Georgia Tech football great Billy Shaw dead at 85

AP photo by Mark Duncan / Former Buffalo Bills offensive lineman Billy Shaw is introduced before the inaugural Pro Football Hall of Fame Fan Fest in May 2014 at the International Exposition Center in Cleveland. After starring as a two-way player at Georgia Tech, Shaw excelled at left guard for the Bills, becoming the only Pro Football Hall of Fame inducted who spent his entire playing career in the AFL. AP photo by Mark Duncan / Former Buffalo Bills offensive lineman Billy Shaw is introduced before the inaugural Pro Football Hall of Fame Fan Fest in May 2014 at the International Exposition Center in Cleveland. After starring as a two-way player at Georgia Tech, Shaw excelled at left guard for the Bills, becoming the only Pro Football Hall of Fame inducted who spent his entire playing career in the AFL.

By The Associated Press October 4, 2024 3 min read

CANTON, Ohio — Billy Shaw, an all-time AFL great guard who powered the Buffalo Bills’ famed rushing attack of the 1960s, died Friday. He was 85.

The Pro Football Hall of Fame said Shaw died at home in Toccoa, Georgia. Shaw’s wife of 64 years, Patsy, and their three daughters were at his bedside. The family cited hyponatremia as the cause of his death, according to the hall.

Hyponatremia is a condition where there is an abnormally low level of sodium in one’s blood, relative to the amount of water in the body.

A second-round draft pick out of Georgia Tech, where he was a two-way player and All-American, Shaw made the American Football League All-Star Game eight times in his nine seasons. He was an All-AFL selection five times and a two-time AFL champion.

He also was named to the All-Time AFL team and to pro football’s 1960s All-Decade team.