As originally aired on The Rochester Press Box
Billy Shaw is one of a kind. The only Pro Football Hall of Famer who spent his entire career in the American Football League. I grew up on the AFL. The eight-team upstart league which brought professional football back to Buffalo in 1960. The owners were collectively known as the Foolish Club. But Ralph Wilson and Company got the last laugh. Those eight teams are all still around in one form or another.
Shaw was one of the foundation pieces. A two-way lineman out of Georgia Tech, he was taken in the first round of the 1961 draft. Shaw played eight seasons at guard. All of them with Buffalo. He started as a rookie and didn’t miss a game through his first six years. He blocked for quarterback Jack Kemp through two AFL championships seasons. Helped pave the way for Cookie Gilchrist. And was still starting when OJ Simpson was a rookie. You’ll find all of those names on the wall at Highmark Stadium. Including Billy’s number 66.
With Shaw leading the way as a pulling guard, Buffalo’s power sweep was almost as potent as Green Bay’s more iconic version of the play during the Vince Lombardi years. Its dominance helped lead to a call from the hall thirty years after Billy retired. During the induction ceremonies, he realized he’d forgotten to mention his wife, Patsy. He returned to the stage, got down on one knee and apologized. They were married 64 years. Is it any wonder. His rookie card is the most valuable in the 1962 Fleer football set. Worth some 300 bucks.
Billy Shaw was one of those guys I’d hoped to get to meet someday. It’ll never happen now. Mr. Shaw passed away last week. He was 85. It’s been a long time, but it’s still disappointing that so few around here seem to know who he was. Maybe this’ll help.
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