Sid Gordon
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Sidney Gordon (August 13, 1917 - June 17, 1975), known as "Sid," was an American Major League Baseball outfielder and first baseman. He was born in Brooklyn, New York, and had a 13-year career in MLB for the New York Giants (1941-43, 1946-49, and 1955), Boston Braves (1950-52), Milwaukee Braves (1953), and Pittsburgh Pirates (1954-55). He was a 2-time All-Star.
Gordon is also known as one of the best Jewish major league ballplayers.
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[edit] Early life
Gordon was born in the Brownsville section of Brooklyn. His parents were Morris and Rose (nee Meyerson) Gordon. Morris emigrated from Russia, and became a plumber and a coal dealer in the United States. Sid went to Samuel Tilden High School, where he was a star baseball player.
In 1936 Gordon's high school coach arranged for Gordon to work out for Casey Stengel, then manager of the Dodgers. Stengel liked what he saw, but soon after the Dodgers fired Stengel. Gordon kept playing in sandlot baseball, where he was noticed by scout George Mack of the Giants. Mack sent Gordon to Milford, Delaware in the Eastern Shore League.
[edit] Minor Leagues
At Milford, Sid was put at third base, an unfamiliar position, but responded with a .352 average and 25 homers, while playing every game. Gordon led the league in hits (145), total bases (256), and triples (9).
In 1939 Gordon played in Three-I League with Clinton. He batted .327 and hit 24 triples.
At the end of the 1941 season, the Giants brought him up.
Wanting to get Gordon more experience as an outfielder, manager Bill Terry sent Gordon to Jersey City in 1942, where he hit .300.
[edit] Major Leagues
Gordon's first full year in the majors came in 1943; he hit only .251, but with 32 strikeouts and 43 walks showed some discipline at the plate.
With World War II raging, Sid spent 1944 and 1945 in the Coast Guard.
Returning to baseball after the war, in 1948 Sid was 3rd in the National League in slugging percentage (.537), 4th in RBIs (107), 5th in home runs (30), and 6th in runs (100).
He finished 4th in voting for the 1948 National League MVP, with 156 Hits, 26 Doubles, 74 Walks, .299 Batting Average, .390 On-base percentage, and 280 Total Bases.
After his breakout season, Gordon held out in the spring of 1949. He signed for $2,500 less than he wanted.
He twice was voted onto the All-Star team, in 1948 and 1949.
In 1949 he homered twice in one inning.
He finished 30th in voting for the 1949 NL MVP for playing in 141 Games and having 489 At Bats, 87 Runs, 139 Hits, 26 Doubles, 26 Home Runs, 90 RBI, 95 Walks, .284 Batting Average, .404 On-base percentage, .505 Slugging Percentage, and 247 Total Bases.
In 1947 Giant manager Mel Ott put together a 1-dimensional ball club built around a lot of sluggers with little speed. Leo Durocher famously observed that Ott was too nice a guy, and his team would finish last. Durocher also listed a number of players whom he thought were nice guys, Gordon among them. When Durocher took over in 1950, he wanted speed and a good double play combination. He traded Willard Marshall and nice guy Sid Gordon to the Boston Braves. The deal having been consummated, Giants owner Horace Stoneham sent Gordon a check for $2,500 as a token of his respect for the popular slugger.
In 1950 he belted 4 grand slams, tying what was then the major league record.
In 1950 he had a good year, finishing 8th in the league in batting average (.304) and 9th in home runs (27).
He finished 22nd in voting for the 1950 NL MVP for playing in 134 Games and also had 481 At Bats, 78 Runs, 146 Hits, 33 Doubles, 103 RBI, 78 Walks, .403 On-base percentage, .557 Slugging Percentage, and 268 Total Bases.
Playing for Boston in 1951 and 1952, he moved with them to Milwaukee in 1953 and was then traded to Pittburgh in 1954, where he hit .306.
He finished 16th in voting for the 1951 NL MVP for playing in 150 Games and having 550 At Bats, 96 Runs, 158 Hits, 28 Doubles, 1 Triple, 29 Home Runs, 109 RBI, 80 Walks, .287 Batting Average, .383 On-base percentage, .500 Slugging Percentage, and 275 Total Bases.
He finished 30th in voting for the 1952 NL MVP for playing in 144 Games and had 522 At Bats, 69 Runs, 151 Hits, 22 Doubles, 2 Triples, 25 Home Runs, 75 RBI, 77 Walks, .289 Batting Average, .384 On-base percentage, .483 Slugging Percentage, and 252 Total Bases.
In 1955 he was back with the Giants, where he ended his baseball career.
He played 13 years in the majors, batting .283, hitting 202 home runs, and batting in 805 runs; equally impressive is that he drew 731 walks against only 356 strikeouts.
[edit] Reactions to Gordon as a Jew; Anti-Semitism
- A well-liked person wherever he traveled, Sid was nevertheless involved in a purported case of anti-Semitism. One day in St. Louis the Cardinals bench was all over Gordon. Anti-Semitic remarks were hurled at Gordon. However, Cards manager Eddie Dyer said, "Sid is a friend of mine" and that Gordon had been attacked not because he was Jewish but because he was a good player and "the good ones receive the attention of bench jockeys." Gordon for his part took the high road, ignoring the alleged anti-Semitic remarks and forcing the bigots to admire him.
- "Gordon" seems surprising as a Jewish name. It is usually and properly assumed to be Scottish, Norman English, or Irish as a place name meaning "spacious fort." However, according to Patrick Hanks and Flavia Hodges, the name is also "Jewish, Eastern Ashkenazic: probably a habituation name from the Belarus city of Grodno (Lithuanian Gardinas), whence the Eastern Ashkenazic surnames Gardin(ski). It goes back at least to 1657. It was widespread among Jews in Poland by the end of the 17th century, when two naturalized Polish noblemen, Henry and George Gordon, obtained legislation to prevent its continued adoption by Jews.[1]
- Though Sid Gordon was not considered a major star, he was highly regarded. When the Dodgers were desperately looking for a Jewish player and found Sandy Koufax, Walter O'Malley told reporter Dave Anderson that he hoped Koufax would be as good as Hank Greenberg or Sid Gordon.
[edit] Honors
- Member of the National Jewish Sports Hall of Fame (2004)
[edit] Miscellaneous
Harold Ribalow in his book The Jew in American Sports referred to Sid Gordon as the "Solid Man."
In 3 different years he homered at least once in every park he played in.
Gordon married Mary Goldberg in 1940. They had two sons, Michael and Richard. Michael was a catcher in the minors from 1963 to 1965.
Sid was playing softball in Central Park in New York on June 17, 1975, when he had a heart attack. Taken to Lenox Hill Hospital, he died several hours later. He was only 57 years old. His wife Mary and two sons Michael and Richard survived him.
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