Charles Henry "Chick" Shorten (April 19, 1892 – October 23, 1965) was an American

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding tea ...

player. He played professional baseball as an

outfielder An outfielder is a person playing in one of the three defensive positions in baseball or softball, farthest from the batter. These defenders are the left fielder, the center fielder, and the right fielder. As an outfielder, their duty is to cat ...

for 18 years from 1911 to 1928, including eight seasons in

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

with the

Boston Red Sox The Boston Red Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Boston. The Red Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Founded in as one of the American League's eight ...

(1915–1917),

Detroit Tigers The Detroit Tigers are an American professional baseball team based in Detroit. The Tigers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the American League (AL) Central division. One of the AL's eight charter franchises, the club was f ...

(1919–1921),

St. Louis Browns The St. Louis Browns were a Major League Baseball team that originated in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, as the Milwaukee Brewers. A charter member of the American League (AL), the Brewers moved to St. Louis, Missouri, after the 1901 season, where they p ...

(1922), and

Cincinnati Reds The Cincinnati Reds are an American professional baseball team based in Cincinnati. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League Central, Central division and were a charter member of ...

(1924). He was a member of the 1916 Red Sox team that won the World Series, and Shorten compiled a .571 batting average in the 1916 World Series. In eight major league seasons, Shorten appeared in 527 games, including 352 as an outfielder, and compiled a .275 career batting average.

Early years

Shorten was born in

Scranton, Pennsylvania Scranton is a city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Lackawanna County, Pennsylvania, Lackawanna County. With a population of 76,328 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 U ...

, in 1892. The son of Irish immigrants, his father and two uncles ran a grocery business in Scranton. Shorten played two seasons of semi-pro baseball with the Minooka Blues.

Professional baseball

Minor leagues

Shorten began playing professional baseball in August 1911 with his hometown Scranton baseball team in the

New York State League The New York State League was an independent baseball league that played six seasons between 2007 and 2012 in New York State and the New York City metro area. Over 500 NYSL players have been signed by professional teams. Players from forty-eight ...

. He next played for the Worcester Busters in the

New England League The New England League was a mid-level league in American minor league baseball that played intermittently in five of the six New England states (Vermont excepted) between 1886 and 1949. After 1901, it existed in the shadow of two Major League B ...

from 1912 to 1914, compiling batting averages of .335 in 1913 and .345 in 1914. He spent most of the 1915 season with the

Providence Grays The Providence Grays were a Major League Baseball team based in Providence, Rhode Island who played in the National League from until . The Grays played at the Messer Street Grounds in the Olneyville neighborhood. The team won the National Leagu ...

of the

International League The International League (IL) is a Minor League Baseball league that operates in the United States. Along with the Pacific Coast League, it is one of two leagues playing at the Triple-A level, which is one grade below Major League Baseball ...

. He compiled a .322 batting average in a career-high 615 at bats with Providence.

Boston Red Sox

On September 22, 1915, Shorten made his major league debut with the

. He appeared in six games with the 1915 Red Sox, compiling a .214 batting average in 14 at bats. In 1916, Shorten appeared in 53 games for the Red Sox, 13 as a starter in center field, eight as a starter in right field, and one start in left field. He compiled a .295 batting average and .352

on-base percentage In baseball statistics, on-base percentage (OBP) measures how frequently a batter reaches base. An official Major League Baseball (MLB) statistic since 1984, it is sometimes referred to as on-base average (OBA), as it is rarely presented as a ...

in 124 plate appearances. The 1916 Red Sox won the

American League The American League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the American League (AL), is one of two leagues that make up Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada. It developed from the Western League, a minor league ...

pennant with a 91-63 record and defeated the

Brooklyn Robins The Brooklyn Dodgers were a Major League Baseball team founded in 1884 as a member of the American Association before joining the National League in 1890. They remained in Brooklyn until 1957, after which the club moved to Los Angeles, Californi ...

in the 1916 World Series. Shorten appeared in two games in the 1916 World Series for the Red Sox, and collected four hits and two RBIs in seven at-bats for a .571 batting average. He was also caught stealing twice in the series. Fifty years later, Shorten's

Associated Press The Associated Press (AP) is an American non-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association. It produces news reports that are distributed to its members, U.S. newspa ...

obituary described him as the "batting hero of the 1916 World Series." In 1917, Shorten appeared in 69 games for the Red Sox, 22 as the team's starting center fielder, nine in left field, and four in right field. His batting average dropped precipitously by 116 points from .295 to .179.

Military service

After the 1917 season, Shorten was inducted into the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

. He served at the Boston Navy Yard and underwent training at

Wakefield, Massachusetts Wakefield is a town in Middlesex County, Massachusetts in the Greater Boston metropolitan area, incorporated in 1812 and located about north-northwest of Downtown Boston. Wakefield's population was 27,090 at the 2020 census. Wakefield offers ...

Detroit Tigers

On January 17, 1919, Shorten was traded by the Red Sox with

Eddie Ainsmith Edward Wilbur Ainsmith (born as Edward Anshmedt; February 4, 1890 – September 6, 1981), nicknamed "Dorf," was a catcher in Major League Baseball (MLB). He played fifteen seasons with the Washington Senators (1910–1918), Detroit Tigers (1919� ...

and

Slim Love Edward Haughton "Slim" Love (August 1, 1890 – November 30, 1942) was an American professional baseball pitcher from approximately 1910 to 1930. He played six seasons in Major League Baseball for the Washington Senators (1913), New York Yankees ...

to the

in exchange for Ossie Vitt. Shorten was one of four Detroit outfielders to bat above .300 in 1919 – Shorten at .315 in 95 games,

Ty Cobb Tyrus Raymond Cobb (December 18, 1886 – July 17, 1961), nicknamed "the Georgia Peach", was an American Major League Baseball (MLB) center fielder. He was born in rural Narrows, Georgia. Cobb spent 22 seasons with the Detroit Tigers, the las ...

at .384 in 124 games,

Bobby Veach Robert Hayes Veach (June 29, 1888 – August 7, 1945) was an American baseball player from 1910 to 1930 including 14 seasons in the major leagues. He was the starting left fielder for the Detroit Tigers from 1912 to 1923 and also played for the B ...

at .355 in 139 games, and

Ira Flagstead Ira James Flagstead (September 22, 1893 – March 13, 1940), sometimes known as "Pete", was an American baseball player. He played 15 years of professional baseball, principally as an outfielder, including 13 years in Major League Baseball with ...

at .331 in 97 games. Shorten remained with the Tigers for two more years, compiling batting averages of .288 in 1920 and .272 in 1921.

St. Louis and Cincinnati

In 1923, Shorten played for the

. He appeared in 55 games, 13 as the starting center fielder and nine starts in right field and five in left field. In 1923, Shorten was assigned to play in Nashville, refused to report, was suspended, and announced his retirement from the game. He was reinstated after one year and signed with the

. He appeared in 41 games for the 1924 Reds, mostly as a pinch hitter, and compiled a .275 batting average. In eight major league seasons, Shorten appeared in 527 games, including 352 as an

and the rest as a pinch hitter. He compiled a career batting average of .275 with 370 hits, 51 doubles, 20 triples, three home runs, and 138 RBIs. In 352 games in the outfield, Shorten had a .985 fielding percentage, 23 points higher than the average outfielder of that time.

Minor leagues

Although Shorten's major league career ended in 1924, he continued to play in the minor leagues for another four years - as the player-manager of the

Reading Keystones The Reading Fightin Phils (also called the Reading Fightins) are a Minor League Baseball team based in Reading, Pennsylvania, playing in the Northeast Division of the Eastern League. The team plays their home games at FirstEnergy Stadium. The Read ...

in the

in 1925, for the

Newark Bears The Newark Bears were an American minor league professional baseball team based in Newark, New Jersey. They were a member of the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball and, later, the Canadian American Association of Professional Baseball. T ...

in 1926, and for the

Scranton Miners The Scranton Miners, known as the Scranton Apollos from 1970 to 1977, were a professional basketball team based in Scranton, Pennsylvania that was a member of the American Basketball League and the Eastern Basketball Association. Arthur Pacht ...

in 1926 and 1927. He compiled a .354 batting average in 119 games in 1927 at age 35.

Later years

After retiring from baseball, Shorten worked in his family's grocery store in Scranton. He also worked as a scout for the

Cleveland Indians The Cleveland Guardians are an American professional baseball team based in Cleveland. The Guardians compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. Since , they have played at Progressive F ...

in the 1950s. Shorten died in 1965 at age 74 at his home in

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Shorten, Chick 1892 births 1965 deaths Boston Red Sox players Cincinnati Reds players Cleveland Indians scouts Detroit Tigers players Major League Baseball outfielders Minneapolis Millers (baseball) players Minor league baseball managers Newark Bears (International League) players Newark Indians players Providence Grays (minor league) players Reading Keystones players St. Louis Browns players Scranton Miners players Baseball players from Scranton, Pennsylvania Worcester Busters players