WILLIAMSTOWN, MA -- Long time Williams basketball coach Al Shaw, a member of the New England Basketball Hall of Fame, passed away Sunday evening in North Adams Regional Hospital where he had been under care since Wednesday when he suffered a stroke.
Shaw’s passing comes five months after his 102nd birthday. He is survived by his wife Marion and son John.
A memorial service will be held in the Congregational Church on Main Street in Williamstown on Thursday at 1:00 PM.A reception will follow in the Church's Fellowship Hall.
Shaw coached Williams for 24 years and rang up a record of 302-171, while taking three Eph teams to NCAA Tournaments, including his 1955 team that played Canisius in Madison Square Garden in the NCAA Tournament. One of Shaw's best players, Bob Mahland '62, a sharp shooting guard from Long Island was drafted by the NBA's Chicago Zephyrs.
Shaw also coached current Williams AD Harry C. Sheehy, III for one year and Harry's dad Harry C. Sheehy, Jr. The men's and women's basketball coaches offices in the Chandler Athletic Center are named for Shaw.
Even while coaching the Ephs early in his
career Shaw, a native of Michigan, would hop a train and head to
the Midwest to referee Big Ten games and as a collegiate player at
Michigan he played against the famed John Wooden.
Shaw was known for always having his Eph teams ready to play, and
well-disciplined.
Shaw who spent may years as the assistant Williams football coach assigned to scout arch rival Amherst used the same scouting techniques gleaned in the fall as he traveled the snow covered roads of New England as one of the first hoops coaches to see an opponent play before tipping off against them. Shaw fashioned a 19-game win streak vs. archrival Amherst among the 30 career wins he posted over the Lord Jeffs.
Shaw also served the college as a physical education instructor and assistant baseball and lacrosse coach.
Click
here to see an article on Al Shaw that appeared in a
2003 football game program.
Click
here to see obituary from Boston Globe.
