Shellenback was a native of Joplin, Missouri, and grew up in Los Angeles. He threw and batted right-handed and stood 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) (188 cm) tall and weighed 200 pounds (91 kg). He became a professional baseball player during World War I and was acquired by the Chicago White Sox at age 19 during the 1918 season. In 36 American League games during 1918–19, Shellenback won 11 games and lost 15, with an earned run average of 3.06 in 217​2⁄3 innings pitched. He appeared in his last MLB game on July 5, 1919, before his contract was transferred to the Minneapolis Millers of the American Association. Although Shellenback posted a 7–3 record there, because of the spitball ban and his minor league status at the time, he would never again pitch in the Majors.\n', '

Minneapolis sent Shellenback to the Vernon Tigers of the Pacific Coast League at the close of the 1919 campaign, and Shellenback began his long career in the circuit. He would hurl for Vernon, the Sacramento Solons, Hollywood Stars, and San Diego Padres, and win more than 20 games five times, with two 18-game and three 19-game winning seasons as well. All told, as a minor league pitcher, Shellenback won 315 games and lost 192 (for a winning percentage of .621), with an ERA of 3.55 over 4,514​1⁄3 innings. Shellenback\'s long tenure with Los Angeles-based teams even led to a brief movie career; he had roles in the comedies Fireman, Save My Child (1932) and Alibi Ike (1935). Both films starred comedian and baseball enthusiast Joe E. Brown, whose son would become known as a successful baseball executive.\n', '

Shellenback had a long career as a manager, coach, and scout as well. In 1935, still an active pitcher, he took over the managerial reins of the Stars and moved with them to San Diego the following season. There, in 1936, he helped discover and groom one of the greatest hitters of all time, Ted Williams, who signed with the Padres as a 17-year-old pitcher-outfielder out of San Diego\'s Hoover High School. Williams was soon acquired by the Boston Red Sox, while Shellenback remained manager of the Padres through 1938, winning the 1937 PCL championship.\n', '

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