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The first AL second baseman to hit 20 homers in a season, Joe Gordon reached the mark seven times. By the time he retired the slugging second sacker was the American League’s most prolific home run hitter at his position.

Gordon broke in with the New York Yankees in 1938 and immediately established the single-season home run record for AL second basemen with 25. He later extended the mark to 32 and held the record the rest of his life.

In his first four seasons he averaged 27 dingers and 100 RBI, a stratosphere reached by few second basemen before him. The Yankees won three World Series titles during that time. Gordon received votes in MVP balloting each of the four years and was an All Star in three of them.

His career year came in 1942 when he recorded a career highs in hits, batting average, on-base percentage, and OPS. Gordon also posted a career- high with a 7.7 WAR and a 155 OPS+. His efforts gained him the AL MVP Award.

It was more of the same in ’43 as Gordon had his fifth-straight All Star campaign and earned his fourth World Series ring.

The second basemen missed all of ’44 and ’45 while serving in the war effort. Upon his return to the Yankees he again reached the Mid Summer Classic in ’46. In the offseason New York shipped him to Cleveland.

After an All Star campaign in ’47, Gordon exploded in ’48 with a career-best 32 homers and 124 RBI. His performance pushed the Indians over the top as they celebrated the franchise’s second World Series title.

Gordon’s ninth and final All Star season came in 1949 when he slugged 20 homers for the seventh time in his career. He retired after hitting .236 for Cleveland in 1950.

Gordon passed away in 1978 and was posthumously inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2009.

Shown here is a World’s Fair Laurel Card signed by Gordon in 1939.

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The 1939 World’s Fair in New York was attended by over 44 million people with countries from around the world participating. Among the exhibits was Academy of Sport and specifically the School of Baseball.

Acrobatic Yankee second baseman Joe Gordon was among the big leaguers who taught baseball at the Fair. A young man named Lee Sluiter attended Gordon’s lecture and received this Laurel Card upon completion.

Gordon autographed the front of the card. Shown here is the back. Notice that famed sports agent Christy Walsh is listed as the “Director of Sports”.

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After capturing the World Series title six times in eight season from 1936-1943, the New York Yankees fell on relatively hard times. By the end of the ’46 season, the championship drought reached three seasons, an unacceptable run by Yankee standards or the era. The roster needed a change.

General Manager Larry MacPhail knew a front line starting pitcher was the most glaring need. Meanwhile, the pitching-rich Indians were in search of offense. New Cleveland owner Bill Veeck offered to trade pitcher Allie Reynolds straight up for Yankee second sacker Joe Gordon.

MacPhail bit and the deal was consummated during the ’46 World Series. The exchange improved the fortunes of both clubs.

The addition of Reynolds immediately helped. The Yankees won the Fall Classic in his first season, a 19-win campaign for the right-hander. The following season in ’48 it was Cleveland’s turn. Gordon helped push the team over the top, finishing 6th in MVP voting as the Indians won the second title in franchise history.

Reynolds and the Yankees then reeled off five consecutive World Series wins. It remains the longest championship run in the history of baseball.

It’s a rare baseball trade that brings a World Series title to both teams. The Reynolds-for-Gordon deal did just that.

In the collection are these two index cards signed by Reynolds. In the index card above Reynolds outlines his World Series accomplishments and signs his name above that. In the second index card Reynolds pens his name above his nickname “Super Chief”.