By: Justin Boone
This week is one of the biggest of the year for Joe Short.
With such a common name, you likely don’t recognize exactly who Joe Short is in type, which isn’t shocking since his fame is tied to a team whose history was as brief as the meaning of his last name.
In 1994, the Baltimore Stallions joined the CFL, much to the delight of a State Farm agent named Joe Short. He had become a fan of Canadian Football in the 1950’s, and now had a team of his own to root for, only serving to reinforce his passion for the game north of the border. He became what the casual observer would call a “super fan,” but to Joe it was nothing out of the ordinary to deck himself out in Baltimore gear, including his Stallions cowboy hat. The original hat now makes its home in the Canadian Football Hall of Fame.
In 1995, Baltimore did the unthinkable and became the only team hailing from outside of Canada to win the Grey Cup. Joe still has the only ball signed by the entire Stallions team, from the owner to the equipment manager. He was even invited to the post-game party with the team. It was a dream, but the kind that you couldn’t enjoy because a nightmare was to follow.
“It was bittersweet wining the Grey Cup because we knew the team was leaving after the season, he explained. “To this day, there are well over 20,000 broken hearts left in Baltimore.”
Even with his team gone, he continued to follow the CFL, watching all the games by satellite in the U.S. He even catches the old tilts on Tuesday nights on ESPN Classics. This year’s Grey Cup will be the 14th consecutive for him and his wife, and he’s already booked for Calgary in 2009.
The Grey Cup is one of two trips he Joe makes to Canada each year, the other being for the annual Hall of Fame weekend. He gets back to see old friends like the Ticats legend Angelo Mosca, and to hopefully meet some new ones along the way.
“The first time I came to Ivor Wynne Stadium, I bought tickets ahead of time. My wife went to grab a bite to eat in the stadium before the game and told me to meet her at the seats. We had seats in section 26. Two minutes before game time, a couple came in and said ‘Excuse me, you’re in our seats.’ We looked at the tickets and we were supposed to be in section 25. So we got up to leave and the Ticats fans around us said, ‘No, no, no. We’re going to make room for you.’ And they did. It’s just such a great class of people in Hamilton.”
“That’s one of the things I love about the CFL too. The average fan is a somebody up here. You go to Grey Cup and before the trophies are given out a lot of times the players are out buying fans drinks.”
While his Stallions time in the CFL may have been brief, Joe Short’s enthusiasm for the CFL game will continue to be long-lived. His hat can still be spotted in a crowd, even in the 60,000 plus that are expected at Sunday’s game.
