George Frederick Short was an English

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

 professional footballer who made 18 appearances in the Football League

The Football League

The Football League, also known as the npower Football League for sponsorship reasons, is a league competition featuring professional association football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888, it is the oldest such competition in world football...

 playing for Small Heath

Birmingham City F.C.

Birmingham City Football Club is a professional association football club based in the city of Birmingham, England. Formed in 1875 as Small Heath Alliance, they became Small Heath in 1888, then Birmingham in 1905, finally becoming Birmingham City in 1943.They were relegated at the end of the...

.

Short was born in Birmingham

Birmingham

Birmingham is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands of England. It is the most populous British city outside the capital London, with a population of 1,036,900 , and lies at the heart of the West Midlands conurbation, the second most populous urban area in the United Kingdom with a...

. He played football for the Unity Gas Depot works team before joining Small Heath

Birmingham City F.C.

Birmingham City Football Club is a professional association football club based in the city of Birmingham, England. Formed in 1875 as Small Heath Alliance, they became Small Heath in 1888, then Birmingham in 1905, finally becoming Birmingham City in 1943.They were relegated at the end of the...

 in 1887. In Small Heath's first season in the Football Alliance

Football Alliance

The Football Alliance was an association football league in England which ran for three seasons, from 1889–90 to 1891–92.It was formed by 12 clubs as a rival to the Football League, which had begun in the 1888–89 season, also with 12 member clubs...

, Short scored four goals in 13 appearances playing as a winger

Outside forward

Outside forward is a position in association football which refers to a footballer who plays as an advanced forward on the right or left wing - as an outside right or outside left. Typically as part of a 2-3-5 formation or one of its variants...

, but later he became most comfortable at full-back

Defender (association football)

Within the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield player whose primary role is to prevent the opposition from attacking....

. This meant a lengthy spell in the reserve team

Reserve team

Large professional sports clubs often have far more players under contract than could possibly play in a match. As a result, many of these clubs create second teams composed of players who need playing time, but have little hope of playing on the first team. The players on this second team are...

, because first-choice defenders Tom Bayley

Tom Bayley

John Thomas "Tom" Bayley was an English professional footballer who played as a right back. Born in Walsall, Staffordshire, he played for Walsall Town Swifts and Small Heath in the Football Alliance before going on to make 130 appearances in the Football League representing Small Heath, Walsall...

 and Fred Speller

Frederick Speller

Frederick Speller was an English professional footballer who played as a full back. Born in Marlow, Buckinghamshire, he played for hometown club Great Marlow before signing for Small Heath. He went on to make 93 appearances in the FA Cup, Football Alliance and the Football League for the club in...

 missed only two games between them in the next two seasons. Short returned to the first team for the club's first season in the Football League

The Football League

The Football League, also known as the npower Football League for sponsorship reasons, is a league competition featuring professional association football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888, it is the oldest such competition in world football...

 in 1892–93, contributing to their winning the inaugural Second Division

Football League Second Division

From 1892 until 1992, the Football League Second Division was the second highest division overall in English football.This ended with the creation of the FA Premier League, prior to the start of the 1992–93 season, which caused an administrative split between The Football League and the teams...

 championship. He helped the club to runners-up spot in the Second Division the following season, which this time brought promotion

Promotion and relegation

In many sports leagues around the world, promotion and relegation is a process that takes place at the end of each season. Through it, teams are transferred between divisions based on their performance that season...

 to the First Division

Football League First Division

The First Division was a division of The Football League between 1888 and 2004 and the highest division in English football until the creation of the Premier League in 1992. The secondary tier in English football has since become known as the Championship....

 via the test match system, but never played in the top flight. He joined Oldbury Town of the Birmingham & District League in 1895.

Short's younger brother Charlie

Charlie Short

Charles "Charlie" Short was an English professional footballer who played in the Football Alliance for Small Heath. He played as a forward....

also played professionally for Small Heath.