Bruce Shorts
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|
| Sport(s) | Football |
|---|---|
| Biographical details | |
| Born |
January 14, 1878 Belleville, Ontario, Canada |
| Died | March 29, 1945 (aged 67) Fort Steilacoom, Washington, U.S. |
| Playing career | |
| 1900–1901 | Michigan |
| Position(s) | Tackle |
| Coaching career (HC unless noted) | |
| 1904 | Nevada |
| 1905 | Oregon |
| Head coaching record | |
| Overall | 7–4–2 |
Bruce Carman Shorts (January 15, 1878 – March 29, 1945) was an American football player and coach. He played as a tackle at the University of Michigan from 1900 to 1901. He later served as the head football coach at the University of Nevada, Reno in 1904 and at the University of Oregon in 1905.
Shorts attended high school at Mt. Pleasant, Michigan before enrolling at the University of Michigan. Shorts played for Fielding H. Yost's first Michigan Wolverines football team. The 1901 team compiled a record of 11–0 and outscored its opponents 550–0. He was regarded as one of the best tackles in the Western Conference. He was six feet one inch tall and weighed close to 190 pounds while playing at Michigan. He played in 1901 despite being sick. Coach Yost later recalled Shorts' efforts in playing through sickness as follows:
"Well do I remember how dangerously near Bruce Shorts, star right tackle, came to being lost to the 1901 Michigan football team. He was very sick all season with an attack of appendicitis. His enforced withdrawal from the team would have greatly weakened it. In an evenly matched game one can visualize what his absence from the lineup would have meant. Shorts played through the season, but this nearly cost him his life, for he was a short time later so sick that it was reported he had died. However, he pulled through."
Prior to the 1902 Rose Bowl, the Los Angeles Times wrote a profile about the stars of the Michigan football team. About Shorts, the Times wrote: "Bruce Shorts, who is the newly chosen team captain of 1902 is 6 feet in height and weighs 190 pounds. For his two years he has played right tackle, and his weight makes him one of the strongest men on the team. He is the best ground gainer of the line men."
In addition to football, Shorts also competed in the "weight" events for the Michigan track and field team. He won the Western intercollegiate championship in the hammer throw, and was "also recognized as a very good shot-putter."
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