EXTRA INNINGS A Life Lesson from Joe Gordon I was 10 years old when my family moved from a remote cattle ranch in southwestern Idaho to a farming community near Boise. Going from a one-room schoolhouse with 6 or 8 kids in 8 grades to a “big” school (a whopping 25 kids in my 6th-grade class!) was a culture shock. My grandfather was the janitor of my new school and was there to help me with this transition. He also loved to help kids learn to play baseball, and he had his hands full with me because I didn’t know first base from home plate. He found an unclaimed ball glove in lost-and-found and gave it to me—a Joe Gordon model from the late 30s or early 40s (see painting)—and taught me how to play the game. By the time I was playing high school ball, I had gone on to a newer glove, but I still have my Joe Gordon model. So, who was Joe Gordon? A star athlete at Jefferson High in Portland and the University of Oregon, he excelled at baseball and football at both schools. More than just a jock, at age 14 he also played violin in the Portland Symphony Orchestra. In 1938 he joined the New York Yankees, fitting in with teammates Joe DiMaggio and Lou Gehrig. His baseball accomplishments can best be summarized by a quote on his Hall of Fame plaque: “An acrobatic second baseman with tremendous power who helped lead his team to six pennants in 11 seasons, winning five World Series titles. Renowned for superb defensive range, the nine-time All- Star and 1942 A.L. MVP led the league in assists four times and double plays three times. Set career A.L. home run record for second basemen. Drove in over 100 runs four times and hit 20 or more home runs seven times.” In 1947 Joe Gordon was traded to the Cleveland Indians. In April of that year Jackie Robinson had broken the color barrier in the National League; three months later Gordon’s new team, the Indians, signed black outfielder Larry Doby to break that same barrier in the American League. When Indians manager Lou Boudreau introduced Doby to his new teammates, some of them refused to acknowledge him or shake his hand. Doby recalled, "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. Then Joe Gordon yelled, 'Hey kid, come on. Throw with me.' That was it. Joe Gordon was a class guy. When he reached out to me, it really helped." On another occasion, Gordon helped Doby secure a room in a whites-only hotel. Throughout his career, Gordon took pride in taking many young players like Larry Doby under his wing, on and off the field. He never forgot the support, encouragement, and instruction he received when he was a young ballplayer and wanted to pass that on to younger teammates. Looking back over our lives, there are those who have befriended us when we felt alone, or taught us the ropes and mentored us, whether in business or a trade or our faith or simple life skills. It’s now our turn, and our responsibility, to do the same.

Pete Aman 7/05/19