Sports' Forgotten Heroes

129: Sid Gordon - MLB


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Sid Gordon broke into the Majors in 1941 with the New York "baseball" Giants, bounced back-and-forth between the minors, served for two years during World War II and then made it back to the big league club in 1946; and proceeded to put together a terrific career. In fact, from 1948 through 1952 he established himself as one of the game's best by averaging 27 home runs a year, over 97 RBI a year, and during that 5-year span he hit .292 with his high, for that stretch, coming in 1950 when he hit .304. Gordon was a Jeff McNeil type of ballplayer. He could play the infield (3B) or outfield and even asked to play catcher. Over the course of his career, he played 809 games in left, 454 at third, 108 in right, 42 at first, 6 in center and 3 at second base. He clubbed 202 home runs, knocked in 805 and had a career batting average of .283. Gordon, a favorite of Leo Durocher, was reluctantly traded by the Giants to the Braves prior to the 1950 season. The native of Brooklyn, New York, was the one player the Boston Braves wanted in exchange for Alvin Dark and Eddie Stanky - catalysts for the Giants 1951 run to the NL Pennant. And that's one of the knocks against Gordon's popularity. He never played for a championship. He languished on teams that were rarely in a pennant race. Nonetheless, Gordon still had a terrific career and on this episode of SFH, Steve Cahn, Gordon's young cousin, who also authored the book, "Sid Gordon, An American Baseball Story", joins to talk about Gordon's career.

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Sports' Forgotten HeroesBy Warren Rogan

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