Pro Football Hall of Famer Billy Shaw died Friday at his home in Toccoa, Georgia, his family announced. Billy’s wife, Patsy, and their three daughters were at his bedside.
The cause of death was hyponatremia, a condition where the level of sodium in the blood is abnormally low.
Shaw was drafted by both the Bills of the AFL and the Cowboys of the NFL in 1961 out of Georgia Tech, where he played both offense and defense. The Bills drafted him in the second round to play guard, and the Cowboys picked him in the 14th round as a linebacker.
He signed with the Bills and went on to become one of the best guards in NFL history.
A key member of the Bills’ teams that won AFL titles in 1964 and 1965, Shaw earned first-team All-AFL honors from 1962-66 and was a second-team All-AFL choice in 1962, 1968 and 1969.
Shaw was selected to play in eight AFL all-star games.
He was named to the AFL All-Time Team and to pro football’s All-Decade Team of the 1960s.
In 1999, Shaw was enshrined in Canton as the only Hall of Famer to play his entire career in the AFL.
