Jeremy “Jerry” Gordon
Class of 2026
Jeremy Gordon arrived at Grambling State University and requested a certain jersey number, for sentimental reasons.
Eddie Robinson, the Tigers’ esteemed coach, refused. Gordon begged for 42, a number that belonged to the Tigers’ alum and current NFL standout, a guy named Dwight Scales. Who just happened to be Jeremy’s brother.
Jeremy wound up with 27. He made a number, and a name, for himself. By the time he completed his career at Grambling, he was the school’s all-time leading receiver, with 118 receptions for 1,998 yards and 23 touchdowns.
This Hall of Fame is all wrapped up in family ties. Parents and children, or sets of siblings. The Minchers. The Neighbors. The Wilsons. The Davidsons. This year, Donnie Humphrey joins his sister Gwen. But it has been rare to see brothers join in consecutive years, with Dwight inducted in 2025.
After their father’s death, mom Linnie Briggs Gordon married Duane Gordon, then coaching basketball in Little Rock, but eventually to become head basketball coach at Alabama A&M in 1968. Jeremy – known more as Jerry during his playing days – assumed his stepfather’s last name.
“She was able to instill in me and my brothers and sisters the meaning of accountability and being on time and doing things in a respectful way,” Gordon says of his mom.
And as for being a coach’s kid, “He was instrumental in turning me and my brother's energy into sports, and directing us on how to act, how to train, how to get the proper rest. He was the one that brought out in us the ability to compete.”
Including, maybe a little sibling competition among Jeremy, Dwight and talented other brother Arthur, who was a city track champ and football player at Alabama A&M?
Just which one of the brothers was the best receiver, Jeremy is asked.
His response: Total silence and a deadpan face. Finally, a grin breaks. “I would have to say Dwight, because I patterned my game after Dwight, and I patterned my training after Dwight.
“But I'm the one that got the record.”
Comparing the two brothers, Robinson told The Huntsville Times in 1980 that “Jerry doesn’t have the height, but he has better speed and runs his routes better. They have about equal hands, but Jerry seems to be able to make more spectacular catches. He has made a few I still don’t believe.”
The kids were perpetual inhabitants of the Northwest YMCA, and attended Lakewood Elementary, then Rolling Hills and Davis Hills. Says Gordon, “I have so many people to thank, going back to my little league days of Mr. Clark, Hulan Smith, Coach Stone at Davis Hills, coach (Paul) Parvin, coach (Max) Burleson and Willard Scissum at Johnson.
“Actually,” Gordon continues, “I thought I was going to play basketball. Baseball was my best sport, but I liked basketball more. And football was third. But when Dwight started to go in that direction and start excelling, I wanted to go in the same direction he was going.”
Gordon attended Johnson – Dwight was a Lee graduate – and twice named All-City. Recruited by larger schools, he opted for Grambling because of his brother’s admiration for Robinson.
He became a starter as a sophomore, catching 16 passes for 314 yards and four touchdowns. The next season he was second-team All-Southwest Athletic Conference with 11 touchdowns as the Tigers won the league championship. HBCU powerhouse Tennessee State visited Grambling that season, both undefeated at the time. Tennessee State QB Joe Adams, then the nation’s passing leader, stuck his head in the Grambling locker room and said, “The plane has landed,” referring to the aerial excellence. “We ended up putting up 52 on them that night,” Gordon laughs, “and I got that party started with a 54-yard yard bomb.” He built on that junior year to become first-team All-SWAC in 1981, with 771 yards’ receiving and eight TDs.
Following his playing days, Gordon was encouraged by a friend to enter the automobile business. The father of three – Tony, Ranada and Malik -- he has been a sales professional at Bill Penney Toyota for the past 21 years. He’s also well-served his alma mater, helping sell a couple of local standouts and future NFLers – Chester Rogers and Trenton Scott – on Grambling, and vice versa.
Now, as Jeremy Gordon is joining his brother Dwight Scales in the Hall of Fame, Dwight is “on cloud 12 every day” with excitement, the kid brother reports.
