Niles Jordan

Niles Chapman Jordan [Sonny] (December 1, 1925 - March 15, 2008) was a starting pitcher who played in Major League Baseball during the 1951 and 1952 seasons. Listed at 5' 11", 180 lb., he batted and threw left-handed.

A native of Lyman, Washington, Jordan excelled in sports at Sedro-Woolley High School before enlisting the United States Navy upon graduation in 1943. He served on the destroyer USS Bennett (DD-473) in the Pacific, taking part at the battles of Iwo Jima and Okinawa. On April 7, 1945, the Bennett was hit by a Japanese kamikaze fighter, but Jordan was not among the casualties. After being discharged from military service he attended Mount Vernon College where he played baseball and football.

Jordan later pitched for the Sedro-Woolley in the local city league and in 1948 was signed by the Philadelphia Phillies. He was sent to the Klamath Falls of the Far West League where, in 1949, he finished with a 19-7 mark and a 4.35 ERA. In 1950 he was promoted to Terre-Haute of the Three-I League where he was 17-6, and then enjoyed his best season with Wilmington of the Interstate League in 1951, going 21-3 with 20 complete games (including two one-hitters) and earned a late-season call-up to Philadelphia. Before the 1952 season, he was obtained by the Cincinnati Reds along with Eddie Pellagrini, Andy Seminick and Dick Sisler in the same transaction that brought Connie Ryan, Smoky Burgess and Howie Fox to the Phillies.

In a two-season career, Jordan posted a 2-4 record with a 4.19 ERA in eight appearances, including a shutout, giving up 22 runs (two unearned) on 49 hits and 11 walks while striking out 13 in 43.0 innings of work.

Following his baseball career, Jordan returned to Sedro Woolley, Washington, just miles from his birthplace, where he worked in the lumber industry for many years. He died in the Life Care Center of Skagit Valley at the age of 82.

See also

• 1951 Philadelphia Phillies season
• 1952 Cincinnati Reds season

External links

• Baseball Reference
• BR Bullpen
• Retrosheet
• Baseball in Wartime
• Skagit Valley Herald

Persondata
Name	Jordan, Niles
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Short description
Date of birth	December 1, 1925
Place of birth
Date of death	March 15, 2008
Place of death