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{{short description|American football quarterback}}
{{Short description|American football player (born 1947)}}
{{about||the English cricketer|Dennis Shaw (cricketer)|the British actor|Denis Shaw}}
{{for multi|the English cricketer|Dennis Shaw (cricketer)|the British actor|Denis Shaw}}
{{More footnotes|BLP=yes|date=May 2015}}
{{More footnotes|BLP=yes|date=May 2015}}
{{Use American English|date=May 2023}}
{{Infobox NFL biography
{{Infobox NFL biography
|image= Dennis Shaw with Don Coryell (cropped).png
|image=
|caption=Shaw with [[San Diego State Aztecs football|San Diego State]] in 1969
|position=[[Quarterback]]
|position=[[Quarterback]]
|number=16, 11
|number=16, 11
|birth_date={{birth date and age|1947|3|3}}
|birth_date={{birth date and age|1947|3|3}}
|birth_place=[[Los Angeles, California]], U.S.
|height_ft=6
|height_ft=6
|height_in=3
|height_in=3
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|draftround=2
|draftround=2
|draftpick=30
|draftpick=30
|high_school=[[Damien High School|Los Angeles (CA) Damien]]
|high_school=[[Damien High School|Damien]] {{nowrap|([[La Verne, California]])}}
|college=[[San Diego State Aztecs football|San Diego State]]
|college=[[San Diego State Aztecs football|San Diego State]]
|teams=
|teams=
* [[Buffalo Bills]] ([[1970 NFL season|1970]]–[[1973 NFL season|1973]])
* [[Buffalo Bills]] ([[1970 NFL season|1970]]–[[1973 NFL season|1973]])
* [[St. Louis Cardinals (NFL)|St. Louis Cardinals]] ([[1974 NFL season|1974]]–[[1975 NFL season|1975]])
* [[St. Louis Cardinals (NFL)|St. Louis Cardinals]] ([[1974 NFL season|1974]]–[[1975 NFL season|1975]])
* [[Green Bay Packers]] ([[1976 NFL season|1976]])*
* [[New York Giants]] ([[1976 NFL season|1976]])
* [[New York Giants]] ([[1976 NFL season|1976]])
* New York Giants ([[1977 NFL season|1977]])*
* [[Kansas City Chiefs]] ([[1978 NFL season|1978]])
* [[Kansas City Chiefs]] ([[1978 NFL season|1978]])
* [[Chicago Blitz]] (1984)
* [[Chicago Blitz]] (1984)
|statlabel1=[[Touchdown|TD]]–[[Interception|INT]]
|statlabel1 = Passing attempts
|statvalue1=35-68
|statvalue1 = 924
|statlabel2=Yards
|statlabel2 = Passing completions
|statvalue2=6,347
|statvalue2 = 489
|statlabel3=[[Passer rating|QB Rating]]
|statlabel3 = Completion percentage
|statvalue3=56.8
|statvalue3 = 52.9%
|statlabel4 = [[Touchdown|TD]]–[[Interception|INT]]
|statvalue4 = 35–68
|statlabel5 = Passing yards
|statvalue5 = 6,347
|statlabel6 = [[Passer rating]]
|statvalue6 = 56.8
|nfl=SHA553722
|nfl=SHA553722
|pfr=ShawDe00
|pfr=ShawDe00
|highlights=
|highlights=
* [[NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year]] (1970)
* [[NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year]] (1970)
* Second-team [[List of All-Pac-12 Conference football teams|All-Pac-8]] ([[1969 All-Pacific-8 Conference football team|1969]])
|birth_place=[[Los Angeles]]
}}
}}


'''Dennis Wendell Shaw''' (born March 3, 1947) is a former [[American football]] [[quarterback]] in the [[National Football League]] for the [[Buffalo Bills]], [[St. Louis Cardinals (NFL)|St. Louis Cardinals]], [[New York Giants]], and the [[Kansas City Chiefs]].
'''Dennis Wendell Shaw''' (born March 3, 1947) is an American former professional [[American football|football]] player who was a [[quarterback]] in the [[National Football League]] (NFL) for the [[Buffalo Bills]], [[St. Louis Cardinals (NFL)|St. Louis Cardinals]], [[New York Giants]], and [[Kansas City Chiefs]]. He played [[college football]] for the [[San Diego State Aztecs football|San Diego State Aztecs]].
==Career==
===College ===
Shaw played [[college football]] for the [[San Diego State University]] [[SDSU Aztecs|Aztecs]]. While playing for the Aztecs he set an NCAA record by throwing nine touchdown passes in a 70–10 win against [[1969 New Mexico State Aggies football team|the New Mexico State Aggies]] on November 15, 1969.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/sports/the-52/sdut-the-52-SDSUs-dennis-shaw-throws-nine-tds-2016feb05-story.html|title=The 52: SDSU's Dennis Shaw throws nine TDs|date=February 5, 2016|website=San Diego Union-Tribune}}</ref> In that same season he set a single season school record for touchdown passes (39) and passes intercepted (26), the latter statistic led the NCAA for that season. He transferred from the [[University of Southern California]] and also played prior to that at [[Mt. San Antonio College]].


==College career==
===NFL===
Shaw was drafted in the second round of [[1970 NFL draft|the 1970 draft]] by [[1970 Buffalo Bills season|the Buffalo Bills]]. He was the third quarterback on the roster for the team next to [[Dan Darragh]] and [[James Harris (quarterback)|James Harris]]. In the first game of the season, he stepped in for Darragh, going 4-for-7 for 52 yards in the 25–10 loss to [[1970 Denver Broncos season|the Denver Broncos]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.pro-football-reference.com/boxscores/197009200buf.htm|title=Denver Broncos at Buffalo Bills - September 20th, 1970|website=Pro-Football-Reference.com}}</ref> In the second game, he took over for an ineffective Darragh and went 13-of-18 for 143 yards, although he threw two interceptions in the 19–0 loss to [[1970 Los Angeles Rams season|the Los Angeles Rams]]. He was named the starter for the following game against [[1970 New York Jets season|the New York Jets]]. Shaw went 12-of-21 for 317 yards with two touchdowns and two interceptions in the 34–31 victory, with his pass to [[Marlin Briscoe]] delivering the victory.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.pro-football-reference.com/boxscores/197010040buf.htm|title=New York Jets at Buffalo Bills - October 4th, 1970|website=Pro-Football-Reference.com}}</ref> It was one of only three games where Shaw would throw two touchdowns along with one of only two games with over 300 yards passing. For 1970 Shaw threw for 10 touchdowns and 20 interceptions. He threw an interception in all but one of the games he started while passing for 2,507 yards and a 65.3 passing rating, while the Bills went 3–10–1 after losing six of their last seven games (with one tie).<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.pro-football-reference.com/players/S/ShawDe00.htm|title=Dennis Shaw 1970 Game Log|website=Pro-Football-Reference.com}}</ref>
Shaw played [[college football]] for the [[San Diego State University]] [[SDSU Aztecs|Aztecs]]. While playing for the Aztecs he set an NCAA record by throwing nine touchdown passes in a 70-10 win against [[New Mexico State University]] on November 15, 1969.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/sports/the-52/sdut-the-52-SDSUs-dennis-shaw-throws-nine-tds-2016feb05-story.html|title=The 52: SDSU's Dennis Shaw throws nine TDs|date=February 5, 2016|website=San Diego Union-Tribune}}</ref> In that same season he set a single season school record for touchdown passes (39) and passes intercepted (26), the latter statistic led the NCAA for that season. He transferred from the [[University of Southern California]] and also played prior to that at [[Mount San Antonio Junior College]].


Despite a dismal season, he was sixth in yards, sixteenth in touchdowns, seventh in completion percentage alongside being second in interceptions. He was plagued by fumbles, for which he had ten of in the season along with being sacked 41 times.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.pro-football-reference.com/years/1970/passing.htm|title=1970 NFL Passing|website=Pro-Football-Reference.com}}</ref> Shaw was named [[NFL Rookie of the Year Award|NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year]] by the [[Associated Press]] in 1970, becoming the first quarterback to ever receive the award since its 1967 inception; no quarterback would win again until [[Ben Roethlisberger]] in 2004.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.buffalorumblings.com/platform/amp/2011/1/5/1907232/january-5-1977-bills-qb-dennis-shaw-named-rookie-of-the-year | title=January 5, 1971: Bills QB Dennis Shaw Named Rookie of the Year | date=5 January 2011 }}</ref>
==Professional career==
Shaw was drafted in the second round by the [[Buffalo Bills]] in the 1970 draft. He was the third quarterback on the roster for the team next to [[Dan Darragh]] and [[James Harris (quarterback)|James Harris]]. In the first game of the season, he stepped in for Darragh, going 4-for-7 for 52 yards in the 25-10 loss to the [[Denver Broncos]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.pro-football-reference.com/boxscores/197009200buf.htm|title=Denver Broncos at Buffalo Bills - September 20th, 1970|website=Pro-Football-Reference.com}}</ref> In the second game, he took over for an ineffective Darragh and went 13-of-18 for 143 yards, although he threw two interceptions in the 19-0 loss to the [[Los Angeles Rams]]. He was named the starter for the following game against the [[New York Jets]]. He went 12-of-21 for 317 yards with two touchdowns and two interceptions in the 34-31 win, with Shaw's pass to [[Marlin Briscoe]] delivering the victory.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.pro-football-reference.com/boxscores/197010040buf.htm|title=New York Jets at Buffalo Bills - October 4th, 1970|website=Pro-Football-Reference.com}}</ref> It was one of only three games where he would throw two touchdowns along with one of only two games with over 300 yards passing. He threw for 10 touchdowns and 20 interceptions on the year, throwing an interception in all but one of the games he started while passing for 2,507 yards and a 65.3 passing rating, with the Bills going 3-10-1 on the season after going 0-6-1 to close the year out.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.pro-football-reference.com/players/S/ShawDe00.htm|title=Dennis Shaw 1970 Game Log|website=Pro-Football-Reference.com}}</ref> Despite a dismal season, he was sixth in yards, 16th in touchdowns, 7th in completion percentage along with 2nd in interceptions. He was plagued by fumbles, for which he had 10 of in the season along with being sacked 41 times.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.pro-football-reference.com/years/1970/passing.htm|title=1970 NFL Passing|website=Pro-Football-Reference.com}}</ref> Shaw was named [[NFL Rookie of the Year Award|NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year]] by the [[Associated Press]] in 1970, becoming the first quarterback to ever receive the award (started in 1967).


Shaw started the year off with a 18-of-30 day for 353 yards with four touchdowns and three interceptions in a 49-37 loss to the [[Dallas Cowboys]]. The rest of the year was dismal, as the Bills went 1–13 with minimal scoring. Shaw threw for 1,813 yards in 12 starts and 13 appearances, having 11 touchdowns and 26 interceptions (a league high) with a 51.2 completion percentage.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.pro-football-reference.com/players/S/ShawDe00.htm|title=Dennis Shaw 1971 Game Log|website=Pro-Football-Reference.com}}</ref> For the following year, his fortunes improved slightly with the team. He started 13 of the 14 games in the 4-9-1 campaign, throwing for 1,666 yards while having 14 touchdowns and 17 interceptions for a 52.7 completion percentage.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.pro-football-reference.com/players/S/ShawDe00.htm|title=Dennis Shaw 1972 Game Log|website=Pro-Football-Reference.com}}</ref> The 1973 season was his last with the team. They drafted [[Joe Ferguson]] prior to the season beginning, leading to a quarterback competition that Ferguson won. Shaw did not start any games that saw the Bills rise to 9–5 through a rushing attack from established back [[O.J. Simpson]]. Shaw had appearances in four games, throwing a total of 22-of-46 for 300 yards for four interceptions. In his career as a Bills starter, he went 8-27-2.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.pro-football-reference.com/players/S/ShawDe00.htm|title=Dennis Shaw 1973 Game Log|website=Pro-Football-Reference.com}}</ref> Shaw was traded to the Cardinals for [[Ahmad Rashād]], reuniting Shaw with his college coach, [[Don Coryell]].<ref name="auto">{{Cite web|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1988-06-21-sp-4590-story.html|title=SCRAMBLING ONCE AGAIN : Latest Job in Limbo, Dennis Shaw Is Still Seeking a Pro Football Home|date=June 21, 1988|website=Los Angeles Times}}</ref> Between playing football, he did jobs such as insurance sales, business consultancy and carpet franchise supervision. He served as back-up on three teams until 1978. He served as assistant coach for Eastern Illinois in 1980, Chula Vista High School in 1981, Western Illinois in 1983 before being assistant coach/player with the [[Chicago Blitz]] of the [[United States Football League]] in 1984, although no job was longer than a year, owing to his desire to keep his family of four children in the area of [[San Diego]]. He applied to be coach at San Diego State in 1980, but he was denied, although he did call games on KSDO for the team in 1986 for a year.<ref name="auto"/> He was to be offensive coordinator of the San Diego Thunder of the [[World Indoor Football League]] in 1988, but the league folded before playing a down.
Shaw started the next season with a 18-of-30 day for 353 yards with four touchdowns and three interceptions in a 49–37 loss to [[1971 Dallas Cowboys season|the Dallas Cowboys]]. The rest of the year was dismal, as the Bills went 1–13 with minimal scoring. Shaw threw for 1,813 yards in twelve starts and thirteen appearances, having eleven touchdowns and 26 interceptions (a league high) with a 51.2 completion percentage.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.pro-football-reference.com/players/S/ShawDe00.htm|title=Dennis Shaw 1971 Game Log|website=Pro-Football-Reference.com}}</ref>
In 1972, Shaw’s fortunes improved slightly. He started all but one of the games in the 4–9–1 campaign, throwing for 1,666 yards while having fourteen touchdowns and seventeen interceptions for a 52.7 completion percentage.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.pro-football-reference.com/players/S/ShawDe00.htm|title=Dennis Shaw 1972 Game Log|website=Pro-Football-Reference.com}}</ref> [[1973 Buffalo Bills season|The 1973 season]] was his last with the Bills, who drafted [[Joe Ferguson]] in the third round [[1973 NFL draft|of that year]], leading to a quarterback competition that Ferguson won. The Bills rose to 9–5 via the [[2,000-yard club|2,003-yard]] rushing attack of [[O. J. Simpson]], but Shaw started zero games and Ferguson would remain the primary Bills quarterback for the remainder of the decade. Shaw saw action in four games, completing 22 of 46 passes for 300 yards and four interceptions. In his career as a Bills starter, he went 8–27–2.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.pro-football-reference.com/players/S/ShawDe00.htm|title=Dennis Shaw 1973 Game Log|website=Pro-Football-Reference.com}}</ref>
===After the Bills===
Shaw was traded to the Cardinals for [[Ahmad Rashad]], reuniting Shaw with his college coach, [[Don Coryell]]; he threw eight total passes in two seasons with the Cardinals.<ref name="auto">{{Cite web|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1988-06-21-sp-4590-story.html|title=SCRAMBLING ONCE AGAIN : Latest Job in Limbo, Dennis Shaw Is Still Seeking a Pro Football Home|date=June 21, 1988|website=Los Angeles Times}}</ref>
Between playing football, Shaw did jobs such as insurance sales, business consultancy and carpet franchise supervision. He was on the roster of [[1976 New York Giants season|the 1976 New York Giants]]<ref>{{cite news|last=Curran|first=Bob|title=The Riches to Rags Story of A Bills Record Holder|work=[[The Buffalo News|Buffalo Evening News]]|date=August 24, 1977|page=29}}</ref> and [[1978 Kansas City Chiefs season|1978 Kansas City Chiefs]] but never saw regular-season action for either team.<ref>{{cite news|title=Giants Cut Dennis Shaw|work=[[Courier News|The Courier-News]]|date=August 9, 1977|location=[[Bridgewater Township, New Jersey|Bridgewater]], [[New Jersey]]|page=B-4}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last=Fox|first=Gene|title=Shaw Suffering Through Season of Inactivity|work=[[The Kansas City Star]]|date=December 3, 1978|page=2S}}</ref>
===Coaching===
He served as assistant coach for Eastern Illinois in 1980, Chula Vista High School in 1981, Western Illinois in 1983 before being assistant coach/player with the [[Chicago Blitz]] of the [[United States Football League]] in 1984, although no job was longer than a year, owing to his desire to keep his family of four children in the area of [[San Diego]]. He applied to be coach at San Diego State in 1980, but he was denied, although he did call games on KSDO for the team in 1986 for a year.<ref name="auto" /> He was to be offensive coordinator of the San Diego Thunder of the [[World Indoor Football League]] in 1988, but the league folded before playing a down.

==NFL career statistics==
{| class="wikitable mw-collapsible"
! colspan="2"| Legend
|-
| style="background:#cfecec; width:3em;"|
| Led the league
|-
| '''Bold'''
| Career high
|}

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;"
|-
! rowspan="2"| Year
! rowspan="2"| Team
! colspan="3"| Games
! colspan="9"| Passing
! colspan="5"| Rushing
! colspan="2"| Sacks
|-
! {{abbr|GP|Games played}} !! {{abbr|GS|Games started}} !! {{abbr|Record|Record as a starter}} !! {{abbr|Cmp|Passes completed}} !! {{abbr|Att|Passes attempted}} !! {{abbr|Pct|Completion percentage}} !! {{abbr|Yds|Passing yards}} !! {{abbr|Y/A|Yards per passing attempt}} !! {{abbr|Lng|Longest pass completion}} !! {{abbr|TD|Passing touchdowns}} !! {{abbr|Int|Interceptions}} !! {{abbr|Rtg|Passer rating}} !! {{abbr|Att|Rushing attempts}} !! {{abbr|Yds|Rushing yards}} !! {{abbr|Avg|Yards per rushing attempt}} !! {{abbr|Lng|Longest rushing attempt}} !! {{abbr|TD|Rushing touchdowns}} !! {{abbr|Sck|Times sacked}} !! {{abbr|Yds|Yards lost due to sacks}}
|-
! [[1970 NFL season|1970]] !! [[1970 Buffalo Bills season|BUF]]
| '''14''' || 12 || 3–8–1 || '''178''' || '''321''' || '''55.5''' || '''2,507''' || '''7.8''' || 48 || 10 || 20 || '''65.3''' || '''39''' || '''210''' || 5.4 || '''20''' || 0 || '''41''' || style="background:#cfecec; width:3em;"| '''387'''
|-
! [[1971 NFL season|1971]] !! [[1971 Buffalo Bills season|BUF]]
| 13 || 12 || 1–11 || 149 || 291 || 51.2 || 1,813 || 6.2 || '''75''' || 11 || style="background:#cfecec; width:3em;"| '''26''' || 46.1 || 14 || 82 || '''5.9''' || 12 || 0 || 33 || 276
|-
! [[1972 NFL season|1972]] !! [[1972 Buffalo Bills season|BUF]]
| '''14''' || '''13''' || '''4–8–1''' || 136 || 258 || 52.7 || 1,666 || 6.5 || 58 || '''14''' || 17 || 63.5 || 35 || 138 || 3.9 || 16 || 0 || 38 || 320
|-
! [[1973 NFL season|1973]] !! [[1973 Buffalo Bills season|BUF]]
| 4 || 0 || 0–0 || 22 || 46 || 47.8 || 300 || 6.5 || 40 || 0 || 4 || 32.9 || 4 || 2 || 0.5 || 1 || 0 || 11 || 75
|-
! [[1974 NFL season|1974]] !! [[1974 St. Louis Cardinals season|STL]]
| 2 || 0 || 0–0 || 0 || 0 || 0.0 || 0 || 0.0 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0.0 || 0 || 0 || 0.0 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0
|-
! [[1975 NFL season|1975]] !! [[1975 St. Louis Cardinals season|STL]]
| 3 || 0 || 0–0 || 4 || 8 || 50.0 || 61 || 7.6 || 21 || 0 || 1 || 35.9 || 3 || -12 || -4.0 || -2 || 0 || 1 || 14
|-
! colspan="2"| Career !! 50 !! 37 !! 8-27-2 !! 489 !! 924 !! 52.9 !! 6,347 !! 6.9 !! 75 !! 35 !! 68 !! 56.8 !! 95 !! 420 !! 4.4 !! 20 !! 0 !! 124 !! 1,072
|}


==References==
==References==
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{{NCAA major college football passing yardage leaders}}
{{NCAA major college football passing yardage leaders}}
{{San Diego State Aztecs quarterback navbox}}
{{San Diego State Aztecs quarterback navbox}}
{{Bills1970DraftPicks}}
{{AP Offensive Rookies of the Year}}
{{AP Offensive Rookies of the Year}}
{{Buffalo Bills starting quarterback navbox}}
{{Buffalo Bills starting quarterback navbox}}
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[[Category:1947 births]]
[[Category:1947 births]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:Sportspeople from Los Angeles]]
[[Category:Players of American football from Los Angeles]]
[[Category:American football quarterbacks]]
[[Category:American football quarterbacks]]
[[Category:USC Trojans football players]]
[[Category:USC Trojans football players]]
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[[Category:National Football League Offensive Rookie of the Year Award winners]]
[[Category:National Football League Offensive Rookie of the Year Award winners]]
[[Category:Mt. San Antonio College alumni]]
[[Category:Mt. San Antonio College alumni]]
[[Category:Damien High School alumni]]

Revision as of 14:56, 12 May 2024

Dennis Shaw
refer to caption
Shaw with San Diego State in 1969
No. 16, 11
Position:Quarterback
Personal information
Born: (1947-03-03) March 3, 1947 (age 77)
Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Height:6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)
Weight:217 lb (98 kg)
Career information
High school:Damien (La Verne, California)
College:San Diego State
NFL draft:1970 / Round: 2 / Pick: 30
Career history
 * Offseason and/or practice squad member only
Career highlights and awards
Career NFL statistics
Passing attempts:924
Passing completions:489
Completion percentage:52.9%
TDINT:35–68
Passing yards:6,347
Passer rating:56.8
Player stats at PFR

Dennis Wendell Shaw (born March 3, 1947) is an American former professional football player who was a quarterback in the National Football League (NFL) for the Buffalo Bills, St. Louis Cardinals, New York Giants, and Kansas City Chiefs. He played college football for the San Diego State Aztecs.

Career

College

Shaw played college football for the San Diego State University Aztecs. While playing for the Aztecs he set an NCAA record by throwing nine touchdown passes in a 70–10 win against the New Mexico State Aggies on November 15, 1969.[1] In that same season he set a single season school record for touchdown passes (39) and passes intercepted (26), the latter statistic led the NCAA for that season. He transferred from the University of Southern California and also played prior to that at Mt. San Antonio College.

NFL

Shaw was drafted in the second round of the 1970 draft by the Buffalo Bills. He was the third quarterback on the roster for the team next to Dan Darragh and James Harris. In the first game of the season, he stepped in for Darragh, going 4-for-7 for 52 yards in the 25–10 loss to the Denver Broncos.[2] In the second game, he took over for an ineffective Darragh and went 13-of-18 for 143 yards, although he threw two interceptions in the 19–0 loss to the Los Angeles Rams. He was named the starter for the following game against the New York Jets. Shaw went 12-of-21 for 317 yards with two touchdowns and two interceptions in the 34–31 victory, with his pass to Marlin Briscoe delivering the victory.[3] It was one of only three games where Shaw would throw two touchdowns along with one of only two games with over 300 yards passing. For 1970 Shaw threw for 10 touchdowns and 20 interceptions. He threw an interception in all but one of the games he started while passing for 2,507 yards and a 65.3 passing rating, while the Bills went 3–10–1 after losing six of their last seven games (with one tie).[4]

Despite a dismal season, he was sixth in yards, sixteenth in touchdowns, seventh in completion percentage alongside being second in interceptions. He was plagued by fumbles, for which he had ten of in the season along with being sacked 41 times.[5] Shaw was named NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year by the Associated Press in 1970, becoming the first quarterback to ever receive the award since its 1967 inception; no quarterback would win again until Ben Roethlisberger in 2004.[6]

Shaw started the next season with a 18-of-30 day for 353 yards with four touchdowns and three interceptions in a 49–37 loss to the Dallas Cowboys. The rest of the year was dismal, as the Bills went 1–13 with minimal scoring. Shaw threw for 1,813 yards in twelve starts and thirteen appearances, having eleven touchdowns and 26 interceptions (a league high) with a 51.2 completion percentage.[7]

In 1972, Shaw’s fortunes improved slightly. He started all but one of the games in the 4–9–1 campaign, throwing for 1,666 yards while having fourteen touchdowns and seventeen interceptions for a 52.7 completion percentage.[8] The 1973 season was his last with the Bills, who drafted Joe Ferguson in the third round of that year, leading to a quarterback competition that Ferguson won. The Bills rose to 9–5 via the 2,003-yard rushing attack of O. J. Simpson, but Shaw started zero games and Ferguson would remain the primary Bills quarterback for the remainder of the decade. Shaw saw action in four games, completing 22 of 46 passes for 300 yards and four interceptions. In his career as a Bills starter, he went 8–27–2.[9]

After the Bills

Shaw was traded to the Cardinals for Ahmad Rashad, reuniting Shaw with his college coach, Don Coryell; he threw eight total passes in two seasons with the Cardinals.[10]

Between playing football, Shaw did jobs such as insurance sales, business consultancy and carpet franchise supervision. He was on the roster of the 1976 New York Giants[11] and 1978 Kansas City Chiefs but never saw regular-season action for either team.[12][13]

Coaching

He served as assistant coach for Eastern Illinois in 1980, Chula Vista High School in 1981, Western Illinois in 1983 before being assistant coach/player with the Chicago Blitz of the United States Football League in 1984, although no job was longer than a year, owing to his desire to keep his family of four children in the area of San Diego. He applied to be coach at San Diego State in 1980, but he was denied, although he did call games on KSDO for the team in 1986 for a year.[10] He was to be offensive coordinator of the San Diego Thunder of the World Indoor Football League in 1988, but the league folded before playing a down.

NFL career statistics

Legend
Led the league
Bold Career high
Year Team Games Passing Rushing Sacks
GP GS Record Cmp Att Pct Yds Y/A Lng TD Int Rtg Att Yds Avg Lng TD Sck Yds
1970 BUF 14 12 3–8–1 178 321 55.5 2,507 7.8 48 10 20 65.3 39 210 5.4 20 0 41 387
1971 BUF 13 12 1–11 149 291 51.2 1,813 6.2 75 11 26 46.1 14 82 5.9 12 0 33 276
1972 BUF 14 13 4–8–1 136 258 52.7 1,666 6.5 58 14 17 63.5 35 138 3.9 16 0 38 320
1973 BUF 4 0 0–0 22 46 47.8 300 6.5 40 0 4 32.9 4 2 0.5 1 0 11 75
1974 STL 2 0 0–0 0 0 0.0 0 0.0 0 0 0 0.0 0 0 0.0 0 0 0 0
1975 STL 3 0 0–0 4 8 50.0 61 7.6 21 0 1 35.9 3 -12 -4.0 -2 0 1 14
Career 50 37 8-27-2 489 924 52.9 6,347 6.9 75 35 68 56.8 95 420 4.4 20 0 124 1,072

References

  1. ^ "The 52: SDSU's Dennis Shaw throws nine TDs". San Diego Union-Tribune. February 5, 2016.
  2. ^ "Denver Broncos at Buffalo Bills - September 20th, 1970". Pro-Football-Reference.com.
  3. ^ "New York Jets at Buffalo Bills - October 4th, 1970". Pro-Football-Reference.com.
  4. ^ "Dennis Shaw 1970 Game Log". Pro-Football-Reference.com.
  5. ^ "1970 NFL Passing". Pro-Football-Reference.com.
  6. ^ "January 5, 1971: Bills QB Dennis Shaw Named Rookie of the Year". 5 January 2011.
  7. ^ "Dennis Shaw 1971 Game Log". Pro-Football-Reference.com.
  8. ^ "Dennis Shaw 1972 Game Log". Pro-Football-Reference.com.
  9. ^ "Dennis Shaw 1973 Game Log". Pro-Football-Reference.com.
  10. ^ a b "SCRAMBLING ONCE AGAIN : Latest Job in Limbo, Dennis Shaw Is Still Seeking a Pro Football Home". Los Angeles Times. June 21, 1988.
  11. ^ Curran, Bob (August 24, 1977). "The Riches to Rags Story of A Bills Record Holder". Buffalo Evening News. p. 29.
  12. ^ "Giants Cut Dennis Shaw". The Courier-News. Bridgewater, New Jersey. August 9, 1977. p. B-4.
  13. ^ Fox, Gene (December 3, 1978). "Shaw Suffering Through Season of Inactivity". The Kansas City Star. p. 2S.

See also