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2002 | |
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| Charlie Shaw '55 -- "Playing Football at Williams Made Me Realize I Will Never Quit" | |
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| November 16, 2002 | |
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| Charlie Shaw '55 -- "Playing Football at Williams Made Me Realize I Will Never Quit"
It was virtually a done deal -- Charlie Shaw of Baldwin, NY was ticketed to play football at Yale University. At least that's what most people thought when Shaw received the Herman Hickman Award as Long Island's top high school football player back in 1951. "It was pretty much taken for granted back then that the person who won the Hickman Award would end up going to Yale on what today would be called a football scholarship," said Shaw. A funny thing happened to Charlie Shaw on the way to the Yale and the Ivy League. Shaw made a detour to Williams College, well, not technically a detour, but a visit.
Then the phone rang in George Conroy's office. Conroy was Charlie Shaw's high school football coach. When Conroy answered he was delighted to know that on the phone was Len Watters, head football coach at Williams College. Watters was calling his college roommate to see if Conroy knew of any players who might be able to help the Ephs. Conroy told Watters he had one that Yale was interested in -- Charlie Shaw. Watters convinced Conroy and Shaw that Shaw should at least take a look at Williams. Shaw agreed to visit Williams and he stayed with Pete deLisser '51 who also hailed from Baldwin, NY. "When I got to Williams Pete told me that he had a big test the next day and he pointed out the window and said the rest of the campus is over there and suggested that I take a walk around," said Shaw. "I was relieved not to get the hard-sell from Williams that I got at Yale and as I walked around and spoke with people I began to realize that Williams was the place for me. "Dave Pynchon an assistant to Fred Copeland, Director of Admissions, really warmed me up to the notion of going to Williams," said Shaw. "Pynchon highlighted all the advantages of going to a small school and I was impressed." At Williams Shaw would not have the luxury of having the Hickman Award help pay his bills as it would have at Yale so he worked all four years on campus in the dining hall waiting on tables. Working in the dining hall was not Shaw's only job while at Williams. He also toiled as a babysitter and he registered a 'first'. "I believe that I was the first postmaster in Baxter Hall," said Shaw. "I had to work my way through Williams. My family was not poor, we just did not have any extra money to spend so I paid my own way." Shaw also worked construction during the summers to come up with the money needed to cover his expenses at Williams, sometimes working two or three jobs in a day. Sophomore year Shaw was all set to start at QB for the Ephs until a freak accident knocked him out of the lineup and into the hospital. "We were running through some plays down on Cole Field before heading to Maine to play Bowdoin," said Shaw. "We had on jerseys and pants, but no helmets and no pads, just a light workout. On one play I turned to hand the ball to the running back and his elbow caught me between my nose and my right eye and I started to bleed. I got patched up and we headed to Maine." In 1953 even a helmet would not have protected Shaw from the injury because back then helmets did not have facemasks. "Assistant Coach Bob Clifford told me later that on the play when I got hit he was not looking at the handoff and he heard a popping sound that he thought was someone firing a gun," said Shaw. "Coach Clifford thought maybe someone was hunting in the woods. I did not hear anything nor feel any great pain, but I did feel a little blood trickling down my face." Shaw's injury worsened during the night as it ruptured forcing him back to campus and the North Adams Hospital. "I don't remember how long I was at North Adams Hospital," said Shaw. "It was a few days, maybe a week and the bleeding just would not stop. I knew I was in real trouble when President Phinney Baxter and his wife came to visit me. Shortly after that I was transferred to New York's Columbia Presbyterian Hospital." Shaw's situation was so grave he received the last rights from the Catholic Church. Eventually the staff at Columbia Presbyterian got the bleeding in Shaw's face under control and he returned to campus. Shaw missed his the remainder of his sophomore season of football, but he was able to toe the rubber for the Eph baseball team that spring. When the 1953 football season rolled around Shaw once again accumulated another 'first' on the Williams campus -- he wore a facemask in football. Shaw's mask looked nothing like what is seen on today's helmets. "It was more of a hockey goalie's mask and I hated it," said Shaw. "It was hot. It fogged up all of the time. It was just annoying." "After my injury I was never really quite as good as I thought or the coaches thought I could be," said Shaw. "I would not let that stop me from contributing though. I wanted to come back and show that I could play and I could lead the team." Shaw's football highlight memory at Williams ironically was a loss to Amherst. "We were at least four touchdown underdogs to Amherst in 1954, but we gave them a run for their money on Pratt Field. They won 21-14, but we were in the game the whole way. I will never forget the support of the Eph fans and my teammates that day as both appreciated that we gave it all we had. We had a chance to tie, but a pass was dropped in the end zone, but our fans still carried us off the field." In the spring of 1955 Shaw pitched a gem at West Point when he shutout the Cadets of Army on a four-hitter, but the athletic memory that burns the brightest was that Saturday afternoon in November of 1954 on Pratt Field when Charlie Shaw showed that he could comeback and lead the Ephs.. "My years at Williams allowed me to experience the fullness of life and were very meaningful," said Shaw. "You never really know you are in a defining moment until it's past, but Williams taught me how to deal with the ups and downs of life, deal with adversity and to take on tough challenges. What I took away from Williams was that I will never quit." Charlie Shaw was in the ROTC Program at Williams and to complete his responsibilities he entered the Air Force in August of 1955. Shaw started his own real estate business at the age of 27 and he has not stopped working since making his mark on both New York and Chicago's landscapes and communities. This past spring Shaw was honored with a Williams College Bicentennial Medal. The bicentennial medal honors members of the Williams community for distinguished achievement in any field of endeavor. The college awarded 23 Bicentennial Medals in 1993 and has added five to seven in each year since. Shaw's remarkable post-Williams career is captured on his Bicentennial Medal citation: "Charlie Shaw is nationally recognized as an innovative real estate entrepreneur dedicated to bringing new life to diverse urban communities. One of his first developments was Manhattan's U.N. Plaza. His Lake Point Tower in Chicago, built in 1965, became a national model of how to attract people back to city living. His Museum Tower project, built with the air rights above New York's Museum of Modern Art set a precedent by providing the museum ongoing financial support. The $180 million renovation of the Conrad Hilton Hotel saved a historic building and spurred development of Chicago's South Loop. He turned the sprawling former headquarters of Sears, Roebuck on Chicago's West Side into Homan Square, a mixed-income community complete with 300 units of affordable housing and the Homan Square Community Center Campus with facilities for education, counseling, health care, and recreation. He is past chairman of The Urban Land Institute, a non-profit research and education organization that provides "leadership to the land-use industry in order to enhance the total environment." "In real estate and developing you run into lots of ups and downs and you have to keep yourself grounded and focused and my days at Williams certainly provided me with the preparation to handle those situations," said Shaw. "The best thing Williams gave me though was the knowledge that I could handle tough challenges and that I would never quit. It's been a very busy and exciting life and I am looking forward to it continuing for quite a while." Charlie and his wife Bev married in July of 1955 and they have five children and eight grandchildren. Charlie and Bev split their time between New York, Chicago and Colorado. |
