Billy Shaw, the Buffalo Bills great who remains the only player to be inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame without playing in the NFL, died Friday, the Hall of Fame announced. He was 85 years old.
His family said he died of hyponatremia, an abnormally low amount of sodium in the blood.
Shaw spent his entire nine-year career as an offensive guard for the Bills, who were then a member of the AFL. During that time, he was part of two AFL championship teams in 1964 and 1965 – the most recent championships in Bills history – and was a seven-time All-AFL selection and eight-time AFL All-Star. He was later named to the AFL’s All-Time team in 1970.
He was also a standout two-way player at Georgia Tech, so much so that it affected his prospects as a professional. He was selected in the 1961 AFL Draft by the Bills and in the 1961 NFL Draft by the Dallas Cowboys. The Cowboys reportedly wanted him as a linebacker, while the Bills offered him an offensive option.
Shaw chose the Bills and received an $11,000 contract and a brand new Pontiac Bonneville from team owner Ralph Wilson Jr.
That professional career ended after the 1969 season, a year before the AFL merged with the NFL and created the league many know today. That gave him an interesting place in football history.
From the Hall of Fame:
“Billy Shaw has 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 worth noting and fun to recite, it is nowhere near the reason he was elected to the Class of 1999,” said Hall of Fame President Jim Porter. “Billy’s all-around athleticism brought a new dimension to the guard position and made the Buffalo Bills of the 1960s a formidable opponent capable of crushing opponents with a punishing rushing attack.
“And while Billy could be ruthless with anyone who crossed his path on the football field, he was the classic example of the ‘Southern gentlemen’ off the field to everyone he encountered.”
The enshrinement of Shaw’s Hall of Fame in 1999 was also eventful.
As he entered the room with Lawrence Taylor, Eric Dickerson and Ozzie Newsome, Shaw thanked everyone he could think of and then walked away from the lectern for photos with his bust. However, he forgot one very important person: his wife Patsy.
From ESPN:
“My daughter, who was sitting in the front row, gave me this sign,” Shaw said before reenacting the throat-slash gesture made by Cindy Shaw.
“When she did that, I knew I had screwed up royally. And her [mouthed] “Forgot Mom.” During the break, I went to the front of the stage, grabbed my knees and did this to her.”
Shaw imitated a respectful bow, raising and lowering his arms theatrically toward his wife.
Patsy was at Shaw’s side when he died, as were their three daughters.
