 Shaw ahead of the 1957 season | |||||||||||||||
| No. 14, 15, 17 | |||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Position | Quarterback | ||||||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||||||
| Born | (1933-07-25)July 25, 1933 Portland, Oregon, U.S. | ||||||||||||||
| Died | January 3, 1998(1998-01-03) (aged 64) Portland, Oregon, U.S. | ||||||||||||||
| Height | 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) | ||||||||||||||
| Weight | 183 lb (83 kg) | ||||||||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||||||||
| High school | Grant (Portland, Oregon) | ||||||||||||||
| College | Oregon | ||||||||||||||
| NFL draft | 1955: 1st round,1st overall pick | ||||||||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||||||||
| Awards and highlights | |||||||||||||||
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| Career NFL statistics | |||||||||||||||
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George Howard Shaw (July 25, 1933 – January 3, 1998) was an American professionalfootballquarterback who played seven seasons in theNational Football League (NFL) and one season in the rivalAmerican Football League (AFL). He was the first overall selection of the1955 NFL draft by theBaltimore Colts, for whom he started 17 consecutive games.
A leg injury to Shaw in 1956 forced the Colts to insertfree agent backupJohnny Unitas at quarterback, launching the latter on what would become aHall of Fame career.
Shaw was part of the Colts team which won the1958 Championship Playoff over theNew York Football Giants in sudden death overtime, long regaled in football lore as "the Greatest Game Ever Played."
George Shaw was born July 25, 1933, inPortland, Oregon. His father had been the operator of a small chain of four or five grocery stores, which were lost during the financial crisis of theGreat Depression.[1] He subsequently worked in the produce business.[1]
He attendedGrant High School in that city, participating on that school'sfootball team as aquarterback on offense and adefensive back on the other side of the ball.[2] George became the fourth of four Shaw brothers to play football for the Grant team, with his older brotherTom going on to play quarterback forStanford.[3]
A reserve during his sophomore season, in 1949 and 1950 Shaw led the Grant Generals to two consecutive Oregon state football championships.[4] The undefeated 1949 team caused one observer to write "They must go down in the annals as one of the best state championship teams in history — they looked that good."[5]
The 1949 championship game placed Shaw firmly on the radar of theOregon Ducks, with the same sports columnist noting: "Oregon'sJim Aiken sat alongside us during the game and between puffs of a cigar that wouldn't stay lit, Gentleman Jim drooled in ecstasy at the Generals' George Shaw, their brilliant junior quarterback. It will be two years before Jim has a chance to lay his hands on the kid, but you could see Aiken was thinking in terms of 1952, '53, and '54 quite often last Saturday."[5]
Shaw and his Grant Generals teammates extended their undefeated streak to 22 games with their defeat of theMarshfield Pirates in the 1950 Oregon state high school championship game held atMultnomah Stadium.[6] Shaw once again starred in the game, highlighted by his 40-yard punt return setting up a 9-yard touchdown pass toend Dick Davenport.[6] Shaw suffered an injury late in the third quarter than severely limited his time on the field for the rest of the contest, but Grant managed to hold on in his absence for a narrow 12–7 victory.[6]
In leading Grant to a second straight Oregon championship, Shaw was named to the first team of the 1950 Oregon All-State team.[7] He was also tabbed as a third team High School All-American for 1950.[8]
Although his early admirer, head coach Jim Aiken, had by then departed, Shaw enrolled at the University of Oregon in 1951. Although generally freshmen were prohibited byNCAA rule from participating in varsity sports, an exception was made in 1951 due to a player shortage associated with the outbreak of theKorean War, so Shaw immediately became a member of theDucks varsity team.[9] This did not stop Shaw from making his mark, racking up an astounding 13 interceptions as adefensive back for the year — an NCAA record for a 10-game season that would stand for 17 years.[9]
Shaw gained a reputation as a good sport in a violent game, earning him the nickname "Gentleman George" from his teammates.[10] He would frequently help opponents to their feet after a tackle and would very properly address officials as "Mr. Referee."[10]
As a senior in 1954, Shaw led the Ducks to their first winning record since 1948.[9] For the year, Shaw went 91-for-196 (46.4%) passing, with 10 touchdowns,[11] while rushing for three more. His 196 pass attempts were the most in the nation.[12] He finished 8th in balloting for the1954 Heisman Trophy[13] and won thePop Warner Trophy as the most valuable senior football player on the Pacific coast.[11]
Shaw was named a1954 All-American by theAssociated Press andNewspaper Enterprise Association, which named him to their third teams, andUnited Press International, which assigned him second team status. He was also named a member of the All-Pacific Coast Conference team in both 1953 and 1954.[12]
He was also a starbaseball player at Oregon, with some prospect of a professional career in that sport.
Beginning in1947, theNational Football League (NFL) conducted a lottery of its members for the right to select the first overall player in that year's draft.[14] Teams winning this special drawing were to be ineligible from winning the choice again in subsequent years.[14] In 1955 it was the turn ofthe Baltimore Colts to win the top pick, as their slip was selected over those ofthe Chicago Cardinals,Pittsburgh Steelers, andGreen Bay Packers.[15]
The Colts used their windfall pick to make Shaw the first player chosen inthe draft. Colts head coachWeeb Ewbank called Shaw "the best quarterback available in the country" and noted that in addition to his passing and rushing prowess, the versatile Oregon star had shown himself to be "an excellent defensive player.[15] Joining Shaw as the Colts' first round selection wasWisconsinfullbackAlan Ameche, who would long play a starring role for the team.[16]
A parade of NFL owners made their way to the Colts' table at the draft to make offers for one or both of the top Baltimore picks, since both players had been near the top of most teams' draft list.[16] Coming off a year in which the Colts had finished last in points scored and yards gained,[17] team ownerCarroll Rosenbloom quickly put a halt to these efforts to raid his new offensive prospects, however, announcing to the meeting that no such deals would be considered.[16]
Shaw did not rush to come to contract terms with the Colts, however, instead carefully weighing the alternative of signing a professional baseball contract to play as an outfielder forthe Boston Red Sox.[18] Despite Colts team president"Red" Kellett flying to the west coast in an effort to obtain Shaw's signature on a contract, Shaw remained insistent on continuing to play baseball through the spring of 1955 with the Oregon Ducks, who had won the pennant for the Northern Division of thePacific Coast Conference and held hopes of advancing to theCollege World Series.[19]
The impasse was finally broken on June 16, when Shaw signed a contract to play with the Colts for the 1955 season.[20] Financial terms of the deal were not announced to the press, although permission was granted by the club for Shaw to continue to play baseball for a time if such an opportunity presented itself.[20] The only proviso was that Shaw agreed to report to training camp in Maryland for its scheduled opening on July 16.[20]
Shaw subsequently told Colts publicity directorJohn Steadman that his choice of football over baseball had been practical rather than financial. "I'm going tohave to go in the Army in 1957," he said. "I didn't think it made good logic for me to become a bonus player in baseball, sit on the bench for two years and then go in the service. I would have wasted two years. This way, in football, if I'm lucky, I'll gain in experience these two years and I may be better established."[10]
Although playing rookies in key positions was not typical for head coachWeeb Ewbank, Shaw was quickly made the Colts'starter at quarterback.[10] He generated great excitement among the fanbase by leading the Colts to three straight victories to launch the1955 Baltimore Colts season. The winning streak was ended in a Week 4 game againstthe Chicago Bears, in which Shaw suffered a crushing hit that broke hisface mask, his nose, and knocked out four teeth.[17] Team trainers came up with some chewing gum that was used to fashion a crude mouthpiece, allowing Shaw to again take the field for the remainder of the team's losing effort.[17]
Shaw finished his rookie season having started 12 of the Colts' 14 games.[13] He ranked statistically in the middle of the league's quarterbacks, passing for 1,586 yards and 10 touchdowns while finishing second in the NFL for quarterback rushing, gaining 301 yards en route to 3 more touchdowns.[21]
On October 21, 1956, in a game againstthe Chicago Bears in Chicago, Shaw suffered a broken leg and was replaced by backupJohnny Unitas, acquired fromthe Pittsburgh Steelers where he had been a ninth-round draftee. As Unitas embarked on his legendary career, Shaw lasted two more years in Baltimore as the backup before being traded tothe New York Giants, where he played two seasons.
Shaw played one season withthe Minnesota Vikings, where he started the first game in franchise history but was replaced during the first half by rookie backupFran Tarkenton, who took over the starting job.
In 1962 Shaw played one season withthe Denver Broncos of theAmerican Football League before retiring from football.
After his time in football, Shaw returned to his native Portland where he worked in a stock brokerage firm, rising to the position of vice president.[11]
Shaw died at his home inPortland on January 3, 1998, after a long struggle withbone marrow cancer.[22] He was 64 years old at the time of his death. Family members said he died peacefully in his sleep.[11]
In his 1987 memoir,Art Donovan, his Hall of Fame teammate on the Colts, testified to Shaw's toughness: "In 1955, we had George Shaw at quarterback. George wasn't a big guy, but he was talented, a lot like Francis Tarkenton. We were playing the Bears out in Chicago, and Shaw took a mighty rap as he dropped back to pass.Ed Sprinkle, a grizzly old defensive end...broke through and hit Shaw low. Sprinkle kind of had him around the knees and was holding him up.... [A]s Sprinkle was keeping him upright, linebackerGeorge Connor got about a fifteen-yard head of steam up and bulled through and hit George high, right in the mouth. I mean put a shoulder right in his face and leveled him. Connor broke Shaw's face mask, broke his nose, and knocked his teeth out. George was a mess. They dragged him off the field, and his nose was spurting blood, and he didn't know where he was when he got to the bench.... When George finally regained his senses, he said toDick Szymanski, 'Hey Syzzie, how do my teeth look?' And Syzzie said, 'I don't know, George — they aren't there.' And you know what? George Shaw went back into that game. There was at least one fat defensive tackle on the Baltimore sidelines that gained a lot of respect for him that day."[23]