Photo courtesy of Ole Miss Athletics.
Vestavia Hills resident John Shaw is shown during his days as a standout at Ole Miss. Shaw is to be inducted into the Ole Miss M-Club Hall of Fame this weekend.
John Shaw had a rather famous keystone partner back in the day at Ole Miss. Shaw was the sure-handed second sacker and his double-play partner was OK, too. Name of Archie Manning.
But this weekend, Archie will have to take a back seat to his Ole Miss baseball teammate as Shaw is inducted into the Ole Miss M-Club Hall of Fame.
“Talked to Archie yesterday,” Shaw said. “He’s coming and it’ll be great to talk over old times.”
Shaw, who was a three-year letterman for Rebels legendary coach Tom Swayze from 1968-70, is both the all-time stolen base leader and fielding leader.
“All of my success goes to the head groundskeeper,” Shaw said modestly. “He kept a fast track and a pristine, smooth surface.”
The truth is, Shaw swiped 73 bases in 90 games and made just three errors in his career, none in his senior season.
He led the SEC in stolen bases for three straight years, a career-high 28 as a senior.
Shaw points out that times were different then.
“We played with wooden bats, not the aluminum ones they use now, so the offensive strategy has changed. But we also played just 30 games a year and now they play 66. I would’ve loved to have played 66 games.”
Freshmen also weren’t eligible in those days, either. As a sophomore, he stepped right in and batted .344 and stole 23 bases. He was twice an All-SEC pick and led the Rebels to an SEC title in 1969 and to the College World Series.
“I always went on the philosophy that you couldn’t steal second if you didn’t take your foot off first. You had to take some risks.”
His coach trusted him. At least after Shaw delivered on a challenge.
“He said, ‘John, you didn’t get on base the last two games against LSU. Are you in a slump? You get on first base, if you get a hit against LSU, you get the green light.’”
“So I got the green light.”
After college, he played in the New York Yankees system for three years, leading the entire Yankees organization in stolen bases in 1971.
A native of Baltimore, where he was a standout on an amateur summer team that included Reggie Jackson, Shaw moved his family from Louisville to Vestavia Hills for the academics and athletics. His son, Tebe, played for Sammy Dunn. Tebe, a left-handed pitcher, posted a 19-2 record from 1994-96 and then went on to pitch at UAB. The Rebels won state titles all three seasons.
One of Tebe’s teammates, Jamie Harris, is the new Vestavia Hills baseball coach, and Shaw said he’s excited about the direction of the Rebels’ baseball program.
The Shaws have lived in Vestavia Hills for more than 20 years. Shaw is a medical account sales manager for CMS Imaging Inc.
But he’ll take a break from that this weekend and revisit some past glory.
There will be a reception and dinner on Friday. On Saturday, Shaw will be honored at halftime of the Ole Miss-Vandy game along with the other inductees: Patrick Willis (football), John Neumann (basketball), Dawson Pruett (football), Dori Carter (golf) and Andy Kilpatrick (service award).
“It’s a big honor,” Shaw said. “The family’s making a big deal out of it. I call it a family honor, and one that I share with my teammates.”
