By EFE
05 Oct 2024, 16:40 PM EDT
Billy Shaw, Buffalo Bills legend and Football Hall of Fame member American Professional, died this Friday at the age of 85 at his home in Toccoa, Georgia, announced his family and his former team.
“We are saddened to learn of the death of the member of the ‘Wall of Fame’ of the Bills and member of the Hall of Fame, Billy Shaw. We are thinking of his friends, family and loved ones during this difficult time,” the Bills wrote on their social networks.
Shaw was one of the best players of all time in the American Football League (AFL), a league that between 1960 and 1969 competed with the National Football League before the 1970 merger that gave rise to the current NFL.
From 1961 to 1969 he played for the Buffalo Bills, a team with which he was champion in 1964 and 1965; He also appeared in eight AFL All-Star games in his nine seasons in the league and was a five-time All-AFL selection.
Billy Shaw’s NFL career
The guard was instrumental in protecting Bills quarterback Jack Kemp and excellent blocker for running back Cookie Gilchrist, in a golden era for the team that won its only two titles in history.
In 1999, Shaw was inducted into the Hall of Fame, a venue located in Canton, Ohio, where bronze busts of league legends are displayed and honored.
“Billy Shaw has the distinction of being the only member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame who played his entire career in the AFL. “Billy’s athleticism brought a new dimension to the guard position,” said Hall of Fame President Jim Porter.
At 1.88 meters tall and 114 kilos in weight, Billy became a key piece in the Bills’ success as a running team in an AFL dominated by passing offenses.
Billy Shaw, who was born in Natchez, Mississippi, on December 15, 1938, died of hyponatremia, a condition in which sodium levels in the blood are too low.
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