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

mystery novel Mystery is a fiction genre where the nature of an event, usually a murder or other crime, remains mysterious until the end of the story. Often within a closed circle of suspects, each suspect is usually provided with a credible motive and a reas ...

ist. She wrote for CBC and the ''Toronto Star'' in addition to a series of mystery novels.

Early life and education

Gordon was born January 1, 1943, in New York City to John King Gordon (

J. King Gordon John King Gordon (1900–1989) was a Canadian Christian minister, editor, United Nations official, and academic. Biography Gordon was born on 6 December 1900 in Winnipeg, Manitoba, the son of the novelist and future Presbyterian Church moderat ...

) and his wife Ruth. She was the granddaughter of Canadian writer

Ralph Connor Ralph (pronounced ; or ,) is a male given name of English, Scottish and Irish origin, derived from the Old English ''Rædwulf'' and Radulf, cognate with the Old Norse ''Raðulfr'' (''rað'' "counsel" and ''ulfr'' "wolf"). The most common forms ...

and the sister of journalist Charles Gordon. She wrote the afterword for the

New Canadian Library The New Canadian Library is a publishing imprint of the Canadian company McClelland and Stewart. The series aims to present classic works of Canadian literature in paperback. Each work published in the series includes a short essay by another nota ...

edition of Connor's novel ''The Man from Glengarry''. Because her father was a diplomat who worked with the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and international security, security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be ...

, Gordon lived in numerous cities during her childhood, including Tokyo, Cairo, and Rome. Gordon attended

Queen's University Queen's or Queens University may refer to: *Queen's University at Kingston, Ontario, Canada *Queen's University Belfast, Northern Ireland, UK **Queen's University of Belfast (UK Parliament constituency) (1918–1950) **Queen's University of Belfast ...

Kingston, Ontario Kingston is a city in Ontario, Canada. It is located on the north-eastern end of Lake Ontario, at the beginning of the St. Lawrence River and at the mouth of the Cataraqui River (south end of the Rideau Canal). The city is midway between Toro ...

, Canada, but left before completing a degree.

Sports reporter

As a ''

Toronto Star The ''Toronto Star'' is a Canadian English-language broadsheet daily newspaper. The newspaper is the country's largest daily newspaper by circulation. It is owned by Toronto Star Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary of Torstar Corporation and part ...

'' reporter, first assigned to cover the

Toronto Blue Jays The Toronto Blue Jays are a Canadian professional baseball team based in Toronto. The Blue Jays compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Since 1989, the team has played its home games ...

in 1979, she was one of Canada's first prominent women

sportswriter Sports journalism is a form of writing that reports on matters pertaining to sporting topics and competitions. Sports journalism started in the early 1800s when it was targeted to the social elite and transitioned into an integral part of the n ...

s. This made her the first woman doing sports coverage of the

American League The American League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the American League (AL), is one of two leagues that make up Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada. It developed from the Western League, a minor league ...

. At the time, women sportswriters were so rare that her membership card in the

Baseball Writers' Association of America The Baseball Writers' Association of America (BBWAA) is a professional association for journalists writing about Major League Baseball for daily newspapers, magazines and qualifying websites. The organization was founded in 1908, and is known fo ...

identified her as "Mr." Alison Gordon because the organization had made no provision for gender-neutral or female-specific cards. Gordon was also one of the first women allowed into a

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

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 The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (french: Société Radio-Canada), branded as CBC/Radio-Canada, is a Canadian public broadcaster for both radio and television. It is a federal Crown corporation that receives funding from the government. ...

(CBC) in radio and television, including as a producer for ''

As It Happens ''As It Happens'' is a Canadian interview show that airs on CBC Radio One in Canada and various public radio stations in the United States through Public Radio Exchange. Its 50th anniversary was celebrated on-air on November 16, 2018. It has been ...

''.

Novelist

She later began publishing a series of

murder mystery Crime fiction, detective story, murder mystery, mystery novel, and police novel are terms used to describe narratives that centre on criminal acts and especially on the investigation, either by an amateur or a professional detective, of a crime, ...

novels focusing on Kate Henry, a female sports reporter and amateur detective investigating murders in the professional baseball world.

Death

Gordon died in the

Toronto East General Hospital Michael Garron Hospital (MGH), formerly Toronto East General Hospital (TEGH), is a community teaching hospital located at 825 Coxwell Avenue in East York, Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Overview In the 2019-2020 fiscal year, the Michael Garron Hospi ...

on February 12, 2015, at the age of 72."Pioneering baseball reporter Alison Gordon dies"

CBC News CBC News is a division of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation responsible for the news gathering and production of news programs on the corporation's English-language operations, namely CBC Television, CBC Radio, CBC News Network, and CBC.ca. ...

, February 12, 2015.

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

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gordon, Alison Canadian mystery writers Canadian women novelists Toronto Star people Women mystery writers Canadian women sportswriters Baseball writers 20th-century Canadian novelists 20th-century Canadian women writers 1943 births 2015 deaths