Pat Jordan (author)

Thirty-six years after throwing his last pitch for the Palatka Redlegs of the Florida State League in 1961, Jordan returned to the mound to start a game with the Waterbury Spirit of independent Northeast League in 1997. The 56-year-old acquitted himself well, allowing no hits or runs and one walk in his single inning on the mound, striking out cleanup hitter Eddie Perozo to end the frame. (Jordan was believed to be the oldest man to pitch in a pro baseball game since Hub Kittle, who threw one inning for St. Louis Cardinals Class A team in Springfield, Illinois, in 1980 at the age of 63.)

Pat Jordan grew up in Fairfield, Connecticut, where he became a highly pursued baseball prospect after going 17-4 over three seasons (He also threw four consecutive no-hitters as a Fairfield little leaguer) for the Fairfield Prep Jesuits. On July 9, 1959, after being pursued by over 15 major league baseball organizations, he signed a $36,000 bonus with the Milwaukee Braves, which at the time was reported to be the highest amount given to any new player signed by the organization. He reported to the McCook Braves of the Nebraska State League where he played alongside teammates and future major leaguers Phil Niekro and Joe Torre. He struggled in the minors for three seasons, despite being one of the hardest throwing pitchers in the minors at that time, as chronicled in his memoir, A False Spring, at which point he retired and returned home to Connecticut to pursue his writing career.

Jordan graduated from the Fairfield College Preparatory School in 1959 and received his bachelor's degree in English from Fairfield University in 1965.

Pat Jordan (born April 22, 1941, in Bridgeport, Connecticut) is an American sports writer. His work has been included in the Best American Sports Writing anthology series seven times. He is also the author of A False Spring, a bittersweet memoir about his minor league baseball career, which is ranked #37 on Sports Illustrated's Top 100 Sports Books of All Time. and Time magazine called “one of the best and truest books about baseball, and about coming to maturity in America…”