July 3, 1948: A Giant Gets a "Day" at Ebbets Field

July 3, 1948: Sid Gordon Day is held at Ebbets Field, home of the Brooklyn Dodgers. Sid Gordon did not play for the Dodgers. He played for their arch-rivals, the New York Giants.

An opposing player, getting a "Day," at the home of the Dodgers? One of the hated Giants, no less? It happened.

Ebbets Field was always said to be in Flatbush. In fact, its position, at Bedford Avenue and Sullivan Place, near the southeastern corner of Prospect Park, put it at the juncture of 3 neighborhoods: Flatbush, Crown Heights and Bedford-Stuyvesant. At the time, all 3 were heavily Jewish neighborhoods, and Crown Heights still has a large Jewish community.

Sidney Gordon (no middle name) was one of their own, born on August 13, 1917 in the Brownsville section of Brooklyn, to Jewish immigrants from Russia. He graduated from Samuel J. Tilden High School, and got a tryout with the Dodgers in 1936. Their manager, Casey Stengel, liked what he saw, but was fired soon after, and his recommendation of Gordon was not taken up.

So the Giants signed him, moving him from his natural position of left field to 3rd base. He debuted in 1941, and remained with the Giants through 1949, missing the 1944 and '45 seasons, serving in the U.S. Coast Guard for World War II.

In 1948, he was named to the All-Star Game for the 1st time. (A 2nd would follow in 1949.) He was easily the most popular Giant in Brooklyn. So the Dodgers, looking for high attendance, gave him Sid Gordon Day, along with several gifts, including a new car.

Of course, there was a game. Gordon lived up to the occasion, going 2-for-4. Both hits were home runs, and he had 4 RBIs. In spite of this, the Dodgers won, 7-5, making a winning pitcher out of Ralph Branca.

In 1950, Gordon was traded to the Boston Braves. They moved him back to left field, and he was with them when they moved to Milwaukee in 1953. To make room for Hank Aaron, who started in left field before being moved to right field, they traded Gordon to the Pittsburgh Pirates in 1954. In 1955, he was traded back to the Giants, ending his career with them. He batted .283 lifetime, with 202 home runs. At the time of his retirement, he was 2nd all-time, behind Hank Greenberg, in home runs by Jewish players. (Ryan Braun now ranks 1st, Greenberg 2nd, Shawn Green 3rd, and Gordon 4th.)

On June 17, 1975, Sid Gordon was playing softball in New York's Central Park, when he suffered a heart attack. He died at the age of 57. Because his best years were before widespread television coverage of baseball, he has been forgotten. It hasn't helped that the Giants moved to San Francisco after the 1957 season, following the Dodgers to Los Angeles.

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July 3, 1948 was a Saturday. These other baseball games were played:

* The New York Yankees beat the Washington Senators, 5-3 at Yankee Stadium. Allie Reynolds was the winning pitcher. Joe DiMaggio went 1-for-4 with an RBI.

* The Philadelphia Athletics beat the Boston Red Sox, 8-6 at Fenway Park in Boston. Ted Williams went 2-for-3 with a walk.

* The Boston Braves beat the Philadelphia Phillies, 11-6 at Shibe Park in Philadelphia.

* The Detroit Tigers beat the Chicago White Sox, 6-2 at Comiskey Park in Chicago.

* The Cleveland Indians beat the St. Louis Browns, 8-2 at Sportsman's Park in St. Louis. Bob Feller was the winning pitcher.

* And, despite it being a Saturday, the Chicago Cubs, the Cincinnati Reds, the Pittsburgh Pirates and the St. Louis Cardinals were not scheduled.