George Shaw

George Howard Shaw (July 25, 1933 – January 3, 1998) was an American professional football player who was a quarterback for seven seasons in the National Football League (NFL) and one season in the rival American Football League (AFL). He played college football for the Oregon Ducks and was the first overall selection of the 1955 NFL draft by the Baltimore Colts, for whom he started 17 consecutive games.

A leg injury to Shaw in 1956 forced the Colts to insert free agent backup Johnny Unitas at quarterback, launching the latter on what would become a Hall of Fame career.

Shaw was part of the Colts team which won the 1958 Championship Playoff over the New York Football Giants in sudden death overtime, long regaled in football lore as "the Greatest Game Ever Played."

Biography Early life

George Shaw was born July 25, 1933, in Portland, 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 the Great Depression. He subsequently worked in the produce business. George became the fourth of four Shaw brothers to play football for the Grant team, with his older brother Tom going on to play quarterback for Stanford.

A reserve during his sophomore season, in 1949 and 1950 Shaw led the Grant Generals to two consecutive Oregon state football championships. 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."

The 1949 championship game placed Shaw firmly on the radar of the Oregon Ducks, with the same sports columnist noting: "Oregon's Jim 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." Shaw once again starred in the game, highlighted by his 40-yard punt return setting up a 9-yard touchdown pass to end Dick Davenport. He was also tabbed as a third team High School All-American for 1950.

College career

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 by NCAA rule from participating in varsity sports, an exception was made in 1951 due to a player shortage associated with the outbreak of the Korean War, so Shaw immediately became a member of the Ducks varsity team. This did not stop Shaw from making his mark, racking up an astounding 13 interceptions as a defensive back for the year — an NCAA record for a 10-game season that would stand for 17 years. He would frequently help opponents to their feet after a tackle and would very properly address officials as "Mr. Referee." while rushing for three more. His 196 pass attempts were the most in the nation. He finished 8th in balloting for the 1954 Heisman Trophy and won the Pop Warner Trophy as the most valuable senior football player on the Pacific coast. Teams winning this special drawing were to be ineligible from winning the choice again in subsequent years.

The Colts used their windfall pick to make Shaw the first player chosen in 1955 NFL draft. Colts head coach Weeb 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.

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. team owner Carroll 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. 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 the Pacific Coast Conference and held hopes of advancing to the College World Series.

The impasse was finally broken on June 16, when Shaw signed a contract to play with the Colts for the 1955 season. 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.

On October 21, 1956, in a game against the Chicago Bears in Chicago, Shaw suffered a broken leg and was replaced by backup Johnny Unitas, acquired from the 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 to the New York Giants, where he played two seasons.

Shaw played one season with the Minnesota Vikings, where he started the first game in franchise history but was replaced during the first half by rookie backup Fran Tarkenton, who took over the starting job.

In 1962 Shaw played one season with the Denver Broncos of the American Football League before retiring from football.

Life after 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. He was 64 years old at the time of his death. Family members said he died peacefully in his sleep.