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
the 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. ==See also==