Alison Gordon

Alison Gordon (January 1, 1943 – February 12, 2015) was a Canadian journalist and mystery novelist.

For the English table tennis player, see Alison Gordon (table tennis).
Alison Gordon
Toronto Star staff photo
Born(1943-01-19)January 19, 1943
New York City, New York, US
DiedFebruary 12, 2015(2015-02-12) (aged 72)
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
NationalityCanadian
Alma materQueen's University
Occupation
  • Sportswriter
  • novelist
Parent(s)J. King Gordon

Gordon was born in New York City where her journalist/diplomat father, J. King Gordon, worked (and later served with the United Nations). His work resulted in her living not only in New York, but also Tokyo, Cairo, and Rome.

Gordon attended Queen's University in Kingston, Ontario, Canada, but left before completing a degree.

Sports reporter

As a Toronto Star reporter, first assigned to cover the Toronto Blue Jays in 1979, she was one of Canada's first prominent women sportswriters.[1] This made her the first woman doing sports coverage of the American League. At the time, women sportswriters were so rare that her membership card in the Baseball Writers' Association of America identified her as "Mr." Alison Gordon because the organization had made no provision for gender-neutral or female-specific cards.[2] Gordon was also one of the first females allowed into a Major League Baseball locker room, which was controversial at the time but has since paved the way for many other female sports reporters.

She previously worked for the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) in radio and television, including as a producer for As It Happens.

Novelist

She later began publishing a series of murder mystery novels focusing on Kate Henry, a female sports reporter and amateur detective investigating murders in the professional baseball world.[3]

Personal

Gordon was the granddaughter of Canadian writer Ralph Connor, the daughter of academic J. King Gordon and the sister of journalist Charles Gordon.[4] She wrote the afterword for the New Canadian Library edition of Connor's novel The Man from Glengarry.

Death

Gordon died in the Toronto East General Hospital on February 12, 2015, at the age of 72.[5]

Works

Mystery
  • The Dead Pull Hitter (1988)
  • Safe at Home (1990)
  • Night Game (1992)
  • Striking Out (1995)
  • Prairie Hardball (1997)

Non-fiction
  • Foul Ball! Five Years in the American League (1984)

References
  1. Play Ballsy: The new trials and triumphs of female sports journalists Archived 2015-02-12 at the Wayback Machine. Ryerson Review of Journalism, Summer 2009.
  2. "Back of the Pack, Baby!: For all the ground that women have gained, they still catch-up in the world of jock journalism" Archived 2015-02-12 at the Wayback Machine. Ryerson Review of Journalism, Spring 1997.
  3. "Prairie Hardball: A Kate Henry Mystery". Quill & Quire, May 1997.
  4. "Ralph Connor/The Rev. Dr. Charles W. Gordon: The Role of Archives in the Memorialization of a Canadian Literary and Theological Giant". University of Winnipeg.
  5. "Pioneering baseball reporter Alison Gordon dies". CBC News, February 12, 2015.
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