Shaw was hired as Hibs'
trainer by
Willie McCartney in 1936, after McCartney had been appointed
manager. Hibs had fallen on hard times in the early 1930s, having suffered relegation for the first time in
1931 and then struggling to regain and retain Division One status. Through the late 1930s and the
Second World War, McCartney built the great Hibs side that would largely dominate Scottish football in the late 1940s and early 1950s. With Hibs on top of the league midway through the
1947–48 season, however, McCartney collapsed during a
Scottish Cup match and died later that night. Although
Matt Busby was linked with the job, Shaw was appointed as manager within the week, as Hibs faced a match against their main challengers, Rangers. Shaw completed the
Famous Five forward line by introducing
Bobby Johnstone to the team in 1948, with all five playing together for the first time on 21 April 1949. He guided the team to further league championships in
1951 and
1952, Hibs continued to do well in
reserve team football, but many of those players failed to impress in the first team, with the brilliant exception of
Joe Baker. He then had a brief spell as
Raith Rovers manager. In 2003, the
Sunday Herald newspaper listed Shaw as 31st in their list of the 50 greatest Scottish football managers, noting his "sense and man-management skills". ==Honours==