Blue Jays: Gordon the first female to win Jack Graney award

Alison Gordon is the 1st female winner of the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame’s, Jack Graney Award. She was the 1st full-time female beat reporter in MLB history.

In light of yesterday’s breaking news around the dismissal of Gregg Zaun from Rogers Sportsnet, there was another important story that unfortunately flew under the radar.

On Thursday, it was announced that Alison Gordon would receive the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame’s, Jack Graney Award. The honour is presented to a member of the Canadian media for their contributions to the game of baseball in Canada.

According to Wikipedia, the Graney award is not given out annually, but rather when the committee feels that they have a deserving candidate to recognize. Gordon more than fits the bill for the trailblazing she did in the industry, as well as the great quality of her work.

More from Jays Journal

• Matt Chapman has been exactly what the Blue Jays needed
• Blue Jays: The goalposts are moving in the right direction
• Single-A Dunedin Blue Jays advance to the Championship Series
• Blue Jays: Comparisons for Alek Manoah’s Second Season
• Blue Jays: Adam Cimber, the unlikely decision King

In fact, Graney was the first ever full-time female beat reporter in Major League Baseball, beginning her coverage of the Blue Jays during the 1979 season. Her job was no different than any other reporter, and she had to work hard to gain access to the locker room for interviews, and to gain the respect of the players, managers, and everyone else working around the ball club. That would not have been an easy task in the late 1970’s. Despite the challenges, her work was recognized in 1979 with a National Newspaper Award citation for sportswriting.

She would work for the Blue Jays organization for five years before moving on from work as a beat reporter, and published an award winning piece called “Foul Balls” in 1984, which documented her journey as the first female reporter in baseball. She also went on to pen five more novels that were baseball themed, which included a character that was largely based on her own experiences. She also worked on occasion as a feature writer for the Toronto Star, and worked with several writing organizations, including serving as the president of the Crime Writers of Canada.

Director of Operations, Scott Crawford, had this to say about Gordon, her career, and her contributions to the game:

"“Alison Gordon was a courageous pioneer who broke down barriers for female sports reporters across North America. On top of her bravery, she was also one of the most talented writers ever to work the Toronto Blue Jays beat. We’re proud to honour her memory with this award.”"

Unfortunately Gordon passed away at the age of 70 in February of 2015, and while it’s a shame she wasn’t recognized while she was still with us, it’s never too late to honour someone who left their mark on the game, and her profession, the way that she did.

Next: Tom Koehler is an asset, but at what price?