Sound Off.

Byline: The Register-Guard

Gordon deserves his due

The death of Larry Doby in mid-June reminded us once again of the heroism it took for him to deal with bigotry when he became the first black to play baseball in the American League.

It also reminded me of a statement he made early in his career about the greatest baseball player ever to come from the University of Oregon, Cleveland second baseman Joe Gordon.

"Joe," said Doby, "was the teammate who helped me most to stick it out during those rough early days."

Doby was an overdue addition to the Baseball Hall of Fame when he was voted in by the Veterans Committee in 1998.

That brought another reminder of Gordon, who was named MVP at a time when Joe DiMaggio and Ted Williams were in the league. It was an oversight for Joe not to have been voted into the Hall when first eligible.

Now that even the veterans are getting younger, the tragedy is Gordon never will get the honor he richly deserved.

GEORGE BERES

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