1956 Hank Gordon at bat.
The AHS would like to thank Hank Gordon for allowing us to display a sample of his fun collection of Arlington baseball memorabilia going back to the 1950’s. In his collection, viewers will find some fabulous little league photos and stats with such team names as M.T. Broyhill, which was one of the largest detached home builders in the country and built many of Arlington’s older brick homes; Stewart Buick, an auto dealer located in Rosslyn; Kenyon-Peck, before there was Bob Peck Chevrolet, and many more. The collection continues through Hank’s school years at Gunston Junior High School, Wakefield High School, and on to Virginia Tech in Blacksburg, Virginia. Yes, Hank was that good.
At Tech, Hank seems to have been moved from catcher to the outfield early in his college career, as former Baltimore Oriole Johnny Oates had the starting catcher’s job. Not only was Hank’s bat needed in the Tech lineup but he was also an Army cadet on campus. Click on the letter from a Brigadier General who had other thoughts in mind when Hank’s presence was requested back in Arlington to be awarded the County’s trophy for American Legion Player of the Year.
Hank went on to be an Airborne Ranger with the First Air Cavalry Division during the Vietnam war and was decorated five times for heroism in ground combat and was awarded the Purple Heart for wounds received in action. His unit received the coveted Itschner Award as the “best engineering unit in the U.S. Army.” After serving his country, Hank started his own engineering firm, William H. Gordon Associates (WHGA), which became one of the most successful in Northern Virginia.
