I was on my way out of Northlands Coliseum in early January in 1984, rolling across the concourse while cleaning staff put the finishing touches on another night, on my way for post-game cocktails.
Out of the corner of my eye, there he was: sitting high above the ice, in a press box cubicle, behind the white bright lights, wearing a white headset.
John Short was talking to people. About sports.
On CFRN 1260 radio.
“I don’t work hard,” he once said. “But. I worked a lot.
“There is a difference.”
Lessons like that and so many more are making the rounds, and will continue to do so, following Thursday’s passing of my friend John, someone I had the honour of knowing for nearly 50 years.
Retired Oiler Kevin Lowe, contacted Thursday in Sweden, called John a pioneer in sports radio.
“He was a big supporter of me when I was s young player, and I really appreciated it.
“Really sorry to hear of his passing.
“He was an Edmonton sports pioneer and legend,” Lowe said.
John was public relations director when the Oilers made their 1979 National Hockey League entrance.
That’s when I saw the kindness and thoughtfulness of the man.
John suggested the Oilers give me two press passes, one for me and another one for someone to help me. I live with a disability and use a wheelchair.
That practice is still used today, and the Edmonton Elks followed suit.
But he did more for me that year. My dad’s best friend, Keith Allen, was the Philadelphia Flyers GM and was on the trip when the Flyers made their first visit to Edmonton.
I had already arranged for an assistant to go with me to the Flyer game, but I wanted to take Dad.
I phoned John and didn’t ask for an extra passes. I explained the situation.
There was a long pause.
“What’s your dad’s name?” John asked.
I told him.
“I’ll write him a pass right now,” he said.
And because of that kindness, my dad sat in Mr. Allen’s box for the game: two lifelong friends who played hockey in the 1930s outdoors in small town Saskatchewan.
On the radio, John’s 9-midnight time slot was a gold mine, not only for 1260 CFRN financially but for fans to talk sports, especially the Edmonton Oilers.
He had the passion to listen, really listen, to everyone and make them feel like they were an expert. If John didn’t agree with you, he told you, and told you why in a most diplomatic way.
And he was a mentor for many young boys who listened to transistor radios — sometimes hidden under their blankets so their parents wouldn’t know they were awake, past their bedtime — like Bryn Griffiths and Jason Gregor, now seasoned broadcasters themselves.
John hired Gregor when he was still a student at NAIT in January 2001, almost to the day, 22 years later, of his passing.
Gregor hosted four hours of his drive home show on Sports 1440 Thursday afternoon. It was raw, filled with emotion as he recalled everything John did for him.
John’s radio show was so popular, The Edmonton Journal made him their lead sports columnist in early 1984.
The paper even ran his mugshot as — get this — a full page ad. If John had any straggling nose hairs …
John’s days began at 8 a.m. when he went to the gym: “I may not work out at the gym but I go every day” he once said. And then it was off to an Oilers practice, or to do an interview with someone.
In the afternoon, John wrote his column before heading to the CFRN west-end studios.
If the Oilers were playing at home, John went to the Coliseum, where he watched the game and then broadcast his post-game show from the press box.
John wrote a few paragraphs to update the first minutes before he went on the air.
He wasn’t afraid of taking shots.
A young Ron MacLean was given 24 hour’s notice he was going to MC the 1987 Stanley Cup luncheon in late May of 1987 at the Edmonton Convention Centre.
“He carved me in the paper,” MacLean said from Toronto.
“I would say John performed my baptism. He prepared me for the gig.
“I always admired John and will be always grateful.”
John prided himself as being a reporter: as a Canadian Press reporter and a news reporter with The Journal.
A great lesson I learned from John came between periods between at an Oilers game.
“If you’re going to be a sports reporter,” John said “you have to be a good news reporter to know what is a news story.”
Just look to Sportsnet senior columnist Mark Spector, who sharpened his traditional pencil-behind-his-right-ear at the University of Alberta’s Gateway newspaper.
After covering the Oilers at The Journal, Spector worked on the cop desk before going on to the National Post — and then Sportsnet.
Perhaps his biggest impact was the coverage he gave to high school sports, junior hockey and football and other sports played by young people.
John put the same effort and eagle eye when writing and covering an Alberta Junior Hockey League game as the had covering an NHL game.
In fact, when he became the inside columnist at The Journal, he could really make his mark celebrating amateur sports.
But his first love? Talking to people.
“As a kid growing up in Edmonton, John was a legend to many of us that listened to sports talk radio,” said Kelly Hrudey, former NHL goaltender, now Sportsnet hockey analyst.
“I always found it cool that he would find the time to talk to me when I returned to Edmonton during my NHL playing days.”
Hockey Hall of Fame coach Ken Hitchcock: “Every time John spoke about us in the sporting industry, you always felt you were hearing the voice of a very dear friend.”
My last image with John was the last Edmonton Riverhawks game, walking on the north side of ReMax Field. Light sports jacket. Notebook in his right hand. Shuffling.
John Short walked inside to the grandstand and up to where he was one of the very best.
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