#395 Chris Short - Philadelphia Phillies

J. Christopher Short
Philadelphia Phillies
Pitcher

Bats:  Right  Throws:  Left  Height:  6'4"  Weight:  205
Born:  September 19, 1937, Milford, DE
Signed:  Signed by the Philadelphia Phillies as an amateur free agent, June 14, 1957
Major League Teams:  Philadelphia Phillies 1959-1972; Milwaukee Brewers 1973

Died:  August 1, 1991, Wilmington, DE (age 53)

2006 Toyota Phillies Wall of Fame Postcards

The best and most popular left-handed Phillies pitcher of his era, Chris Short was a staff ace during a lean decade for the club, and arguably the second best left-handed pitcher in the National League behind Sandy Koufax.  He was a two-time All-Star in 1964 and 1967.  Short's first big season came in 1964, when he went 17-9 with a 2.20 ERA, third best in the league behind Koufax and Don Drysdale (#400).  Unfortunately, his team's epic September collapse overshadows the memory of Short's fantastic year, as the Phillies blew a 6 1/2 game lead with 12 games remaining to barely miss a return to the World Series for only the third time in franchise history.  Short rebounded with an even better season in 1965, going 18-11 with a 2.82 ERA in a career-high 297 1/3 innings pitched.  He also struck out a career-best 237 that season, including 18 Mets in a 15-inning outing on October 2, 1965.  Short won 20 games in 1966, and followed that up with a 19 win season in 1968.  A back injury in 1969 hampered the remaining four years of his playing days.

Short retired following a single season with the Brewers in 1973.  For his career, he was 135-132 with a 3.43 ERA and 1,629 strikeouts over 2,325 innings pitched.  Short was active in the community following his retirement.  A ruptured brain aneurysm in October 1988 left him comatose, and he'd pass away nearly three years later having never regained consciousness.  The Phillies posthumously inducted Short into their Wall of Fame in 1992.

Building the Set / Card #29
October 17, 2022 from Tomball, TX - Card #594
In early October, with the Phillies improbably in the postseason and about to go on a month-long journey that would culminate with a trip to the World Series, I received an e-mail announcing a sale in the online store for The Battersbox, located in Tomball, Texas.  I had had my eye on the 1965 Topps Sandy Koufax card for quite some time, and I had assumed this would be the second to last card added to our set, with just the Mickey Mantle card remaining.  Riding the high of the good vibes brought on by the Phillies, and realizing it had been over a month since I had added any vintage cards, I happily added the Koufax card to my cart along with two cards to be added to my not-yet-collecting 1969 Topps set.  This Short card was one of the two bonus purchases, and it cost $2.50.  

It was actually the second time I had purchased this card in the span of a month, as it was one of seven cards added from the Deptford Mall Baseball Card Show in September.  But the version received from The Battersbox was sharper overall, so the earlier Short card landed in my trade pile.

The Card / Phillies Team Set / Accuracy Index +5

Much to the chagrin of local collectors, Short declined to sign a contract with Topps and spent the first seven seasons of his career without a Topps baseball card.  He appeared in the annual oversized photo packs, a set of black and white portraits of the Phillies' more prominent players, but his "rookie card" and first Topps set appearance wouldn't come until 1967.  This is therefore only his third appearance in a Topps flagship set.  The back of the card highlights his two scoreless innings pitched in the 1967 All-Star Game and his then career 20 shutouts with the Phillies.

Accuracy Index:  Short is depicted accurately on the Phillies (+5), using a photo collectors hadn't seen before.

Inserts:  Short is included as one of the 48 decals in the Topps Decals insert set.

1969 Season
Short suffered a back injury early in the season and was limited to just two starts and 10 innings overall before opting for season-ending surgery in June.  His 1969 season an anomaly, he'd return in 1970 to appear in 36 games, making 34 starts.

Phillies Career
Short's Phillies journey began with his signing in June 1957, and ended when the team released him on October 26, 1972.  Short sat atop the Phillies all-time left-handed pitcher leaderboard for just about every major pitching category until being ultimately surpassed by Steve Carlton (#255).  

As of this writing, he's currently fifth all-time in games pitched (459), fourth in shutouts (24), fourth in wins (132), fourth in innings pitched (2,253), and fourth in strikeouts (1,585), typically behind some combination of Carlton, Robin Roberts, Pete Alexander and Cole Hamels.

1967 Topps #395

1968 Topps #139

1970 Topps #270

1971 Topps #511

1972 Topps #665

Other Notable Baseball Cards
First Mainstream Card:  1967 Topps #395
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (6):  1967-1972
Most Recent Mainstream Card:  2004 Fleer Greats of the Game #72
Total Non-Parallel Baseball Cards:  59 in the Beckett online database as of 1/13/23.

Sources:  
Baseball Reference / SABR / Wikipedia

Beckett Database / The Trading Card Database
The Phillies Room

#394 Pilots Rookie Stars / #396 Jim Campanis - Kansas City Royals