Jack Gordon Ends Brilliant Career at Seattle U
(From The Capitol Hill Times, March 8, 1957)

The resignation of Jack Gordon, athletic publicity director at Seattle University since 1946, was announced this week in a letter to the president of Seattle U. Very Rev. A. A. Lemieux, S.J., stating that the pressure of other business forced the decision to break off a working relationship of 10 years. Gordon is public relations director for Greater Seattle, Inc.

Bill Sears, publicist for the Seattle Rainiers Baseball club, will represent Seattle U at the NIT basketball tournament in New York, and may be in line for the job as the new SU tub-thumper.

When Gordon joined the athletic department staff in 1946, he also served as public relations and publicity director for (then) Seattle College. As the college expanded and became an accredited university, Gordon devoted more and more time to athletic promotion. The Rev. John Kelley, S.J., is the current public relations director and John Talevich, publicity director.

Gordon is the last of a familiar threesome in the SU athletic department. The SU rise to fame and narional basketball prominence under a regime headed by Bill Fenton as athletic director, Al Brightman as coach, and Gordon as publicity director.

Gordon is currently president of the Puget Sound Sports Writers and 'Casters Association. During the Korean War, he served as chairman of the "welcome lane" program for returning troops.

 

 

"Among Us Neighbors" covers Jack's Leaving
(The University Herald,  March, 1957)

 

 

From the University Herald, a weekly newspaper covering the University (of Washington) District, Green Lake area, Ravenna, View Ridge, and other north Seattle  neighborhoods comes this clipping of Jack leaving Seattle University as their Athletic Publicity Director. 

The resignation of Jack Gordon, 6825 47th Ave. NE, athletic publicity director at Seattle University, was announced this week. Gordon said that the pressure of other business forced the decision to break off a working relationship of 10 years with the institution. He is public relations director of Greater Seattle, Inc. Gordon is currently president of the Puget Sound Sports Writers and 'Casters Association. During the Korean War he served as chairman of the welcome lane program for returning troops.

[Ed Note: He continued to announce home games of the Seattle University Chieftains basketball team well into the 1960's.]

 

 

"Mighty is the Press Agent's Pen"

 

From an unidentified Seattle paper in March of 1957, comes this nice blurb:

It is a little hard to conceive a Seattle U basketball team without Jack Gordon beating the tom-tonis for the Chieftains.

The last of the three Musketeers who put SU on the athletic map retired yesterday to devote his talents to Greater Seattle—-Al Brightman and Bill Fenton are the others who have departed the scene.

Master of ballyhoo, Jack is the ideal flack.

He's in your hair morning, noon and night, selling his client, making his pitch. Johnny O'Brien might have been Ail-American without Gordon's tireless efforts, but it is doubtful. If Elg Baylor makes the Big Five, Jack's typewriter gets an assist. As the poet didn't say, the pen is mightier than the sword. They'll miss the man up there at Broadway and Madison.

Oh well, they still have Baylor.