Yogibear
Footballguy
The professional football world today is celebrating the life of Pro Football Hall of Famer Billy Shaw, who passed away Friday, Oct. 4, 2024, at his home in Toccoa, Ga., his family said. He was 85.
Shaw’s wife, Patsy, and their three daughters were at his bedside. The family cited hyponatremia as the cause of his death.
A member of the Hall of Fame’s Class of 1999, Shaw was a standout guard who helped the Buffalo Bills win back-to-back championships in the American Football League in the mid-1960s.
“Billy Shaw holds the distinction of being the only member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame to play his entire career in the American Football League, but while that fact is worthy of noting and nice to recite, it comes nowhere near providing the reason he was elected as a member of the Class of 1999," said Hall of Fame President & CEO Jim Porter. "Billy’s all-around athleticism brought a new dimension to the guard position and made the 1960s Buffalo Bills a formidable opponent capable of bruising opponents with a punishing rushing attack.
"And while Billy could be unforgiving to anyone in his way on the football field, he was the classic example of the ‘Southern gentleman’ off the field to everyone he encountered.”
Born on Dec. 15, 1938, in Natchez, Miss., Shaw played high school football at Carr Central High School in Vicksburg, Miss. Enamored with an older Carr Central teammate who had gone on to Georgia Tech, Shaw also decided to attend the university.
With the Yellow Jackets, Shaw was a two-way tackle who earned All-America honors as a senior. He was selected to play in the 1961 College All-Star Game, where a teammate’s twisted ankle became a life-altering twist of fate for both men.
Shaw, who once said of his college career, “l thought I played defense much better than offense, and I still believe most of the honors I received were for my defensive play,” was assigned to the defensive squad for the all-star game. Teammate Houston Antwine, another two-way player out of Southern Illinois, was working out at guard.
Antwine hurt his ankle in practice, however, and Otto Graham – a coach for the all-stars – determined he needed to fill the guard position more than he needed Shaw on the defensive line.
Nervous about facing the defending champion Philadelphia Eagles – “I was scared to death,” Shaw recalled in one interview – he nonetheless held his own. A big hit on future nine-time Pro Bowl linebacker Maxie Baughan caught spectators’ attention.
Shaw’s wife, Patsy, and their three daughters were at his bedside. The family cited hyponatremia as the cause of his death.
A member of the Hall of Fame’s Class of 1999, Shaw was a standout guard who helped the Buffalo Bills win back-to-back championships in the American Football League in the mid-1960s.
“Billy Shaw holds the distinction of being the only member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame to play his entire career in the American Football League, but while that fact is worthy of noting and nice to recite, it comes nowhere near providing the reason he was elected as a member of the Class of 1999," said Hall of Fame President & CEO Jim Porter. "Billy’s all-around athleticism brought a new dimension to the guard position and made the 1960s Buffalo Bills a formidable opponent capable of bruising opponents with a punishing rushing attack.
"And while Billy could be unforgiving to anyone in his way on the football field, he was the classic example of the ‘Southern gentleman’ off the field to everyone he encountered.”
Born on Dec. 15, 1938, in Natchez, Miss., Shaw played high school football at Carr Central High School in Vicksburg, Miss. Enamored with an older Carr Central teammate who had gone on to Georgia Tech, Shaw also decided to attend the university.
With the Yellow Jackets, Shaw was a two-way tackle who earned All-America honors as a senior. He was selected to play in the 1961 College All-Star Game, where a teammate’s twisted ankle became a life-altering twist of fate for both men.
Shaw, who once said of his college career, “l thought I played defense much better than offense, and I still believe most of the honors I received were for my defensive play,” was assigned to the defensive squad for the all-star game. Teammate Houston Antwine, another two-way player out of Southern Illinois, was working out at guard.
Antwine hurt his ankle in practice, however, and Otto Graham – a coach for the all-stars – determined he needed to fill the guard position more than he needed Shaw on the defensive line.
Nervous about facing the defending champion Philadelphia Eagles – “I was scared to death,” Shaw recalled in one interview – he nonetheless held his own. A big hit on future nine-time Pro Bowl linebacker Maxie Baughan caught spectators’ attention.
