink and a smile behind the bench,” Pacers player Tyrese Haliburton wrote on X. “There is no Pacers basketball without Nancy Leonard. Can’t wait to see the day her name is in the rafters where it belongs. RIP to a legend and a beautiful soul.”

Her charisma and allure were evident in how the Pacers players looked up to her. Despite her health concerns, she was present at the team’s Game 6 victory in the NBA Finals this past season. “We would not be here without her,” the Simon Family and Pacers Sports & Entertainment mentioned in a statement. “From the earliest days of the franchise, Nancy poured her heart and soul into the team, not just as the wife of Slick Leonard, but as a female trailblazer who rallied the community when we needed it the most.

“From organizing the now-legendary telethon that helped save the team to being a constant presence courtside as a true superfan, her passion for the organization made her beloved by generations of players, alumni, and staff. She will always be part of the Pacers family, and her legacy will continue to shape who we are. We extend our heartfelt condolences to the Leonard family and all who were touched by Nancy’s remarkable life.”

The cause of death has not been revealed.

She was the reason the Pacers survived the financial crisis, but how did basketball enter her life?

It was January 15, 1951, when Nancy went on her first date with Bobby ‘Slick’ Leonard. They were freshmen at Indiana University, and Leonard asked her to meet him at the gym so that they could watch a basketball game together. Imagine the surprise she got when she heard his name and jersey number on the public address system as she entered the arena. That’s how basketball first entered her life.

She’d sit with her sorority sisters and listen to basketball games on the radio. Eventually, Nancy and Bobby got married on June 15, 1954, at Holy Trinity Lutheran Church in South Bend. When Bobby later became the Pacers’ coach, Nancy became the first cheerleading sponsor of the Pacemates. She had started the Pacemates in the basement of her house. That’s how simple the organization was back then.

Nancy went on to become the first woman in the NBA to hold the front office position of assistant general manager.

Nancy Leonard and her infamous ‘Murderers Row’!

The front office was her arena, just like how the basketball court was her husband’s. That being said, she never let the sport slip past her. She was a raucous fan at the Pacers’ game, who would often heckle the referees. That’s exactly how she formed her ‘Murderers Row’. At least, that’s how the refs referred to her and the women who sat with her during games.

One of the ‘Murderers Row’ members was Janet Cotton. She was the wife of Tom, a policeman, who also worked as security and did stats for the Pacers. “We all sat together, and we harassed the referees,” she said in 2021. “That was our quote-unquote job was to harass, and so we did.”

If the referees called a foul against the Pacers, they were wrong. If they didn’t call a foul on the rival team, they were again wrong. And Nancy was the most outspoken of them all. That was the routine until May 1980, when she resigned from the team and went on to become a real estate agent. ‘Slick’ got fired just a month later and began a new journey working in insurance and real estate. He also became a color commentator for the team.

Bobby Leonard died in April 2021. Nancy and Bobby are survived by their five children: Terry (Larry) Grembowicz, Bobby Leonard, Billy (Suzi) Leonard, Tommy (Kristin) Leonard, and Timmy (Kristy) Leonard. They also have grandchildren: Katie (Casey), Elly (Tim), Robert/Bo, Nick, Tyler, Allison (Luke), Hannah, Wyatt, Stella, Briana, Maizie (Carlos), Timmy, and nine great-grandchildren: Wyatt, Aubrey, Alivia, Elliana, Lauren, Rayna, Brooke, Savannah, and Santiago.