Fans of college and pro football are likely familiar with ESPN reporter Laura Rutledge. She’s been featured prominently on networks like Fox Sports and the SEC Network. Rutledge is currently best known for her work hosting ESPN’s “NFL Live.”
Rutledge will be featured tonight on ESPN’s Pro Bowl Skills Show. She’ll join Robert Griffin III on commentary as NFL stars battle in games like Tug-of-War, “Move the Chains,” and “Gridiron Gauntlet.”
Rutledge has been active in sports media for over a decade. Thus, it’s not too unusual that she married a professional athlete. However, given that she’s primarily been a football reporter, the fact that her husband had a six-year MLB career might come as a surprise.
Who Is Laura Rutledge’s Husband, Josh Rutledge?
Josh Rutledge is best known for an MLB career split between two teams, the Colorado Rockies and the Boston Red Sox. The third baseman finished his pro career with 20 home runs, 111 RBI, and a .258 batting average.
Rutledge was drafted by Colorado in the third round of the 2010 MLB Draft out of the University of Alabama. He was a standout for the Crimson Tide right away, leading the team in batting average (.369), hits (99), runs scored (62), and stolen bases (16) as a freshman in 2008.
Rutledge’s best pro seasons were his first three with Colorado. He hit 19 of his 20 career home runs in those three seasons. He scored between 37 and 45 runs in each of them and drove in over 30 runs twice. His next three years — spent primarily with the Red Sox — saw his numbers take a downturn across the board.
That was due to a confluence of factors, including injury and opportunity. Rutledge wouldn’t exceed 40 games played in any season between 2015-17.
Like many baseball journeymen, he’d bounce between the majors and Triple-A several times over. He’d retire after the 2018 season when a brief minor league stint with the San Francisco Giants netted him no playing time in the majors.
As mentioned previously, Josh Rutledge is an Alabama alum. Laura has her own affiliations with the university as a University of Florida alum and long-time SEC Network employee. She’d recount in a 2016 Instagram post how she and Rutledge met by chance at an Alabama tailgate.
“Sometimes you walk up to a random tailgate and meet your future husband. That happened to me almost five years ago. So, naturally @jarutledge and I went back to that exact same tailgate today for the first time since we met. We even found the same tent where it all started.”
We now know that this chance encounter has led to a long-term partnership. Their tailgate meetup in 2011 led to a lush wedding in 2013, according to People.
Mr. and Mrs. Rutledge recently celebrated their 10th anniversary and have welcomed two children into the world in the years since.
While Laura, of course, remains affiliated with the wide world of sports, Josh has branched out in retirement.
He is reportedly a realtor with Coldwell Banker West Hartford in Connecticut and also a co-owner at a full-service Ford dealership, West Alabama Ford.
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Safe to say, between his marriage, fatherhood, and these other business ventures, he’s kept plenty busy in retirement.
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