Pro Football Hall of Fame offensive lineman and Bills legend Billy Shaw died Friday.
He was 85 years old.
Shaw died of hyponatremia (abnormally low sodium in the blood). according to his family.
Bill said his wife and three daughters were by his side.
He had a football career in the 1960s that included being an eight-time AFL All-Star and was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1999.
“Billy Shaw holds the honor of being the only member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame to have played his entire career in the American Football League, a fact that is notable and good to recite. But he is far from explaining why he was elected to the Class of 1999. Hall of Fame President Jim Porter said in a statement..
“Billy's all-around athleticism brought a new dimension to the guard position and made the Buffalo Bills of the 1960s a formidable opponent who could hurt opponents with a punitive rushing attack. He may be merciless to anyone who got in his way on the football field, but off the field he was the epitome of a “Southern gentleman” to everyone he met. ”
After a successful collegiate career at Georgia Tech, Shaw was drafted into the AFL (Bills) and NFL (Cowboys) in 1961, earning first-team All-SEC honors in 1960.
Shaw eventually decided to play for the Bills in the AFL from 1961 to 1969, winning two AFL titles with the team in 1964 and 1965.
He was an AP All-Pro five times and retired after the 1969 season.
