Raymond Clarence "Slug" Jordon (17 February 1937 – 13 August 2012) was an Australian

first-class cricket First-class cricket, along with List A cricket and Twenty20 cricket, is one of the highest-standard forms of cricket. A first-class match is one of three or more days' scheduled duration between two sides of eleven players each and is officiall ...

er who represented

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada * Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory * Victoria, Seychelle ...

in the

Sheffield Shield The Sheffield Shield (currently known for sponsorship reasons as the Marsh Sheffield Shield) is the domestic first-class cricket competition of Australia. The tournament is contested between teams from the six states of Australia. Sheffield Shi ...

and toured with the

Australian national cricket team The Australia men's national cricket team represents Australia in men's international cricket. As the joint oldest team in Test cricket history, playing in the first ever Test match in 1877, the team also plays One-Day International (ODI) an ...

. He was also a successful

Australian rules football Australian football, also called Australian rules football or Aussie rules, or more simply football or footy, is a contact sport played between two teams of 18 players on an oval field, often a modified cricket ground. Points are scored by k ...

coach and acted as both reserves and under-19s coach at various clubs in the

Victorian Football League The Victorian Football League (VFL) is an Australian rules football league in Australia serving as one of the second-tier regional semi-professional competitions which sit underneath the fully professional Australian Football League (AFL). It ...

(VFL). Universally known as "Slug", his nickname arose as a result of an incident during his

National Service National service is the system of voluntary government service, usually military service. Conscription is mandatory national service. The term ''national service'' comes from the United Kingdom's National Service (Armed Forces) Act 1939. The l ...

Puckapunyal Puckapunyal (more formally the Puckapunyal Military Area, but also known as the Puckapunyal Camp or Puckapunyal Army Base, and colloquially as "Pucka") is an Australian Army training facility and base 10 km west of Seymour, in central Vi ...

.Never a punch pulled
/ref>

Family

His father, Clarence Charles Lewis "Clarrie" Jordon (1909-1965) played VFL football with Richmond, and VFA football with Prahran.

Career

Jordon took a total of 230 dismissals in the Sheffield Shield and 283 for all first-class matches. His tally at both Shield and first-class level remained a Victorian record until surpassed by his replacement

Richie Robinson Richard Daryl Robinson (born 8 June 1946) is a former Australian international cricketer who played in three Test matches and two One Day Internationals, all in 1977. During a first-class career that spanned from 1971 to 1982, Robinson wa ...

, who himself was later bettered by

Darren Berry Darren Shane Berry (born 10 December 1969) is an Australian cricket coach and former cricketer who was known for his sharp skills as a wicketkeeper, first with South Australia and then Victoria in the Sheffield Shield and ING Cup domestic compe ...

. In 1970/71 he managed a career best ten dismissals in a match against South Australia at the

Melbourne Cricket Ground The Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG), also known locally as "The 'G", is an Australian sports stadium located in Yarra Park, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, Victoria. Founded and managed by the Melbourne Cricket Club, it is the largest stadiu ...

. His only first-class hundred was an innings of 134, also against

South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a state in the southern central part of Australia. It covers some of the most arid parts of the country. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories ...

, in the 1963/64 Sheffield Shield. The South Australian bowling attack was led by

Gary Sobers Sir Garfield St Aubrun Sobers, (born 28 July 1936), also known as Sir Gary or Sir Garry Sobers, is a former cricketer who played for the West Indies between 1954 and 1974. A highly skilled bowler, an aggressive batsman and an excellent fielder, ...

and while he ran through Victoria's batting lineup with six second innings wickets, Jordon resisted with a century before falling LBW to

Neil Hawke Neil James Napier Hawke (27 June 1939 – 25 December 2000) was an Australian Test cricketer and leading Australian rules footballer. Early years Born in Cheltenham, South Australia, Hawke quickly developed as a natural all-round sportsman ...

. The wicket-keeper captained Victoria in five Sheffield Shield matches during his career, three of them in the 1968/69 season. Jordon came close to playing

Test cricket Test cricket is a form of first-class cricket played at international level between teams representing full member countries of the International Cricket Council (ICC). A match consists of four innings (two per team) and is scheduled to last fo ...

, touring both

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

and

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...

in 1969/70 as a standby for

Brian Taber Hedley Brian Taber (born 29 April 1940) is an Australian former cricketer who played in 16 Test matches as a wicket-keeper from 1966 to 1970. He represented New South Wales in domestic cricket. Taber played 129 first-class matches with a car ...

. Although he appeared in four of Australia's first-class warm up matches in India and six in South Africa, Jordon was not required for any of the Tests. According to

Ashley Mallett Ashley Alexander Mallett (13 July 1945 – 29 October 2021) was an Australian cricketer who played in 38 Tests and 9 One Day Internationals between 1968 and 1980. Until Nathan Lyon, he was Australia's most successful off spin bowler since World ...

's biography of

Ian Chappell Ian Michael Chappell (born 26 September 1943) is a former cricketer who played for South Australia and Australia. He captained Australia between 1971 and 1975 before taking a central role in the breakaway World Series Cricket organisation. Born ...

, ''Chappelli Speaks Out'',

Bill Lawry William Morris Lawry (born 11 February 1937) is an Australian former cricketer who played for Victoria and Australia. He captained Australia in 25 Test matches, winning nine, losing eight and drawing eight, and led Australia in the inaugural ...

was considering selecting Jordon to play in the fourth test instead of Taber because of the former's superior batting. Chappell said he would not play in the side if Jordon was picked because the wicketkeeper was a cheat. This was based on an incident during a game on the recent Indian tour when Australia was playing South Zone.

E. A. S. Prasanna Erapalli Anantharao Srinivas Prasanna (born 22 May 1940) is a former Indian cricket player. He was a spin bowler, specializing in off spin and a member of the Indian spin quartet. He is an alumnus of National Institute of Engineering, Mysore. ...

was facing Alan Connolly with Jordon standing up to the stumps – he appeared to miss the ball and his off stump was knocked forward. Jordon appealed and Prasanna eventually walked but Chappell believed the ball had missed Prasanna's stumps and rebounded off Jordon's pads to break the wicket – and that Jordon knew this. Jordon played his district cricket for

Richmond Richmond most often refers to: * Richmond, Virginia, the capital of Virginia, United States * Richmond, London, a part of London * Richmond, North Yorkshire, a town in England * Richmond, British Columbia, a city in Canada * Richmond, California, ...

(one season),

Carlton Carlton may refer to: People * Carlton (name), a list of those with the given name or surname * Carlton (singer), English soul singer Carlton McCarthy * Carlton, a pen name used by Joseph Caldwell (1773–1835), American educator, Presbyterian ...

(ten seasons) and

Fitzroy Fitzroy or FitzRoy may refer to: People As a given name *Several members of the Somerset family (Dukes of Beaufort) have this as a middle-name: **FitzRoy Somerset, 1st Baron Raglan (1788–1855) ** Henry Charles FitzRoy Somerset, 8th Duke of Beau ...

(five seasons). He also was captain/coach of the Dandenong Cricket Club in the VSDCA in the early 1970s.

Football

During his early sporting years, Jordon was also an Australian rules football player, and he appeared in 96 matches for the

Coburg Football Club The Coburg Football Club, nicknamed the Coburg Lions, is an Australian rules football club based in Coburg, a northern suburb of Melbourne, and currently playing in the Victorian Football League (VFL). It is based at Coburg City Oval since 191 ...

in the

Victorian Football Association The Victorian Football League (VFL) is an Australian rules football league in Australia serving as one of the second-tier regional semi-professional competitions which sit underneath the fully professional Australian Football League (AFL). It ...

, also serving as captain at the club for a time. He was a highly regarded player, and several

clubs were interested in recruiting him, but he retired from playing in 1962 to concentrate on cricket. He was later a higher successful minor grade coach. Jordon led clubs at under-19 and reserve level, spending time at , , , , as well as

TAC Cup The NAB League Boys (also referred to as simply the NAB League and formerly known as the TAC Cup) is an under-19 Australian rules football representative competition held in Australia. It is based on geographic regions throughout country Victo ...

club Central/Prahran Dragons. Known for his colourful language and direct approach, Jordon had particular success with Melbourne's and Richmond's under-19s. He was credited with thirteen premierships from sixteen grand final appearances during his minor grade coaching career. While he was in charge of the reserves at

North Melbourne North Melbourne is an inner-city suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, north-west of Melbourne's Central Business District, located within the City of Melbourne local government area. North Melbourne recorded a population of 14,953 at the ...

he was called up to coach the seniors for a

game in 1976 because

Ron Barassi Ronald Dale Barassi Jr. (born 27 February 1936) is a former Australian rules footballer, coach and media personality. Regarded as one of the most important figures in the history of the game, Barassi was the first player to be inaugurated into ...

was unavailable.Barassi, Jordan Team Up Again, ''The Canberra Times'', (Tuesday, 28 October 1980), p.16.
/ref> A parody of Jordon, named Jay "Grub" Gordon, appears in the Specky Magee series of novels written by former Melbourne player

Garry Lyon Garry Peter Lyon (born 13 September 1967) is a former professional Australian rules football player and was captain of the Melbourne Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL). Since his retirement from football, he has been mai ...

and author

Felice Arena Felice Arena is an Australian children's author, actor and playwright. He is best known for the bestselling and award-winning football-themed '' Specky Magee'' series; the action-packed bionic hero series ''Andy Roid''; the sports-themed ''Sp ...

References

External links

Cricinfo: Ray JordonAll The Stats: Ray JordanDemon Wiki profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Jordon, Ray 1937 births 2012 deaths Australian cricketers Victoria cricketers North Melbourne Football Club coaches Coburg Football Club players Australian rules footballers from Melbourne Cricketers from Melbourne Wicket-keepers Australian rules football coaches

Family

Career

Football

See also

References

External links