THE EX-GIRLFRIEND

July 08, 2023

Good evening. This is Dead Legends. We’re the kind of guys that grew up playing backyard baseball.

Always had to have this GOAT on the squad.

Let's dive in.

Today’s story is about a former Red Sox pitcher who was murdered by his ex-girlfriend.

You've probably never heard of Gordon McNaughton; most people haven't.

His career was pretty forgettable.

Gordon played one month for the Red Sox, and after a few decent outings, things took a turn for the worse.

When it was all said and done, he pitched in six games total, threw 21 innings, and gave up 15 earned runs.

One thing Gordon didn't have was a problem getting women to like him.

Eleanor Williams, for one, had left her husband and daughter to live the fast life with McNaughton.

Eleanor worked as a dice girl at a roadside tavern, and frequented nightclubs with Gordon.

They had a super toxic relationship, and at one point, court documents revealed that Williams had a miscarriage due to domestic violence from McNaughton.

After several years of dating, Gordon stepped out on Eleanor and started hanging out with Dorothy Moos, who had also divorced her husband to run off with McNaughton.

Eleanor wasn't havin' that shit.

One night, Williams was out with another man, Barney Towey, who happened to be a police officer.

On their way back to their hotel, they passed the New Lawrence Hotel, and Eleanor spotted Gordon's car.

Williams waited until Towey was asleep, stole his service pistol, and walked over to Gordon's hotel.

When she got up to McNaughton's room, Mrs. Moos answered the door naked, and Eleanor came in.

After exchanging some words, she fired the gun at Gordon, initially missing him.

Her next shots were fatal.

Gordon McNaughton was pronounced dead on the morning of August 6, 1942.

Eleanor Williams used the insanity defense to get her charges downgraded to manslaughter.

Officer Towey was discharged from the police force and committed suicide.

Upon losing her appeal for a new trial, Eleanor remarried her former husband – telegrapher Clarence Williams – in her jail cell.

ONE QUICK QUESTION

STRANGE NAMES

If you're just joining us, we play this game every day where we try to find the weirdest names throughout baseball history.

Why? Don't ask us, it's just something we like to do.

If you've been rocking with us for awhile now, you know what time it is.

Today's winner is:

Davis played 10 years of pro ball; he hit over .300 lifetime and won a World Series.

He got the nickname "steel arm" because he was a work horse on the mound.

Unfortunately, he was shot and killed in 1941 after a barroom brawl in Chicago.

And that's really the main take away from today's newsletter - Chi-Town was a pretty gnarly town back in the 40's.

THE DEAD LEGENDS ARCHIVE

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