View source for Bob Short

{{short description|American lawyer}}
{{About||the cabaret singer|Bobby Short|the English poet who used this pen-name|Alexander Pope}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| name               = Bob Short
| image              = Bob Short (1969).jpg
| image_size         = 200
| alt                = Bob Short
| caption            = Short in 1969
| birth_name         = Robert Earl Short
| birth_date         = {{Birth date|1917|7|20}}
| birth_place        = [[Minneapolis, Minnesota]], U.S.
| death_date         = {{death date and age|1982|11|20|1917|7|20}}
| death_place        = [[Hennepin County, Minnesota]], U.S
| resting_place      = Resurrection Cemetery, [[Mendota Heights, Minnesota|Mendota Heights]], Minnesota
| office = Treasurer of the [[Democratic National Committee]]
| term_start = August 1968
| term_end = March 12, 1969
| predecessor = [[John Criswell]]
| successor = Patrick J. O'Connor
| spouse             = Marion D. McCann (1948–2022)
| children           = 
| other_names        = 
| alma_mater         = {{Plainlist|
* [[University of St. Thomas (Minnesota)|University of St. Thomas]]
* [[Georgetown University]]
}}
| known_for          = Owner of the [[Los Angeles Lakers|Minneapolis / Los&nbsp;Angeles&nbsp;Lakers]] and [[Washington Senators (1961–71)|Washington Senators]] / [[Texas Rangers (baseball)|Texas&nbsp;Rangers]]
| occupation         = businessman
| module1 = {{Infobox military person|embed=yes
| allegiance   = {{USA}}
| branch       = {{flag|United States Navy}}
| rank         = [[File:US-O5 insignia.svg|15px]] [[Commander (United States)|Commander]]
| battles      = [[World War II]]
| unit         = 
| serviceyears = 1942–1946
| awards       = 
}}
}}

'''Robert Earl Short''' (July 20, 1917 – November 20, 1982) was an American businessman, sport teams owner, and politician. Short owned the [[Los Angeles Lakers|Minneapolis / Los&nbsp;Angeles&nbsp;Lakers]] of the [[National Basketball Association]] and the [[Washington Senators (1961–71)|Washington Senators]] / [[Texas Rangers (baseball)|Texas&nbsp;Rangers]] of [[Major League Baseball]]. He served as the treasurer of the [[Democratic National Committee]] from 1968 to 1969.

==Background==
Short graduated from the College of Saint Thomas (now the [[University of St. Thomas (Minnesota)|University of St. Thomas]]) in [[Saint Paul, Minnesota]], before receiving his law degree from [[Georgetown University Law Center]] in [[Washington, D.C.]] In 1942, he enlisted in the [[United States Navy]] during [[World War II]], and rose from [[Ensign (rank)#United States|ensign]] to [[Commander (United States)|commander]] before resigning in 1946. In 1948, he married Marion D. McCann and they settled in suburban [[Edina, Minnesota|Edina]] and raised seven children.<ref name=ActualFacts>[http://law.nd.edu/people/faculty-and-administration/endowed-professors/ Endowed Chairs] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111216153109/http://law.nd.edu/people/faculty-and-administration/endowed-professors/ |date=December 16, 2011 }}, Notre Dame Law School, accessed December 17, 2011.</ref>

Short practiced law for several years and started to invest in business ventures after buying an interest in Mueller Transportation, a small trucking line. He built the company into a major freight carrier known as Admiral Merchants Motor Freight, then expanded into real estate and the hotel business. He later purchased two professional sports teams.<ref name=ActualFacts/>

Short was a longtime supporter of the [[University of Notre Dame]] and served as a member of its [[Notre Dame Law School|Law School]] Advisory Council from 1974 until his death in 1982, when he was succeeded by his wife in both business and at Notre Dame (she also served nine years on the board of trustees of what became the University of Saint Thomas). He endowed the Robert and Marion Short Chair in Law at Notre Dame Law School, which his son attended.<ref name=ActualFacts/>

==Sports ownership==
Short bought the [[Minneapolis Lakers]] of the [[National Basketball Association]] in 1957 and moved the team to Los Angeles in [[1960–61 Los Angeles Lakers season|1960]] due to terrible attendance ([[George Mikan]] had retired in the mid-1950s) in the [[Twin Cities]]. The Lakers immediately resumed their winning ways in L.A., resulting in increased attendance and revenue, and Short sold the team in 1965 to Canadian magnate [[Jack Kent Cooke]].

The original [[History of the Washington Senators (1901–60)|Washington Senators]] baseball franchise had moved to Minnesota in [[1961 Minnesota Twins season|1961]] due to dwindling attendance (to become the [[Minnesota Twins]]). In late [[1968 Washington Senators season|1968]], Short outbid comedian [[Bob Hope]] for the second (expansion) version of the [[1968 Washington Senators season|Senators]], buying the team for $9.4&nbsp;million.<ref name=sibcssh>{{cite news |url=https://vault.si.com/vault/1971/08/09/bad-case-of-the-short-shorts |magazine=Sports Illustrated |last=Fimrite |first=Ron |author-link=Ron Fimrite |title=Bad case of the Short shorts |date=August 9, 1971 |page=20}}</ref><ref name=shbuynats>{{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=abVWAAAAIBAJ&sjid=cekDAAAAIBAJ&pg=7359%2C1813874 |work=Spokesman-Review |location=(Spokane, Washington) |agency=Associated Press |title=R.E. Short buys Nats: $9 million |date=December 4, 1968 |page=16}}</ref> The Senators had just finished in the American League basement and were last in the majors in attendance. Short immediately made himself his own general manager and hired [[National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum|Hall of Famer]] [[Ted Williams]]—the major leagues' last .400 hitter—as its field manager for [[1969 Washington Senators season|1969]].

Miraculously, the '69 Senators improved by 21 games and posted 86 victories en route to a fourth-place finish in the American League East–the only winning season the expansion-era version of the club experienced in its 11-year lifespan. Williams coaxed career-best batting averages out of a number of Washington hitters. With a winning team, Williams as a drawing card, and the [[1969 Major League Baseball All-Star Game|All-Star Game]] at [[Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium|Robert F. Kennedy Stadium]], the Senators almost doubled their 1968 attendance, to over 918,000 paid spectators.

But it was a one-year wonder; the [[1970 Washington Senators season|1970]] edition won only 70 games and fell into the AL East basement. Players began to complain about Williams' approach to managing; after the initial success, he reportedly lost interest. Short dealt his best starting pitcher and the left side of his infield (third baseman [[Aurelio Rodríguez]], shortstop [[Ed Brinkman]], and pitchers [[Joe Coleman (baseball, born 1947)|Joe Coleman]] and [[Jim Hannan]]) to the [[1971 Detroit Tigers season|Detroit Tigers]] for former [[Cy Young Award]] and 30-game-winner [[Denny McLain]], who had spent most of the [[1970 Detroit Tigers season|1970]] campaign suspended because of gambling allegations.  The trade helped transform Detroit back into contenders, while McLain lost a league-worst 22 games due to an abused pitching arm that was never the same. It was alleged by onetime Senators broadcaster [[Shelby Whitfield]] that the trade was made to secure the Tigers' vote in favor of the attendance-starved Senators' eventual move to Texas, but Short was unaware of the condition of McLain's arm at the time of the trade.

The McLain deal was one of many questionable trades made by Short after the 1969 season; most<!--of these trades--> were made to service the massive debt he'd incurred to buy the team. With the Senators' attendance dwindling back to near-1968 levels, Short issued an ultimatum–unless someone was willing to buy the Senators for $12.4&nbsp;million, he would move the team elsewhere.<ref name=sibcssh/> When no credible offers surfaced from Washington-area interests, Short successfully petitioned the AL to move the franchise to [[Arlington, Texas]],<ref name=lwmtdfw>{{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=gB9OAAAAIBAJ&sjid=Qe0DAAAAIBAJ&pg=5070%2C2397226|work=Spokesman-Review |location=(Spokane, Washington) |agency=Associated Press |title=Owners let Washington move to Dallas-Fort Worth |date=September 22, 1971 |page=16}}</ref> where it became the [[Texas Rangers (baseball)|Texas Rangers]] in [[1972 Texas Rangers season|1972]].

The Senators' move to Texas made Short an unpopular figure in Washington sports. During the final Senators game at RFK Stadium on Thursday, September 30, [[1971 Washington Senators season|1971]], the fans let their feelings be known; they unfurled two giant "Short Stinks" banners, and then stormed the field near the end of the game, resulting in a Senators forfeit.<ref name=ffinoff>{{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=B_RNAAAAIBAJ&sjid=14oDAAAAIBAJ&pg=7276%2C3891864 |work=Free-Lance Star |location=(Fredericksburg, Virginia) |agency=Associated Press |last=Lowitt |first=Bruce |title=Fans 'finish off' the Senators |date=October 1, 1971 |page=6}}</ref><ref name=ywllsen>{{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=2qlOAAAAIBAJ&sjid=tQkEAAAAIBAJ&pg=3672%2C118410 |work=Wilmington Morning Star |location=(North Carolina) |agency=UPI |title=Yankees wallop Senators, 9 to 0 |date=October 1, 1971 |page=2C}}</ref>

Short is also remembered in Texas for drafting high-school phenom [[David Clyde]] in 1973 and then acceding to Clyde's insistence that he pitch two games with the Rangers before being assigned to the minor leagues. After Clyde pitched well in those two starts and drew huge crowds, Short kept Clyde with the Rangers, in an effort to draw crowds for the cellar-dwelling Rangers. This impeded Clyde's development, and his career slowly fizzled. He injured his arm in 1974, spent some time in the minors, and retired in 1981.

The Rangers went into rebuilding mode under young manager [[Whitey Herzog]], but when the Detroit Tigers fired [[Billy Martin]], Short quickly replaced Herzog with Martin, who immediately turned the Rangers around, piloting them to second place in [[1974 Texas Rangers season|1974]]. Short wasn't with the Rangers at season's end, having sold the franchise for $9.5 million on May&nbsp;29 to an investment group led by [[Brad Corbett]].<ref>[https://www.star-telegram.com/sports/article3833459.html Davison, Drew. "Former Rangers owner Brad Corbett dies at age 75," ''Fort Worth Star-Telegram'', Tuesday, December 25, 2012.] Retrieved February 29, 2020</ref>

Short was [[Bob Lurie]]'s original investment partner in an attempt to purchase the [[San Francisco Giants]] from [[Horace Stoneham]] in order to prevent the franchise's sale and move to [[Toronto]]. However, the deal foundered when both Lurie and the [[National League (baseball)|National League]] owners insisted that Lurie be recognized as the primary owner who would cast the Giants' vote at league meetings. Lurie believed that since he lived in San Francisco and Short lived in Minneapolis, he should be the senior member of the partnership. For their part, the other NL owners had misgivings about Short's tenure with the Senators/Rangers, and were not willing to approve the deal if Short were the principal owner. Short refused to agree to these terms and pulled out of the partnership. With hours to go before a league-imposed deadline, Lurie replaced Short with [[Phoenix, Arizona]]-based [[meat packing industry|meat-packer]] Bud Herseth, and the $8 million deal was approved by the other league owners on March 2, 1976.<ref>[https://www.nytimes.com/1976/03/03/archives/giants-purchased-by-lurie-herseth-giants-sale-to-lurie-and-herseth.html "Giants Purchased By Lurie, Herseth," ''The Associated Press'', Wednesday, March 3, 1976.] Retrieved February 29, 2020</ref><ref>[https://cdnc.ucr.edu/cgi-bin/cdnc?a=d&d=DS19760303.2.121&e=-------en--20--1--txt-txIN--------1 "Herseth Replaces Short As Co-Owner; Rigney Named Giants Manager," ''United Press International'', Wednesday, March 3, 1976.] Retrieved February 29, 2020</ref><ref name=SABR>[https://sabr.org/research/san-francisco-giants-team-ownership-history Garratt, Rob. "San Francisco Giants team ownership history," Society for American Baseball Research (SABR), Wednesday, September 5, 2018.] Retrieved February 29, 2020</ref>

==Political career==
[[File:President Richard Nixon Enjoys Opening Day Baseball at Robert F. Kennedy Stadium in the Company of a Young Fan.jpg|thumb|[[Washington Senators (1961–71)|Washington Senators]] owner Bob Short (with arms folded) with [[Richard Nixon|President Nixon]] and [[Bowie Kuhn]] on opening day in [[1969 Washington Senators season|1969]]]]
Short first ran unsuccessfully for [[80th United States Congress|U.S. Congress]] in 1946, and in 1966 he lost a run for [[List of lieutenant governors of Minnesota|lieutenant governor]] in Minnesota. He also served as treasurer of the [[Democratic National Committee]] during [[Hubert Humphrey]]'s [[Hubert Humphrey 1968 presidential campaign|1968 presidential campaign]],<ref name=Gerstel19680831>{{Cite news |title=Humphries rests up for battle |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/514714587/ |newspaper=Tulare Advance-Register |publication-place=[[Tulare, California]] |date=August 31, 1968 |agency=[[United Press International]] |last=Gerstel |first=Steve |page=2 |volume=86 |issue=218 |via=[[Newspapers.com]]}}</ref><ref name=Broder19690313>{{Cite news |title=Treasurer Quits $6-Million-in-Red Democrats |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/434628722/ |newspaper=[[The Boston Globe]] |date=March 13, 1969 |agency=[[The Washington Post]] |last=Broder |first=David S. |author-link=David S. Broder |page=18 |volume=195 |issue=72 |edition=Morning |via=[[Newspapers.com]]}}</ref> remaining involved in the DNC for a number of years. His best-known campaign was for the [[List of United States senators from Minnesota|United States Senate]] in [[1978 United States Senate special election in Minnesota|1978]].<ref name=ActualFacts/> Short was a close friend of Humphrey and ran for his seat after Humphrey's death. He narrowly upset Congressman (later Minneapolis mayor) [[Donald M. Fraser]] in the Democratic primary, but lost the general election to Republican [[David Durenberger]] with only 35% of the vote.

During the 1978 campaign, Short was hindered by his conservative positions on a few hot-button issues — abortion, motorboat usage in the Boundary Waters Canoe area, and government spending. Indeed, he was actually well to Durenburger's right on these matters. This caused many in the liberal wing of the Democratic Farmer–Labor Party to cross over and vote for Durenberger. Short went down to defeat along with almost the entire DFL ticket, including incumbent DFL Senator [[Wendell Anderson]], who had maneuvered to get himself appointed to [[Walter Mondale]]'s seat while serving as governor two years earlier, as well as Anderson's successor as governor, [[Rudy Perpich]].

==Personal life==
Short was a proud Irish Catholic.<ref name=marshmallow/> He had a wife, Marion, and seven children.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Pate |first1=Steve |title=Rangers' first owner dead of cancer at 65 |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/fort-worth-star-telegram-rangers-first/162087719/ |access-date=January 2, 2025 |work=Fort Worth Star-Telegram |date=November 22, 1982 |pages=35}}</ref> He anonymously gave hundreds of thousands of dollars to the [[University of Notre Dame]].<ref name=marshmallow/>

==Death==

Short died of lung cancer at age 65 on November 20, 1982. His funeral was held at St. Olaf Catholic Church in downtown [[Minneapolis]], and he was interred at [[Resurrection Cemetery (Mendota Heights, Minnesota)|Resurrection Cemetery]] in [[Mendota Heights, Minnesota]].<ref>{{cite news |title=1,200 attend requiem mass for Bob Short |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-forum-1200-attend-requiem-mass-for/162087372/ |access-date=January 2, 2025 |work=The Forum |agency=[[Associated Press]] |date=November 26, 1982 |location=Moorehead, MN |page=B8}}</ref><ref name=marshmallow>{{cite news |last1=Klobuchar |first1=Jim |title=Bob Short was not anybody's marshmallow |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/star-tribune-bob-short-was-not-anybodys/162087355/ |access-date=January 2, 2025 |work=Star Tribune |date=November 22, 1982 |pages=13}}</ref>

==References==
{{reflist|2}}

==External links==
*{{find a Grave|32153504}}

{{s-start}}
{{s-ppo}}
{{s-bef|before=[[Sandy Keith]]}}
{{s-ttl|title=[[Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic]] nominee for [[Lieutenant Governor of Minnesota]]|years=[[1966 Minnesota lieutenant gubernatorial election|1966]]}}
{{s-aft|after=[[Rudy Perpich]]}}
{{s-bef|before=[[Hubert Humphrey]]}}
{{s-ttl|title=[[Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic]] nominee for [[United States Senator|U.S. Senator]] from [[Minnesota]]<br />([[Classes of United States Senators|Class 1]])|years=[[1978 United States Senate special election in Minnesota|1978]]}}
{{s-aft|after=[[Mark Dayton]]}}
{{s-sports}}
{{succession box | title=[[Washington Senators (1961–71)|Washington Senators]] / [[Texas Rangers (baseball)|Texas Rangers]] [[General manager (baseball)|General Manager]]| before=[[George Selkirk]]| after=[[Joe Burke (baseball executive)|Joe Burke]] | years=[[1968 in baseball|1968]]&ndash;[[1972 in baseball|1972]]}}
{{succession box| title = Owner of the<br>[[Washington Senators (1961–71)|Washington Senators]] / [[Texas Rangers (baseball)|Texas Rangers]]| before = [[James Lemon]] <br> 1963&ndash;1968 | after = [[Brad Corbett]] <br> 1974&ndash;1980|years=1968–1974}}
{{s-end}}

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Short, Bob}}
[[Category:1917 births]]
[[Category:1982 deaths]]
[[Category:Major League Baseball general managers]]
[[Category:Major League Baseball owners]]
[[Category:Businesspeople from Minneapolis]]
[[Category:Lawyers from Minneapolis]]
[[Category:Politicians from Minneapolis]]
[[Category:Texas Rangers owners]]
[[Category:Washington Senators (1961–1971) executives]]
[[Category:Washington Senators (1961–1971) owners]]
[[Category:Los Angeles Lakers owners]]
[[Category:NBA executives]]
[[Category:Deaths from cancer in Minnesota]]
[[Category:20th-century American businesspeople]]
[[Category:Minneapolis Lakers personnel]]
[[Category:Minnesota Democrats]]
[[Category:Military personnel from Minneapolis]]
[[Category:20th-century American lawyers]]
[[Category:Democratic National Committee treasurers]]
[[Category:Burials at Resurrection Cemetery]]