Tributes are pouring in for popular Fox Footy and Herald Sun sports journalist Sam Landsberger, after his tragic death in a traffic accident in Melbourne on Tuesday.
He was 35.
Landsberger was identified as the man fatally hit by a truck at the intersection of Bridge Road and Church Street in Richmond on Tuesday morning.
He was rushed to hospital with life-threatening injuries, but could not be saved.
The driver of the truck stopped at the scenes and has spoken to police, with the 45-year old released pending further enquiries. Melbourne Highway Patrol officers are still investigating the incident.
Herald Sun chief football writer Mark Robinson led tributes for Landsberger, describing him as ‘a genuinely nice bloke, who was caring and inquisitive about people’.
“Sam Landsberger had an enormous future in journalism and took giant strides early on,” Robinson said.
“He loved the game and understood it, and he respected his craft. He was such a valuable member of Melbourne’s sports journalism world, someone who could cover all aspects of footy. And people trusted him.”
“This tragedy is a devastating loss for Sam’s family, friends and colleagues at the Herald Sun and the sporting codes he covered with such passion,” said Herald Sun editor Sam Weir.
“He was an energetic and talented football and cricket journalist, who lit up the newsroom. Sam excelled in everything he did, from breaking the big stories to expert analysis on Fox Footy. He was well-loved and well-respected and had an incredible career ahead of him. Our thoughts go out to his family. Sam will be deeply missed.”
Beginning at the newspaper in 2010, Landsberger won the prestigious Clinton Grybas Emerging Talent Award as the AFL media’s best young talent in 2013, as well as the Walkley Young Journalist of the Year.
In 2022, he won a Quill award for his reporting revealing Essendon’s newly appointed CEO Andrew Thorburn’s links to controversial anti-LGBTQ church City on a Hill, which led to Thorburn’s forced resignation the day after his appointment was announced.
In 2024, he was a panellist on Fox Footy’s Midweek Tackle program, with co-hosts Jay Clark and Glenn McFarlane, who also worked alongside Landsberger at the Herald Sun, paying tribute.
“He was a superb writer, a joy to read, a fearless journo and a ball of energy on the television with Fox Footy,” Clark said.
“He was the star of our Midweek Tackle and an incredible friend, who always made you smile. I’ll miss him so much and our phone conversations that always went too long.”
“Sam was one of the brightest young stars in Australian sports journalism,” McFarlane said.
“He shone through with his exceptional work ethic, his prodigious talent and his eagerness to chase the yarn without fear but always with compassion. He cared deeply about his craft and we cared deeply about him.”
News of Landsberger’s tragic death has led to an outpouring of tributes throughout the footy world, with the much-respected journalist remembered as ‘an absolute star of our profession’ by colleagues.
Having worked extensively reporting on cricket as well as AFL, star players Glenn Maxwell and Aaron Finch were also among those to express their condolences.
In addition to his reporting, Landsberger was also well known and admired for his daily posts on X during the Olympics informing sports fans of start times and events for all Australians in action.
Landsberger’s father Jake served for decades as a club doctor at the Western Bulldogs, including during their drought-breaking 2016 premiership season.