Alison Ruth Gordon (1943 - 2015)

Born 19 Jan 1943 in New York, United States

Ancestors

Died 12 Feb 2015 at age 72 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada

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Biography

Alison Gordon is Notable.

Alison Gordon was a pioneering sports journalist at the Toronto Star, and a successful novelist of murder mysteries.

Alison was born on January 19, 1943^[1], the daughter of John King Gordon and Ruth Anderson. Alison was born with strong ties to Canada. Her father, KIng Gordon, was a Canadian diplomat, and her paternal grandfather, Charles William Gordon, was a Canadian novelist who wrote under the pen name of Ralph Connor. ^[2]

Alison grew up in Manhattan, and attended Queen's University in Canada. Her father's job with the United Nations took him to many places, and consequently, Alison spent time in Tokyo, Cairo, and Rome when she was young.^[3]

Allison Gordon was a baseball fan from an early age, and was no stranger to the game. She parlayed her interest and journalistic talent into a sportwriter position at the Toronto Star covering the Blue Jays. By doing so she paved the way for other female sports reporters. When Alison was given her press credentials from the Baseball Writers Association of America, she was titled as Mr. Alison Gordon -- there was no option for a female honorific.^[4]Alison was one of the first female reporters to be allowed access to the men's locker room.^[4] She held her position at the Star from 1979 to 1985, when she left to begin writing books.^[2]

In her non-fiction book, Foul Balls, Allison Gordon wrote about her experiencing in covering the major leagues -- from the egos of the players to the nudity in the locker room.^[5] As an author of murder mysteries, Alison drew on her experiences in the baseball world to create a fictional female sports writer cum detective who solves murders that take place in the baseball world.^[6]

Alison was living in Birkencraig, Canada when she passed away in 2015 in Toronto.^[7] Her obituary in the Toronto Star was titled "Pioneering Star Sports writer dies". The article went on to call Gordon a "gutsy trailblazer in a field long dominated by men".^[3]

Research Notes

Her maternal grandfather was Isaac Anderson. She had an older brother Charles.

She married in the early 1980s; they later divorced. No children of the couple were identified.

Sources

1. ↑ Birth: "New York, New York, U.S., Birth Index, 1910-1965"
   Original data: New York City Department of Health, courtesy of www.vitalsearch-worldwide.com. Digital Images; Certificate Number: 2605
   Ancestry Sharing Link - Ancestry Record 61457 #4366822 (accessed 30 January 2024)
   Alison Gordon born on 19 Jan 1943 in Manhattan, New York City, New York, USA.
2. ↑ ^{2.0 2.1} The Winnipeg Sun 06 Jun 1988, Mon ·Page 9, Winnipeg, Manitoba
3. ↑ ^{3.0 3.1} The Toronto Star 13 Feb 2015, Fri ·Page 49
4. ↑ ^{4.0 4.1} Alison Gordon Obituary viewed at https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/pioneering-baseball-reporter-alison-gordon-dies-1.2955088
5. ↑ The Vancouver Sun 23 Nov 1984, Fri ·Page 43
6. ↑ Home-Run Whodunit. The Ottawa Citizen 22 Sep 1990, Sat ·Page 112, Ottawa, Ontario
7. ↑ Death: "U.S., Cemetery and Funeral Home Collection, 1847-Current"
   Publication Date: 24/ Feb/ 2015; Publication Place: Mohawk Valley, USA; URL: http://www.humphreymilesnewbigging.com/book-of-memories/2063802/Gordon-Alison/service-details.php
   Ancestry Record 2190 #391393261 (accessed 30 January 2024)
   Alison Ruth Gordon death 2015 (age 72), daughter of J. King Gordon & Ruth Gordon, in Toronto.

• "Obituary, Alison Ruth Gordon", The Toronto Star, Toronto, Ontario, Canada, (2015) 14 February 2015, Page 58, Newspapers Clip: 139851039