Joe gordon biography for kids baseball player
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Name: Joseph Lowell Gordon
Position: Second baseman
Born: February 18, 1915 (Los Angeles, CA)
Died: April 14, 1978 (Sacramento, CA)
Yankee Years: 1938-46
Primary number: 6
Yankee statistics: 1,000 G, .271/.358/.467, 186 2B, 153 HR, 481 BB, 508 K, 120 wRC+, 36.6 rWAR, 40.0 fWAR
Biography
Though his name lacks the nationwide recognition and cultural cachet of some other Yankee greats, Joe Gordon’s impact on the game outstripped his relatively short career. A man with broad interests, Gordon’s Yankees tenure was artificially shortened by World War II, but his baseball life was as interesting as anyone’s, placing him squarely in some of the sport’s most memorable moments and finishing his career as an icon of not one but two franchises. The war may have cost him a few counting stat milestones, but there were few hitters in the league feared more during his heyday; Leo Durocher once stated that he was more afraid of Gordon than Joe DiMaggio.
Adolescence & Early Career
Born in Los Angeles, Gordon lost his father to illness at a young age and relocated to Portland, Oregon, at the age of four, where he spent the rest of his youth. It’s not unusual for pro ballplayers to have been standouts at other sports growing up, and Gordon was no different, starring on hi
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Solons Manager 1951 - 1952 |
Above bio Courtesy build up Wikipedia.
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Joe Gordon
Larry Doby did not know what to expect as he arrived in Chicago on July 5, 1947. Cleveland Indians owner Bill Veeck had just purchased Doby from Newark of the Negro National League for $10,000. This transaction made Doby the first African-American to join the American League, the second in the major leagues in the 20th century, after Jackie Robinson joined Brooklyn at the beginning of that season. After meeting with Veeck, Doby made his way to the visiting clubhouse on the first base side at Comiskey Park.
Indians’ manager Lou Boudreau, who at first thought the signing was a joke, met with Doby and introduced him to his new teammates. While most players were cordial, a few refused to acknowledge Doby or even shake his hand. Doby’s feeling of isolation continued after the team moved to the diamond to warm up before the start of the game. “I felt all alone. When we went out on the field to warm up, to play catch, you know the way we always did, no one asked me to play. I just stood there for minutes. It seemed like a long time,” recalled Doby. “Then Joe Gordon yelled, ‘Hey kid, come on. Throw with me.’ That was it. Joe Gordon was a class guy. He’d been a Yankee and the others looked up to him. So when he reached out