John Gordon (sportscaster)
John "Gordo" Gordon is a Major League Baseball radio broadcaster who is best known as the play by play announcer for the Minnesota Twins on the Twins Radio Network and their Metro Affiliate KSTP 1500 AM. He is well known amongst Twins fans for his intense emotional style of play calling and for his trademark home run call in which after a Twins player hit a home run, he exclaims "Touch Em' All!" followed by the name of the player who hit the home run.
Career
Gordon was born John Gordon Gutowsky in Detroit, Michigan and began his career in broadcasting with the Spartanburg Phillies in 1965 after earning a degree from Indiana University. In 1970 he left Spartanburg to join the Baltimore Orioles broadcast team, a job which he left in 1973 to accept a job as the head broadcaster at the University of Virginia where he called basketball and football games. In 1977 he joined the New York Yankees AAA broadcast team, and in 1982 moved up to the Yankees Major League broadcast crew where he remained through 1986. He joined the Twins broadcasting crew on WCCO 830 AM as Herb Carneal's partner in 1987, which ended up being a season in which the Twins would go on to defeat the St. Louis Cardinals in the 1987 World Series. He has remained with the Twins ever since and currently broadcasts alongside former Twin Dan Gladden. His longtime partner Carneal died April 1, 2007 at the age of 83 due to congestive heart failure.
Personal life
John has a wife, Nancy, and two grown children. They make their home in Fort Myers, Florida and are very active supporters of the Fellowship of Christian Athletes.
Trivia
- Gordon was inducted into the South Atlantic League’s Hall of Fame for his work with the Spartanburg Phillies on June 19, 2001, among him in that year's class were Walter Alston, Murray Cook, and Tommy Lasorda.
- Gordon played Twins broadcaster Wally Holland in the 1994 movie, Little Big League.
- John was inducted into the Pavek Museum of Broadcasting's Hall of Fame in October 2008, located in Saint Louis Park, Minnesota