Sid Gordon An American Baseball Story (eBook)

CHAPTER 1

LEADING OFF

Sid Gordon will be forever linked with one of the most famous lines in sports. “Nice guys finish last.” Leo Durocher has been given credit for this iconic quote. While this is somewhat of a shorter version of what he actually said, he quickly adopted the saying as his own. When he made these remarks, he was referring to Sid Gordon and a few of his 1946 Giants teammates. If you read the opening pages of Durocher’s 1975 autobiography, Nice Guys Finish Last, you have a good understanding of what Durocher meant and how he defined success at all costs. A profile of Gordon, his style of play and his off-the-field leadership, presents a clear contrast with Durocher. Like many men of his era, Gordon came from humble roots. Through hard work, and his ability to fight through adversity he made it to the highest levels of professional baseball. Gordon was a nice guy, and generally recognized as a top-quality ballplayer. He was a leader both on and off the field. Al Abrams, the sports editor of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, wrote of Gordon, “Despite his quiet mannerisms, Gordon is a commanding figure, respected by his teammates and rival players.”1

Durocher, on the other hand, hung out with questionable characters, fought with umpires, fans, opposing players, and even his own teammates. Durocher in clear contrast to Gordon famously claimed, “If a man is sliding into second and the ball goes out into center field, what’s the matter with falling on him accidentally so that he can’t get up and go to third?” Durocher also wrote, “Show me a sportsman and I will show you a guy I’m looking to trade.”2 He claimed he believed in rules but also in seeing how far he could push them. In his very first major league game in 1928, Durocher was playing shortstop for the Yankees and tried to trip Ty Cobb. Cobb was not a player anyone ever described as a nice guy. The incident would have resulted in a fistfight if Babe Ruth did not step in to restrain Cobb.

This was not how Sid Gordon lived his life or played the game. Gordon was one of the few Jewish ballplayers in the majors during his career and always conducted himself like a gentleman. While he loved to win and always hustled, he did not look for the advantage by seeing how much he could get away with. Gordon, who had to struggle to make the major leagues, and then withstand anti-Semitism throughout his career, played the game hard but fair. He believed the best way to overcome discrimination and other obstacles was with determination and his play on the field. In a March 1949 Sports Life Magazine article profiling Sid Gordon, Leo Durocher, now with the perspective of being Gordon’s manager, provides an excellent illustration of Gordon’s style of play. Durocher describes a game in 1948 against the Reds in the Polo Grounds where Sid ran full speed for a fly ball headed into the seats behind third base. Gordon without breaking stride dove into the stands making the catch as he tumbled over the railing into the crowd. Battered and bruised, he came up with the ball. In recounting the play, Leo said, “Some guys in this league outhit Gordon but nobody outhustles him.”3

Gordon was as Durocher described a “Nice Guy” and a sportsman. Gordon’s and Durocher’s careers cross and present interesting comparisons at a critical time in both baseball and American society. Gordon was a gifted ballplayer and a role model to many. He fought through adversity to make it to the major leagues. He was an example of what an athlete could represent and what America could become. Gordon and Durocher liked and respected each other yet had entirely different approaches to the game. No one ever described Leo Durocher as a nice guy. Durocher in his long career was famously ejected from 100 major league baseball games. Sid Gordon was never thrown out of a major league game.

During the 1949 season, the New York Times wrote a comprehensive article on Gordon who was a two-time all-star and one of the more popular players in New York. The Times acknowledging Gordon’s challenging climb to fame wrote, “It’s hard to think of Sid as a full- fledge star because he’s been lurking in the shadows for so long, filling in for this guy and then filling in for that one, but never holding a position he could call his own.” In a tribute to the effort it took for Gordon to make it from such a challenging start to the highest level of the game, the Times captured the essence of Gordon and his path to success. “He has made it through his own iron-willed perseverance and tireless eagerness to learn his trade.”4

Even before he was a starter with the Giants, he was a neighborhood hero as well as a local rising star. While popular in his Brooklyn neighborhood, Gordon was far from the flashy superstar athlete. He was a quiet, hardworking, and effective leader both on and off the field. A solid teammate who led by example. The Sporting News wrote of Gordon in December of 1948, that he was known for his “courage under fire, his modest demeanor, his friendliness and his ability to come through in a pinch.”5 A family man who was able to blend family and baseball in a manner that brought people together. Gordon was a popular and well-liked ballplayer in his day. Yes, Gordon was known as a nice guy. In the early 1950s, when the Dodgers were looking for just the right Jewish ballplayer, Brooklyn’s owner Walter O’Malley said they were looking “for a player like Sid Gordon.”6

Gordon was a Brooklyn kid. He grew up in the shadows of Ebbets Field yet was a Yankee fan who began his major league career with the Giants in 1941. During his career and this critical time in American life, Gordon played an important role in the social changes facing both baseball and our country. He was not brash or outspoken. He lived a relatively normal life and was loved by the New York fans because he was one of them. In his early years, he often took the subway home from the Polo Grounds, sharing the ride with fans returning home to Brooklyn.7 He represented the ordinary working-class guy, who played hard, led by example, and, as a result, made a difference in the social advances of baseball. As a result of his own life experiences, he was a strong supporter of Black players when they entered the game. When Jackie Robinson came into the league in 1947, Gordon was one of the first to welcome him, and they soon developed a close personal friendship.

The Gordon-Robinson friendship is a fascinating story. They were friends both on and off the field and often shared the podium as guest speakers promoting various social causes. They, along with their wives, vacationed together and were simply friends at a time in America where it was not very common for Blacks and Whites to socialize. He simply led by example, and as a result, he was much admired by his fans and respected by his peers.

In contrast to Gordon, Durocher’s high-profile off-the-field behavior at times impacted and interfered with his career. He was the Dodgers manager in 1947 and played a well-documented role in helping Jackie Robinson break into the majors, changing not only baseball but America forever. He did not get the chance to manage Robinson in his rookie season. He was famously suspended by the commissioner of baseball for his “off the field moral behavior.” After serving a yearlong suspension, he was back with the Dodgers for the 1948 season. His ’48 stint did not last long. His behavior continued to aggravate Branch Rickey, and his public feud with Robinson was disruptive to the team. By midseason Rickey had just about all he could take from Durocher and maneuvered a deal with Giants’ owner Horace Stoneham that ended up with Leo Durocher as the Giants manager by early July. This move brought Durocher and Gordon together and had a dramatic effect on the ultimate career of Gordon.

When Durocher made the move to the Polo Grounds from Ebbets field, he helped push the Giants owner Horace Stoneham to integrate the team in 1949. Gordon was not just the only player, but likely the only man in baseball to be part of integrating three separate ball clubs. His participation in some of the more interesting and socially relevant integrated barnstorming tours introduced many Americans to Black and White ballplayers sharing the same athletic field. Gordon’s support of Robinson and other Black teammates, such as Hank Thompson, Monte Irvin, Sam Jethroe, Curtis Roberts, Roberto Clemente, and Willie Mays was quieter, more personal, and, in the long run, more meaningful.

As the Giants manager Durocher wanted a different style of play and worked to create a team in his own image. The Giants were built around their power hitters, Willard Marshall, Johnny Mize, Bobby Thompson, Whitey Lockman, Walker Cooper, and Sid Gordon. These Giants power hitters were affectionately known as the “window breakers” and brought fans out to the game who were entertained by the thrill of the long ball. In 1947 this Giants group led the majors and set a club and Major League record in team home runs with 221. Durocher was not satisfied and wanted a better fielding team that could run and, more importantly, manufacture runs. He wanted stronger...