Former sports reporter for the Toronto Star, Alison Gordon, named the first woman to be awarded the Jack Graney Award from the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame in St. Marys. Photo courtesy of the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame.Former sports reporter for the Toronto Star, Alison Gordon, named the first woman to be awarded the Jack Graney Award from the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame in St. Marys. Photo courtesy of the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame.
Midwestern

Gordon First Woman To Get Jack Graney Award

The Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame in St. Marys is awarding the 2017 Jack Graney Award to a woman for the first time.

Alison Gordon was a native of New York who was best known for being the first woman to cover any Major League Baseball franchise when she began covering the Toronto Blue Jays for the Toronto Star in 1979.

Gordon earned a National Newspaper Award Citation for Sports Writing in her first year and would continue to cover the beat for another five years despite encountering harassment and hostility.

She wrote about her experiences covering the Jays in her 1984 book, Foul Balls. The book earned her another National Newspaper Award, this time a Citation of Merit.

Gordon passed away on February 12, 2015 and the Hall of Fame says she will be honoured posthumously.

The Hall says it will be releasing details about the presentation of the award in the coming months.

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