Chick Shorten

Charles Henry "Chick" Shorten (April 19, 1892 – October 23, 1965) was an American baseball player. He played professional baseball as an outfielder for 18 years from 1911 to 1928, including eight seasons in Major League Baseball with the Boston Red Sox (1915–1917), Detroit Tigers (1919–1921), St. Louis Browns, and Cincinnati Reds (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, 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. He next played for the Worcester Busters in the New England League 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 of the International League. He compiled a .322 batting average in a career-high 615 at bats with Providence. 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.

Detroit Tigers On January 17, 1919, Shorten was traded by the Red Sox with Eddie Ainsmith and Slim Love to the Detroit Tigers 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 at .384 in 124 games, Bobby Veach at .355 in 139 games, and Ira Flagstead 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. He appeared in 41 games for the 1924 Reds, mostly as a pinch hitter, and compiled a .275 batting average.

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 in the 1950s.