Shorty Howe

John Howe
(Shorty)

• Bats Unknown, Throws Unknown

• Debut June 17, 1890
• Final Game June 20, 1893
• Born in New York, NY USA

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Biographical Information

"The Allentown infield is a strong one at the present time. With Ereck, Heck and O'Rourke on the bases, and Shorty Howe at short, the infield is hard to beat." - Sporting Life, June 8, 1887

John "Shorty" Howe played in the majors for the New York Giants in 1890 and 1893. Used mostly at second base, he was in 19 games in 1890 and then came back for one game in 1893. In his one 1893 game, he went 3-for-5 for a .600 batting average, although he committed four errors at third base where he was filling in for George Davis.

Although his nickname was "Shorty", his height is not known. Nor is his birthdate known. He was playing minor league ball by 1886 at shortstop. While with the London Tecumsehs of the International Association in July of 1888, he got in a fight with former major league pitcher Larry Corcoran, who almost bit off one of his fingers; the injury caused him to be released by his club, but he recovered to play for Atlanta of the Southern League in 1889. The circuit disbanded in mid-year, and he returned to Canada, playing for the Hamilton Mountaineers of the IA the rest of the season. In 1890, he played for an independent team, the New York Metropolitans (or Mets) before being loaned to the Giants in mid-season. He also worked one National League game as an umpire.

He is the first of five major leaguers through 2011 with the last name Howe. The next one would not come along until Les Howe in 1923.

When Joseph Donnegan, a player and umpire, died in 1897, Shorty was one of several ex-players who were present at his funeral. Sporting Life gives a New York City address for him in 1889, but it was a rooming house, so that clue is not of much help to trace his further whereabouts. Given his relatively well-known status in New York in the 1890s, the SABR Biographical Committee made him its "Mystery of the Month" in early 2014 in order to encourage researchers to track down more information regarding his life outside baseball, but this has not borne fruit.

Further Reading

• "How Do We Find Howe?", in Bill Carle, ed.: Biographical Research Committee Report, SABR, January/February 2014, p. 3.