Gordy Jones

Gordy Jones (born February 6, 1955 in St. Paul, Minnesota) is an author of children's literature, photographer, columnist for the baseball newspaper Let's Play Baseball in the Twin Cities, Minnesota and a bellman.



Early work
Gordy Jones was born and raised in the east side of St. Paul, Minnesota. His journalistic writing began in 1974 while working as a messenger for the Saint Paul Dispatch. Shortly thereafter, he met several editors who liked his style. They took him under their wing and mentored him. Jones soon became a freelance music and club critic. After moving to Southern California in the late 1970s, he sold advertising for a local paper and later began writing a column called "Cool Places" for an entertainment magazine.

Photography
In the late '70s, Jones began volunteering and was a photographer for the David M. Winfield Foundation, whose namesake was Gordy's friend and also a St. Paul native. Jones would develop a close relationship with the Winfield brothers (Dave and Steve) and his work for the Foundation would continue until 1996 when Dave retired.

Jones would return to St. Paul and work in various roles for the Saint Paul Dispatch (now named the Pioneer Press). During the 1980s, he was a photographer for many celebrity charity events including for Minnesota Vikings' Matt Blair's softball tournaments, for Mike Singletary's 8-Ball Tournaments in Chicago, and for Minnesota Twins' Kirby Puckett's 8-Ball Tournaments. To this day he continues to photograph many charity events for athletes and friends including: Joe Mauer, Justin Morneau, and Michael Cuddyer. He's been a promotional photographer for many comedians, including Scott Hansen and his Comedy Gallery.

Gordy Jones was Dave's photographer and guest at Winfield and Puckett's 2001 induction into the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum. His book, Baseball Guy, would later debut in Cooperstown at the "Hall of Fame". In the 1990s and 2000s, he would photograph professional baseball for multiple Minnesota baseball publications.

Writing
Jones had worked in various roles for newspapers for over thirty years. For twenty-eight years, he worked for the St. Paul Pioneer Press in various capacities, including roles in advertising, and as a newspaper circulation supervisor, a freelance writer and a freelance photographer.

In 2006, he wrote the children's book Baseball Guy illustrated by Tim VanNess which includes a narrative audio CD by Minnesota radio personality Dave Lee of WCCO Radio. Released at the 2006 Baseball Hall of Fame induction, Cooperstown, Baseball Guy is a rhyming children's book about baseball. The story begins with a character chasing the dream of baseball stardom. The book covers sandlot, little league, and evolves to the majors. It actually takes you through all of the phases of baseball, while it promotes values such as respect, family, education, and responsibility. A portion of the proceeds from Baseball Guy goes to The Twins Community Fund.

Success from Baseball Guy and Jones' many friendships with people in other professional sports has prompted him to write children's stories about various sports and certain sport figures. Gordy is actively pursuing publication of these works as he continues to promote Baseball Guy.

Gordy now writes a column called "Twins Talk" which he has self syndicated and it is now picked up by Let's Play Baseball, several Minnesota and Iowa newspapers, and several radio websites.

Jones loves traveling and meeting people. He has made friends nationwide. His many friends include entertainers and folks throughout the major league sports world including athletes, front office members, and officials.

Gordy Jones is a past employee of both the Minnesota Twins and Minnesota Wild. You can now find Gordy as a bellman at the Hilton Minneapolis where he has worked for the last four years. Within the company, he has won the "Spirit of Hilton Award", one of the highest honors within the company.

Books

 * Jones, Gordy. Baseball Guy. Semper Books, 2006. ISBN 1-4243-0341-9.
 * Jones, Gordy. "The Baseball Guy". Beaver's Pond Press 2010. ISBN 1-59298-348-3.