Gordon attended church faithfully for 50 years. He spent a lot of time at Vance Memorial Presbyterian Church, where he served as Deacon and Elder.
Gordon was very active in numerous clubs and organizations. He also enjoyed officiating track meets, as well as basketball and football games. He was also honored by the Upper Ohio Valley Dapper Dan Club for outstanding achievement, and received OVAC Major Achievement awards.Īfter retiring from high school athletics, he started working with one of his former pupils, Joe Ellis, to reorganize the track program at West Liberty State College. During his time spent at Martins Ferry, he received numerous awards, including the Cal Giffin Award, Coach of the year, Section 1 District Champions, and the Ohio Association of Track and Cross Country Coaches of year. Gordon coached seven OVAC 3-A Champion boys’ teams and coached several superstars.
He was best known in the Ohio Valley for the years he spent with the Martins Ferry Purple Riders. Gordon moved to Wheeling, WV, in the fall of 1969 and became head football coach at Wheeling High. He was inducted into Wooster Hall of Fame in 2003. In the 1960s, his squad never lost a meet at Wooster Maurer Field, as his track team set records that still stand today. After he had a year to put the program on its feet through 1969 his teams were 88-6 in dual meets and won 32 invitational titles. In his track coaching time, he won four Cardinal Conference Championships and captured the Wooster Night Relays 10 times, from 1958-1968. He coached track for 12 years from 1957-1969, and he also was a football assistant coach. Gordon was a 1957 graduate of Heidelburg College, while he started his career at Wooster High. He was born March 2, 1934, in Cleveland, OH, of the late Gordon and Anna Fisher Downie. The Lord welcomed Gordon home to his kingdom on Friday, March 27, 2015, at Liza’s Place, Wheeling, with his sons at his side.
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