It sure seems that everybody in Williamstown knows Al Shaw. Some know him as the philatelist who visits the campus weekly in his quest for stamps to trade. Some know him as the grey-haired fellow who sits in the top row of the bleachers at home basketball games. Some know him as that nice guy who used to drive Williams people to and from Albany Airport, but not many know he was the head coach of basketball at Williams for 24 years.

Al Shaw served as the head coach of basketball at Williams from 1949-50 through the 1972-73 seasons. Shaw also served as an assistant coach in football, baseball, and lacrosse and as assistant professor of P.E., and during his first few years was a referee in both the Big Ten and the National Professional Basketball league, which was the forerunner of the NBA.

Most of his early years with the Eph football team at Williams found Shaw coaching receivers during the week and hitting the road on the weekend. In the days before teams exchanged videotapes or movies of their games the only way to get a read on the next opponent was to go watch them and take notes. Head coach Len Watters designated Shaw as his top scout. “Tank Wilson and I would head out very early Saturday morning to go scout,” said Shaw. “For many years the only time I saw Williams play was against Amherst and sometimes I saw Amherst play five or six times before we played them.” Shaw used his football scouting techniques in basketball as well, often taking a student manager along for help and company. “When you see a team play in person you can also pick up a lot of other information, like how the team members get along and what kinds of things bother them or the coach.”

Al Shaw

Shaw rolled up a record of 302 wins against 171 losses in his Williams career. He retired with the most wins by a basketball coach at Williams, but that mark was later broken by one of his former players, Harry C. Sheehy, III ’75, who closed his Williams coaching career with 324 wins and 104 losses. “It was a thrill to play for Coach Shaw and I will never forget playing in his 300th win,” said the current Williams athletic director. “Coach Shaw embodies the word ‘integrity.’ He was always respectful of the game of basketball. Those were two valuable lessons I took with me into my coaching career.” Twenty-six years before coaching Harry C. Sheehy, III, Shaw coached Harry C. Sheehy, Jr. ’51. The elder Sheehy was no less impressed with his coach. “Al Shaw was one of the best teachers I ever had and a tremendous motivator,” said Harry C. Sheehy, Jr. ’51.

Under Shaw the Ephs won or tied for 18 Little Three titles. His 1955 team played in the NCAA Division I Tournament in Madison Square Garden and in 1959 and 1961 he guided the Ephs to the NCAA Small College Tournament. In 1970 Shaw received The Merit Award from the National Association of Basketball Coaches. Last month he was inducted into the New England Basketball Hall of Fame. Doubling Shaw’s enjoyment at being named to the New England hoops Hall of Fame was the enshrining of his 1955 Eph team as well.

The 1955 Ephs opened the season with 14 straight wins before losing at Amherst, 68-60. The 14-game win streak to open a season is still a school record, though the Ephs’ 2003 NCAA Champions, who also lost at Amherst, tied it.

The much-anticipated 1955 re-match with Amherst in Williamstown had spectators lined down Spring Street to the steps of the Post Office waiting to get into cozy Lasell Gym. It was reported that over 1,000 fans were turned away. "I remember someone told me the next day that there were 1,200 people in Lasell that night,“ said Shaw. "I'm sure it had to be much more than that, because the capacity of Lasell Gym was 1,200 and kids were climbing in through windows and those on the inside kept opening doors and squeezing more in. It was a fun night -- for Williams." Williams defeated Amherst 53-48 to avenge the earlier loss and in the process won the Little Three title.

The 1955 University of Rhode Island (URI) Rams hoops team was a highly regarded and high scoring unit. The Rams, averaging over 100 points a game, were slowed down and defeated by Shaw's Ephs 107-75 in Lasell Gym. Shaw had used his football scouting talents. "I saw URI play and knew they liked to run, but they were not very quick at getting back on defense and we took advantage of that," said Shaw. The 107 points by the Ephs was a school record at the time. Tony Moro netted a game-high 38 points and Ron Wilson scored 23. "I think that was one of the wins that got the attention of the NCAA Tournament Committee," said Shaw. Of course, getting the invitation to play in the NCAAs was one thing, getting the approval from the faculty and administration was another. "It was pretty big news back then when President Phinney Baxter came out of the faculty meeting and said we could go to New York to play Canisius," said Shaw.

Shaw opened his Williams hoops coaching career with four consecutive losses but finished the season at 10-6. He compiled a 30-18 record vs. archrival Amherst and from the 1958-59 season until the second meeting in the 1968 season Shaw guided his Ephs to 19 consecutive wins over Amherst. He was 34-14 vs. Wesleyan.

Shaw has spent most every fall since retiring perched in the press box at Weston Field Eph football. He likely he is up there now watching you read this.

You can pretty much set your watch by him. He arrives 30 minutes before kickoff. Invariably, on his way to get a piece of pizza and a soda he will drop a zinger or two. One day when asked how things were going Shaw replied,” Not so good, one of my former players committed a double murder last night up in Maine.” As a hush came over the three or four people within earshot he followed up that stunner with, “I guess you didn’t see Max Gail [’65 ] on ‘Murder She Wrote’ last night.”

Al Shaw has never let me forget the prank he subjected me to back in 1961 in Lasell Gym. Shaw used to host a morning basketball clinic for the kids whose parents worked at the college. We were lined up for a dribbling relay race. Al walked up to me and said, “You get to use the new ball, but don’t bounce it until I blow the whistle.” When Al blew the whistle I pushed the ball to the floor and took off – the ball never returned to my hand. “What did you do to the new ball,” said a laughing Al Shaw. Before I could even begin to mount a defense, he explained that the ball I was using was made to look and feel like the real thing, but it would not bounce. Shaw used the no-bounce ball to improve his teams’ passing and offensive movements.

Once asked to list some memorable wins while he was associated with the Williams football team, Al replied, “Every win over Amherst.”

Born July 8, 1907 in Detroit, Mich., Shaw was a standout player at Southeastern H.S. and was a member of two Michigan state-champion teams before enrolling at the University of Michigan where he also excelled in basketball. Shaw played against the legendary John Wooden in college and he earned both his undergraduate (1932) and graduate degrees (1938) from Michigan. Shaw was a member of the U.S. Naval Reserve from 1943 to 1947 before coming to Williams in the fall of 1949.

Shaw, now 96 years old, and his wife of 68 years, Marion, still make there home in Williamstown. The Shaw's son John resides in nearby Stamford, Vt. where he owns a computer company.