Men's Basketball 9/26/2014 2:57:00 PM

OCU mourns death of Short, basketball legend

Short became all-American basketball player, later coach and athletic director at OCU

Arnold Short scored 1,527 career points during his basketball career at OCU.

OKLAHOMA CITY – Former Oklahoma City University NCAA basketball all-American Arnold Short died Friday morning.
Short had served OCU as athletic director, tennis coach and assistant basketball coach after a prolific playing career. Short, who was 81, had earned several distinctions, including the Oklahoma Sports Hall of Fame.
Chapel Hill Funeral Home, 8701 NW Expressway in Oklahoma City, will hold the memorial service for Short at 1 p.m. Tuesday.
"Our condolences go out to the Short family and to Arnold's OCU teammates," Oklahoma City athletic director Jim Abbott said. "We remember Arnold as one of OCU's first great basketball players, as an athletic administrator and as a gentleman and man of God. He will truly be missed."
Short became OCU's first basketball all-American in 1953 and '54. He piled up 1,527 points while averaging 20.1 points a game as a Chief. He holds the single-game school record with 23 free throws made against Baylor in 1953 and the single-season mark of 232 free throws hit in 1953-54. As a sophomore, he scored 22 points in a 55-53 win over UCLA in the third-place game of the 1952 NCAA Western Regional. Short averaged 27.8 points a game as a senior.
In the 1952 All-College Tournament, Short poured in 70 points in three games to earn tournament most valuable player and lead OCU to the tournament title. From 1951-54, OCU went 55-21 with three NCAA Tournament appearances and finished in the top 15 of the national rankings twice with Short's help and guidance from coach Doyle Parrack.
Short went on to become a two-time all-star with the Phillips 66ers in the National Industrial Basketball League and twice all-Army.
In 1970-75, Short returned to OCU as assistant basketball coach to Paul Hansen and as an instructor. From 1980-86, Short guided OCU's athletic department as athletic director and men's and tennis teams as coach. OCU added soccer during that time, and Short hired Brian Harvey as soccer coach.
"He was nothing but a gentleman," Harvey said. "He was a hard worker. He was all around a very nice gentleman."
Short joined the OCU Athletics Hall of Fame as a charter member and the All-College Tournament Hall of Fame in 1979, the Oklahoma Sports Hall of Fame in 2001 and the Oklahoma District Tennis Association's Hall of Fame in 2007. He was recognized among The Oklahoman's top 100 finest athletes in state history at No. 74 in 2007.
In 2007, Short completed 20 years as pastor of Ridgecrest United Methodist Church in Oklahoma City. Short had served as pastor of churches in Oklahoma City and Tulsa, Okla. He had done missionary work in China.
As a tennis player, Short won numerous singles and doubles titles in Oklahoma, Kansas, Missouri and Arkansas, attaining a No. 11 national ranking in men's 35-year-old singles and No. 5 in doubles. He won the Oklahoma state tennis championships in the amateur open division, men's singles and men's doubles.
He became the tennis professional and manager of the Oklahoma City Tennis Center for five years during the 1970s. He is considered the driving force behind the city's building a 12-court complex at Earlywine Park.
Short is survived by his wife Cecille and daughters Melinda Clonts and Lisa Carlile.

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