Short: John David (John)

1937-1948 (Player Details) (Leeds United War-time Guest Player Details)

Inside Forward

Born: Gateshead: 25-01-1921

Debut v Preston North End (a): 31-08-1946

5’10” 12st 0lb (1953)

Short emerged during wartime football and went on to enjoy a lengthy and productive career. Leeds signed him in January 1938 from Gateshead junior club St Hilda’s, and, while he did not play for United before the Second World War, his thirty-six goals in fifty-eight wartime matches for Leeds confirmed his pedigree. As a teenager he had Eric Stephenson, Aubrey Powell, Gordon Hodgson and George Ainsley in front of him, but in the war years there was usually more chance as others became unavailable. During the Second World War he was employed in a munitions factory on Tyneside. He made his Wartime debut at Inside Right in a 1-2 defeat at Hartlepools United on 16th March 1940 and scored his first goal as he helped himself to a brace in a 3-1 win over York City at Elland Road in his second game for the club on 23rd March 1940 and went on to score three goals in seven appearances in the 1939-40 Football League North-East Division. The 1940-41 North Regional League saw him score seven goals in twelve games as he played once in each of the forward positions in addition to his usual Inside Right spot. In the next season, the 1941-42 Football League Northern Section, he scored four times in five appearances, of which four were at Outside Right in the First Championship and made a lone appearance at Inside Left without scoring in the Second Championship. In the 1942-43 Football League Northern Section he scored five times in four appearances at Inside Left in the First Championship and the Second Championship saw him score twice in four games, with three at Inside Right and one at Inside Left. He played solely at Inside Right in the 1943-44 Football League Northern Section and scored twice in three games in the First Championship and once in two games in the Second Championship. The 1944-45 Football League Northern Section saw him score six goals in five games, of which two were at Centre Forward in the First Championship and two goals in four games, with one at Inside Left, in the Second Championship. Short had one of his eleven appearances at Outside Right in the 1945-46 Football League Northern Section, the last in the War period, and he scored four goals. He also played in both Legs of the F.A. Cup tie against Middlesbrough and scored one goal in the home game. He was also a wartime guest at Newcastle United and Hartlepools United and made his League debut for Leeds on the opening day of the 1946-47 season. Short was a regular in United’s weakened and struggling team as Leeds were ignominiously relegated from Division One in the first season of peacetime League football. He started off as a regular in United’s woeful second peacetime season as they narrowly avoided relegation from the Second Division but, after the arrival of Ken Chisholm, he lost his first team spot in the second half of the season. After the departure of Aubrey Powell to Everton, he regained his place for the first seven games, but the arrival of Tommy Burden saw him out of favour and he was transferred to Millwall in November 1948, for £4,000. There he played mostly as a right-half and was appointed trainer coach at the Den in November 1955. He retired with two hundred and forty-five League appearances and nineteen goals and one goal in twenty-two F.A. Cup games to his name with the Lions. In June 1960 he became Huddersfield Town’s coach and the following year occupied a similar post with Sheffield United, where he was appointed Assistant Manager to John Harris in August 1969. He was later chief scout and Youth team Manager for the Blades before becoming physiotherapist at Gillingham in January 1978 and physio at Chesterfield in October 1981. In the summer of 1983 he was appointed trainer at Notts County before retiring in 1984. He died at Nottingham in June 1986.