(February 18, 1915 – April 14, 1978) Joe Gordon grew up in Portland and attended Jefferson High School on his way to a standout baseball career at the University of Oregon, and a Hall of Fame professional career during eleven seasons as a second baseman with New York and Cleveland of the American League.
Joe enjoyed his high school days at Jefferson. He was part of an undefeated football state championship team; named All-City in baseball and played violin with the Oregon Symphony.
Gordon played baseball, football, ran track and even competed in gymnastics at Oregon.
He led the 1934 and ’35 teams to the Pacific Coast Conference Northern Division baseball titles. Joe frequently performed as a gymnast during halftime of basketball games at McArthur Court.
After two solid seasons in the minors, Gordon moved to New York in 1938 at age 23 and played seven seasons for the Yankees and four for the Cleveland Indians, a stretch interrupted in ’44 and ’45 due to military service.
He was selected for the American League All-Star team nine times and won the MVP in 1942 after hitting .322 with 173 hits, 18 homers and 103 RBIs. The Yankees traded him to Cleveland in 1947. Joe’s career totals included 1,530 hits, 253 homers, 975 RBIs and a combined .268 batting average. He played for five World Series champions, winning rings in 1938, ’39, ’41 and ’43 for the Yankees and in 1948 with Cleveland. Gordon earned the nickname “Flash” because of his speed and after the comic book character.
Following his release from Cleveland in 1950, Gordon played two seasons for Sacramento of the Pacific Coast League and retired at age 37. He played one more game in the minors: with San Francisco in 1957 at age 42; getting two hits in three at-bats and even pitching an inning.
He managed the Indians, Detroit Tigers, Kansas City A’s and Kansas City Royals, compiling a 305-308 record in five seasons. In 1960, his third season as manager in Cleveland, the Indians traded him to the Detroit Tigers. He compiled a record of 65-77 during that season.
Gordon was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 2009 by the Veterans Committee, which included Bobby Doerr, a long-time opponent with Boston and fishing buddy in the offseason. Joe was also honored as one of the Cleveland Indians’ 100 greatest players of all-time.
