Gordon Enloe Houston (March 20, 1916 – February 10, 1942) was an American professional

outfielder An outfielder is a person playing in one of the three defensive positions in baseball or softball, farthest from the batter. These defenders are the left fielder, the center fielder, and the right fielder. As an outfielder, their duty is to catch ...

and

shortstop Shortstop, abbreviated SS, is the baseball positions, baseball or softball fielding position between second base, second and third base, which is considered to be among the Defensive spectrum, most demanding defensive positions. Historically, the ...

who played from 1937 through 1940 in

Minor League Baseball Minor League Baseball (MiLB) is a professional baseball organization below Major League Baseball (MLB), constituted of teams affiliated with MLB clubs. It was founded on September 5, 1901, in response to the growing dominance of the National Le ...

. Listed at 5' 8" , 156 lb. , he batted and threw right-handed. Houston is remembered as the first player in Organized Baseball to die during active duty in World War II.

Early life

Born in

Clarksville, Arkansas Clarksville is a city in Johnson County, Arkansas, United States. As of the 2010 census the population was 9,178, up from 7,719 in 2000. As of 2018, the estimated population was 9,743. The city is the county seat of Johnson County. It is nestled ...

, Houston moved along with his family to

Shreveport, Louisiana Shreveport ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Louisiana. It is the List of municipalities in Louisiana, third-most populous city in Louisiana after New Orleans and Baton Rouge, Louisiana, Baton Rouge. The bulk of Shreveport is in Caddo Parish, Lo ...

in the early 1920s, and were in

Dallas, Texas Dallas () is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of Texas metropolitan areas, most populous metropolitan area in Texas and the Metropolitan statistical area, fourth-most ...

in the early 1930s. They eventually settled in

San Antonio, Texas San Antonio ( ; Spanish for "Anthony of Padua, Saint Anthony") is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in Greater San Antonio. San Antonio is the List of Texas metropolitan areas, third-largest metropolitan area in Texa ...

, in 1937. Gordon and his brother Charles Jr., commonly called C. L. like their father, showed interest in sports at an early age. Both were stars on the baseball and football teams at Sunset High School in Dallas, and following their graduation in 1934, they enrolled at

College of the Ozarks College of the Ozarks is a Private college, private Christian college in Point Lookout, Missouri, United States. The college has an enrollment of 1,426 and over 30 academic majors in Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Science programs. The colleg ...

in Clarksville. The brothers attended class during the winter months and played semi-professional baseball with a

lumber yard A lumber yard is a location where lumber and wood-related products used in construction and/or home improvement projects are processed or stored. Some lumber yards offer retail sales to consumers, and some of these may also provide services s ...

team in the summer. By 1936, the Houstons attended Henderson State Teachers College in

Arkadelphia, Arkansas Arkadelphia is a city in Clark County, Arkansas, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 10,380. The city is the county seat of Clark County. It is situated at the foothills of the Ouachita Mountains. Two universities, Hender ...

, where they starred on the football team.

Baseball career

After moving to San Antonio, Gordon and C. L. enrolled at local St. Mary's University, and pretty soon they received an invitation to attend a tryout with the Monroe Twins of the Class-C

Cotton States League The Cotton States League''Encyclopedia of Minor League Baseball: The Official Record of Minor League Baseball'' – Lloyd Johnson, Steve McDonald, Miles Wolff (editors). Publisher: Baseball America, 1997. Format: Paperback, 672pp. Language: Engli ...

.. Both brothers were offered contracts to play with Monroe in the 1937 season. Gordon batted .315 and slugged .417 in 46 games while playing at shortstop; C. L. played at center field and batted .315 in 21 games. During the off-season, they had heard that the Texarkana Liners of the Class-C East Texas League had appointed Sam Gray as their new

manager Management (or managing) is the administration of organizations, whether businesses, nonprofit organizations, or a government bodies through business administration, nonprofit management, or the political science sub-field of public administra ...

. Gray, a former

Philadelphia Athletics The Philadelphia Athletics were a Major League Baseball team that played in Philadelphia from 1901 to 1954, when they moved to Kansas City, Missouri, and became the Kansas City Athletics. Following another move in 1967, they became the Oakland ...

and St. Louis Browns

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("Pitch (baseball), pitches") the Baseball (ball), baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of out (baseball), retiring a batter (baseball), batter, ...

, would be looking for new players when the team started spring training in 1938. Finally, Gordon was added to the roster, but C. L. did not make the final cut. Houston had his most productive season with the Liners in 1938, when he led the East Texas League with a .384 average and his .618 slugging percentage was second best in the eight-team circuit. Houston started at left field and later moved to

right field A right fielder, abbreviated RF, is the outfielder in baseball or softball who plays defense in right field. Right field is the area of the outfield to the right of a person standing at home plate and facing towards the pitcher's mound. In t ...

, going 3-for-4 on Opening Day and staying above .400 until the midseason, but never hit below .380 throughout the rest of the season. In addition, he collected 32 doubles, seven

triples TripleS (; ; stylized as tripleS) is a South Korean 24-member multinational girl group formed by Modhaus. They aim to be the world's first decentralized idol group, where the members will rotate between the full group, sub-units, and solo activi ...

and 18

home run In baseball, a home run (abbreviated HR) is scored when the Baseball (ball), ball is hit in such a way that the batting (baseball), batter is able to circle the bases and reach home plate safe (baseball), safely in one play without any error ( ...

s, driving in 70 runs while

stealing Theft (, cognate to ) is the act of taking another person's property or services without that person's permission or consent with the intent to deprive the rightful owner of it. The word ''theft'' is also used as a synonym or informal short ...

25 bases in 108 games. Besides, Houston appeared in the midseason East Texas League All-Star Game in which played eleven future major leaguers. Houston went 5-for-5, scored one run and drove in another for the North team. After the game, he was sent to the Class-A

Oklahoma City Indians The Oklahoma City Indians was the primary name of an American professional baseball team representing Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, from 1904 though 1957, except for 1913 and three seasons during World War II. The team played in several different minor ...

of the

Texas League The Texas League is a Minor League Baseball league which has operated in the South Central United States since 1902. It is classified as a Double-A league. Despite the league's name, only its five South Division teams are actually based in the ...

and went 6-for-22 in seven games, helping the Indians swept the Houston Buffaloes in a crucial doubleheader, before returning to Texarkana. At the end of the season, he was selected to the East Texas League Season-End All-Star team. Houston returned with Texarkana in 1939 and looking forward to achieve another strong season. Unfortunately, he suffered a spike wound to his foot early in the season that kept him out of the lineup for two weeks, which was more detrimental to his performance than he had thought possible. He appeared in just 109 games, batting a paltry .219 average with three homers and 39 RBI. Houston rebounded in 1940 while playing his third consecutive season with Texarkana, appearing in a career-high 129 games and leading the team in average (.304), hits (158) and doubles (30). It was a solid season for the 24-year-old outfielder but there were no offers available in a year that saw a major escalation in World War II.

Military service and death

In November 1940, the Houston brothers decided to enlist in the peacetime United States Army Air Corp since they both wanted to be pilots. Gordon passed the eye exam, which required 20/20 vision at that time, but C. L. did not. In February 1941, C. L. prepared for basic training in a ground-based role with the Air Corps, while Gordon reported to the Ontario Air National Guard Station in

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

for primary flight training. After the

attack on Pearl Harbor The attack on Pearl HarborAlso known as the Battle of Pearl Harbor was a surprise military strike by the Empire of Japan on the United States Pacific Fleet at Naval Station Pearl Harbor, its naval base at Pearl Harbor on Oahu, Territory of ...

in December 1941, second lieutenant Houston assumed his position as flight leader with the 55th Pursuit Group stationed at

McChord Field McChord Field (formerly and still commonly known as McChord Air Force Base) is a United States Air Force base in the northwest United States, in Pierce County, Washington. South of Tacoma, McChord AFB is the home of the 62nd Airlift Wing, ...

Tacoma, Washington Tacoma ( ) is the county seat of Pierce County, Washington, United States. A port city, it is situated along Washington's Puget Sound, southwest of Seattle, southwest of Bellevue, Washington, Bellevue, northeast of the state capital, Olympia ...

, the headquarters of the GHQ Air Force Northwest Air District. Piloting his Republic P-43 Lancer, a pre-war fighter plane poorly fit for combat, Houston would lead his flight up and down the coast on the lookout for Japanese submarines or aircraft carriers that might be tempted by the concentration of large airplane manufacturing plants in that region. On February 10, 1942, Houston's flight was landing at McChord Field in Tacoma after an uneventful sortie. As he approached the runway, another plane was coming in directly beneath him. Then, Houston climbed slightly so he could head for the end of the runway and the overrun, a grassy area at the end of the runway that was used in case a plane overshoots a little. What Houston did not realize was that a hitch had been dug during the day to lay some sewer tile. As a result, his plane, which had poor forward visibility when taxiing, hit the ditch and flipped over. Houston died instantly. Funeral services were held at the Fort Sam Houston Post Chapel in

on February 14, 1942, and Gordon Houston was buried in the National Cemetery at Fort Sam Houston with full military honors.

Batting statistics

''Some statistics are incomplete because there are no records available at the time of the request''.

Sources

{{DEFAULTSORT:Houston, Gordon 1916 births 1942 deaths Accidental deaths in Washington (state) United States Army Air Forces personnel killed in World War II Baseball players from Arkansas Monroe Twins players Oklahoma City Indians players People from Clarksville, Arkansas St. Mary's University, Texas alumni Texarkana Liners players United States Army Air Forces pilots of World War II Aviators killed in aviation accidents or incidents in the United States Victims of aviation accidents or incidents in 1942 United States Army Air Forces officers 20th-century American sportsmen