Gordon’s ‘on First’

Stephen Cox’s “ ‘Who’s on First?’ Is Still a Home Run,” (March 25) seems to be way off base. He asserts that the original writer of this Abbott & Costello classic comedy routine is unknown.

The fact is that one Irving Gordon wrote the routine; the same Irving Gordon who penned “Unforgettable,” a song made famous by Nat King Cole and one that earned Gordon a Grammy for song of the year.

Gordon died Dec. 1, 1996. Obituaries in the Los Angeles Times and the New York Times and other publications clearly state that Gordon wrote the famous baseball skit.

Cox, perhaps, could play third base for a latter-day St. Louis nine made famous by Abbott & Costello. The third baseman’s name? I Don’t Know.

BILL IRWIN, San Diego