John James Short (April 1896 – after 1927) was an English professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby le ...

who scored 20 goals in 48 appearances in

the Football League The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, the league is the oldest such competition in the world. It was the top-level football league in Engla ...

playing for

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1.145 million in the city proper, 2.92 million in the West ...

Watford Watford () is a town and borough in Hertfordshire, England, 15 miles northwest of Central London, on the River Colne. Initially a small market town, the Grand Junction Canal encouraged the construction of paper-making mills, print works, a ...

and Norwich City. He played as an inside forward or

centre forward Forwards (also known as attackers) are outfield positions in an association football team who play the furthest up the pitch and are therefore most responsible for scoring goals as well as assisting them. As with any attacking player, the role ...

. Short was born in Hucknall,

Nottinghamshire Nottinghamshire (; abbreviated Notts.) is a landlocked county in the East Midlands region of England, bordering South Yorkshire to the north-west, Lincolnshire to the east, Leicestershire to the south, and Derbyshire to the west. The traditi ...

. During the First World War, he played for Lincoln City and Notts County; he scored 20 goals in 42 wartime games for the latter and was highly rated. After the war he joined

of the

Football League Second Division The Football League Second Division was the second level division in the English football league system between 1892 and 1992. Following the foundation of the FA Premier League, the Football League divisions were renumbered and the third ti ...

, for whom he scored on his debut on 1 November 1919, in a 2–1 win at West Ham United, and followed up with another seven goals in the next six games.Matthews, p. 162. Short moved on to

at the end of the 1919–20 season, and later played for Norwich City in the Football League and Ilkeston United, Newark Town and Grantham Town outside it. He is described as a fine goalscorer whose career was badly affected by wounds received during the war.

References

1896 births Year of death missing Footballers from Hucknall English men's footballers Men's association football forwards Arnold F.C. players Lincoln City F.C. players Notts County F.C. players Birmingham City F.C. players Watford F.C. players Ilkeston United F.C. players Norwich City F.C. players Newark Town F.C. players Grantham Town F.C. players English Football League players Place of death missing {{England-footy-forward-1890s-stub