Pat Jordan (born April 22, 1941) is an American sports writer. His work has been included in the

Best American Sports Writing ''The Best American Sports Writing'' was a yearly anthology of magazine articles on the subject of sports published in the United States. It started in 1991 as part of '' The Best American Series'' published by Houghton Mifflin and ceased publica ...

anthology series seven times.Index to The Best American Sports Writing 1991–2007
accessed March 2, 2011. He is also the author of ''A False Spring'', a bittersweet memoir about his minor league baseball career, which is ranked #37 on

Sports Illustrated ''Sports Illustrated'' (''SI'') is an American sports magazine first published in August 1954. Founded by Stuart Scheftel, it was the first magazine with a circulation of over one million to win the National Magazine Award for General Excellen ...

's Top 100 Sports Books of All Time and which ''

Time Time is the continuous progression of existence that occurs in an apparently irreversible process, irreversible succession from the past, through the present, and into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequ ...

'' called “one of the best and truest books about baseball, and about coming to maturity in America...”

Minor league baseball player

Pat Jordan grew up in

Fairfield, Connecticut Fairfield is a New England town, town in Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States. It borders the city of Bridgeport, Connecticut, Bridgeport and towns of Trumbull, Connecticut, Trumbull, Easton, Connecticut, Easton, Weston, Connecticut, W ...

, where he excelled as a baseball pitcher from a young age, tossing four consecutive no-hitters as a Fairfield little leaguer. He later became a highly pursued prospect after going 17–4 over three seasons for the Fairfield Prep Jesuits. On July 9, 1959, after some 15 MLB organizations showed an interest, Jordan signed a $36,000 bonus with the

Milwaukee Braves The Milwaukee Braves were a Major League Baseball club that played in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, from 1953 to 1965, having previously played in Boston, Massachusetts, as the Boston Braves. After relocating to Atlanta, Georgia, in 1966 they were rename ...

, reportedly the largest ever given by the Braves to a new player. He reported to the McCook Braves of the

Nebraska State League The Nebraska State League (NSL) was an American professional minor league baseball league with five incarnations between 1892 and 1959. The Nebraska State League formed five times: in 1892, from 1910 to 1915, from 1922 to 1923, from 1928 to 1938 a ...

, where he played alongside future

Hall of Famers A hall, wall, or walk of fame is a list of individuals, achievements, or other entities, usually chosen by a group of electors, to mark their excellence or fame in their field. In some cases, these halls of fame consist of actual halls or muse ...

Phil Niekro Philip Henry Niekro ( ; April 1, 1939 – December 26, 2020), nicknamed "Knucksie", was an American baseball pitcher who played 24 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Atlanta Braves, Milwaukee/Atlanta Braves, Cleveland Indians, N ...

and

Joe Torre Joseph Paul Torre Jr. (; born July 18, 1940) is an American professional baseball Senior management, executive and former player, Manager (baseball), manager, and television color commentator. He has served as a special assistant to the Commiss ...

. Despite being one of the hardest-throwing pitchers in the minors, Jordan struggled for three seasons, never progressing past Class C ball and recording a 12-22 win-loss record and a 4.98 ERA in 273 innings. (Jordan's biggest problem was accuracy; despite striking out 8.2 batters per nine innings, he walked 8.9 per nine.) Luckily, Jordan had another ability to fall back on: he could write. His memoir, ''A False Spring'', became a best-seller and Jordan retired as a ballplayer and returned home to Connecticut to pursue his new career. Thirty-six years after throwing his last pitch for the Palatka Redlegs of the

Florida State League The Florida State League (FSL) is a Minor League Baseball league based in the state of Florida. Having been classified at various levels throughout its existence, it operated at Class A-Advanced from 1990 until its demotion to Single-A following ...

in 1961, Jordan returned to the mound to start a game with the

Waterbury Spirit Waterbury is a city in the U.S. state of Connecticut. Waterbury had a population of 114,403 as of the 2020 Census. The city is southwest of Hartford and northeast of New York City. Waterbury is the largest city in the Naugatuck Valley Plann ...

of independent

Northeast League The Northeast League was a professional independent baseball league that operated in the Northeastern United States from 1995 until 1998 and from 2003 until 2004. Between 1999 and 2002, the league was part of the Northern League after the two le ...

in 1997. The 56-year-old acquitted himself well, allowing no hits or runs and one walk in his single inning on the mound, striking out cleanup hitter Eddie Perozo to end the frame. (Jordan was believed to be the oldest man to pitch in a pro baseball game since Hub Kittle, who threw one inning for

St. Louis Cardinals The St. Louis Cardinals are an American professional baseball team based in St. Louis. The Cardinals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Centra ...

Class A team in

Springfield, Illinois Springfield is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Illinois. Its population was 114,394 at the 2020 United States census, which makes it the state's List of cities in Illinois, seventh-most populous cit ...

, in 1980 at the age of 63.)

Writer

Jordan is the author of eleven books and a regular contributor to many periodicals. Jordan's work has been included in

eight times, the Best American Mystery Stories, Best American Crime Writing, Best American Essays, and the Norton Anthology of World Literature.

Best American Sports Writing

The following writings of Pat Jordan have appeared in the

anthology series: * 1993: ''The Wit and Wisdom of the White Rat'' from ''Los Angeles Times Magazine'' * 1995: ''Behind the Icy Glare'' from ''The Sporting News'' * 1996: ''Belittled Big Men'' from ''The New York Times Magazine'' * 2005: ''The Lion in Late, Late Autumn'' from ''The New York Times Magazine'' * 2006: ''Card Stud'' from ''The New York Times Magazine'' * 2006: ''The Magician'' from ''The Atlantic Monthly'' * 2010: ''Chasing Jose'' from Deadspin.com * 2017: ''Barry Switzer Laughs Last''

Best American Mystery Stories

The following writings of Pat Jordan have appeared in the Best American Mystery Stories anthology series: * 1997: ''The Mark'' from ''Playboy'', July 1996 * 1998: ''Beyond Dog'' from ''Playboy'', August 1997

Best American Crime Writing

The following writings of Pat Jordan have appeared in the Best American Crime Writing anthology series: * 2002: ''The Outcast: Conversations with O.J. Simpson'' from ''The New Yorker''Pat Jordan
''The Outcast: Conversations with O.J. Simpson''
The New Yorker (July 9, 2001). * 2004: ''CSC: Crime Scene Cleanup'' from ''Playboy'', July 2003

Bibliography

# ''Black Coach'' (1971, ) # ''The Suitors of Spring'' (1974, ) # ''A False Spring'' (2005, Revised Edition, ) # ''Broken Patterns'' (1977, ) # ''Chase the Game'' (1979, ) # ''After the Sundown'' (1979, ) # ''The Cheat'' (1985, ) # ''a.k.a. Sheila Doyle'' (2002, ) # ''a.k.a. Sheila Weinstein'' (2003, ) # ''A Nice Tuesday'' (2005, ) # ''The Best Sports Writing of Pat Jordan'' (2008, ) # ''My Father's Con: A Memoir'' (2022, )

Education

Jordan graduated from the

Fairfield College Preparatory School Fairfield College Preparatory School (Fairfield Prep) is a Jesuit preparatory school located on the campus of Fairfield University in Fairfield, Connecticut. It is an all-male school of about 800 students, founded by the Society of Jesus in ...

in 1959 and received his bachelor's degree in English from

Fairfield University Fairfield University is a private university, private Society of Jesus, Jesuit university in Fairfield, Connecticut. It was founded by the Jesuits in 1942. In 2023, the university had about 5,000 full-time undergraduate students and 1,200 gra ...

in 1965.

Personal

Jordan is married to the mother of actress

Meg Ryan Margaret Mary Emily Anne Hyra (born November 19, 1961), known by her stage name Meg Ryan, is an American actress. Known for her leading roles as quirky, charismatic women since the late 1980s, Ryan is particularly recognized for her work in ...

. They reside in Abbeville, South Carolina.

References

External links

Official Website of Pat Jordan

Bronx Banter: Pat Jordan
* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Jordan, Pat 1941 births Fairfield University alumni Living people Writers from Fairfield, Connecticut McCook Braves players Davenport Braves players Palatka Redlegs players Eau Claire Braves players Waterbury Spirit players Baseball pitchers Baseball players from Fairfield County, Connecticut Fairfield College Preparatory School alumni Sportswriters from Connecticut People from Abbeville, South Carolina Sportswriters from South Carolina 20th-century American sportsmen