Jack Short (footballer)

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Jack Short
Personal information
Full name John Short[1]
Date of birth 18 February 1928
Place of birth Great Houghton, Barnsley, England[1]
Date of death 10 October 1976(1976-10-10) (aged 48)[1]
Place of death Barnsley, England[1]
Position(s) Defender
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1948–1954 Wolverhampton Wanderers 98 (0)
1954–1956 Stoke City 55 (2)
1956–1960 Barnsley 109 (0)
Total 262 (2)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only

John "Jack" Short (18 February 1928 – 10 October 1976) was an English footballer who played in the Football League for Barnsley, Stoke City and Wolverhampton Wanderers.[1]

Career[]

Short was born in Darfield, near Barnsley. He left Darfield Foulstone school in 1942 and worked as a haulage hand at for the next six years. Short joined Wolverhampton Wanderers from non-league Wath Wanderers in the Spring of 1948. He broke into Wolves' first team in December 1950 and played a key role as Stan Cullis' side reached the FA Cup semi final in 1950–51 losing in a replay to Newcastle United. Short spent the next three seasons at Molineux making the right back position his own after Stan Cullis moved him from being an attacker. That said, Short played as a makeshift centre forward in January 1952 where he scored twice against Manchester City in the FA Cup. However injury saw him miss the remainder of the 1952–53 campaign and he played 27 times in 1953–54 as Wolves won the First Division title.[1]

He left for Staffordshire rivals Stoke City on 9 June 1954 with Stoke aiming for a return to the top-flight.[1] He played 31 times in 1954–55 as the "Potters" finished in 5th position with Short again being used as a backup forward scoring twice against Swansea Town on 13 November 1954.[1] He played 33 times in 1955–56 as Stoke ended in a poor position of 13th and Short was given a free transfer to his hometown club Barnsley on 25 October 1956.[1] He was a regular for the "Tykes" for three seasons, making his home debut against Liverpool on 27 October 1956 in a 4-1 home win.[2] He retired from professional football through injury at the end of the 1959–60 season.[1]

After retirement Short went back to the mining industry, working as a coal miner, and later on the pit top, becoming a foreman. He also worked as a scout for Wolves and was manager of Houghton Main WMC.[3]

Short collapsed and died on 10 October 1976 after a playing in a charity football match in Wombwell between an ex Barnsley team and Charlie Williams XI.

Career statistics[]

Source:[4]

Club Season League FA Cup Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Wolverhampton Wanderers 1950–51 First Division 18 0 7 0 25 0
1951–52 First Division 25 0 1 2 26 2
1952–53 First Division 29 0 0 0 29 0
1953–54 First Division 26 0 1 0 27 0
Total 98 0 9 2 107 2
Stoke City 1954–55 Second Division 25 2 6 0 31 2
1955–56 Second Division 30 0 3 0 33 0
Total 55 2 9 0 64 2
Barnsley 1956–57 Second Division 27 0 4 0 31 0
1957–58 Second Division 38 0 2 0 40 0
1958–59 Second Division 39 0 1 0 40 0
1959–60 Third Division 5 0 0 0 5 0
Total 109 0 7 0 116 0
Career Total 262 2 25 2 287 4

Honours[]

Wolverhampton Wanderers

References[]

  1. ^ Jump up to: a b c d e f g h i j Matthews, Tony (1994). The Encyclopaedia of Stoke City. Lion Press. ISBN 0-9524151-0-0.
  2. ^ "Barnsley FC - Fixtures & Results 1956/1957".
  3. ^ Oakwell Heroes - David Watson 1990
  4. ^ Jack Short at the English National Football Archive (subscription required)
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