Walter White Shaw was an American football

American football

American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...

 player and coach, attorney and businessman. He played at the halfback

Halfback (American football)

A halfback, sometimes referred to as a tailback, is an offensive position in American football, which lines up in the backfield and generally is responsible for carrying the ball on run plays. Historically, from the 1870s through the 1950s, the halfback position was both an offensive and defensive...

 position for Fielding H. Yost's renowned 1901 "Point-a-Minute" football team

1901 Michigan Wolverines football team

The 1901 Michigan Wolverines football team represented the University of Michigan in the 1901 college football season. In their first year under new head coach Fielding H. Yost, Michigan finished the season undefeated with an 11–0 record, outscored their opponents by the unprecedented total of 550...

. He later worked as an attorney, judge and businessman in Oklahoma and Louisiana.

Shaw was born in Owego, New York

Owego (village), New York

Owego is a village in and the county seat of Tioga County, New York, USA. The population was 3,911 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Binghamton Metropolitan Statistical Area...

 in 1880, the son of Charles E. and Ida M. (White) Shaw. His father gained prominence as a buckwheat miller, wholesale grocer, coal mine operator and banker. In 1889, the Shaw family moved to Lincoln, Nebraska

Lincoln, Nebraska

The City of Lincoln is the capital and the second-most populous city of the US state of Nebraska. Lincoln is also the county seat of Lancaster County and the home of the University of Nebraska. Lincoln's 2010 Census population was 258,379....

 where they remained for eight years. In 1897, the family moved to Denver, Colorado

Denver, Colorado

The City and County of Denver is the capital and the most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Denver is a consolidated city-county, located in the South Platte River Valley on the western edge of the High Plains just east of the Front Range of the Rocky Mountains...

. The younger Shaw was educated in the schools of Lincoln, Denver, and Kansas City, Missouri

Kansas City, Missouri

Kansas City, Missouri is the largest city in the U.S. state of Missouri and is the anchor city of the Kansas City Metropolitan Area, the second largest metropolitan area in Missouri. It encompasses in parts of Jackson, Clay, Cass, and Platte counties...

. He enrolled at the University of Michigan

University of Michigan

The University of Michigan is a public research university located in Ann Arbor, Michigan in the United States. It is the state's oldest university and the flagship campus of the University of Michigan...

 where he was a member of the law school's Class of 1902. He played for the Michigan Wolverines football team as a quarterback

Quarterback

Quarterback is a position in American and Canadian football. Quarterbacks are members of the offensive team and line up directly behind the offensive line...

 and halfback from 1899 to 1901. He began the 1901 season as a starting halfback for Michigan in the team's first year under head coach Fielding H. Yost. In the third and fourth games of the 1901 season against Indiana and Northwestern, Willie Heston

Willie Heston

William Martin "Willie" Heston was an American football player and coach. He played halfback at San Jose State University and the University of Michigan. Heston was the head football coach for Drake University in 1905 and North Carolina College of Agriculture and Mechanic Arts, now North...

 got the start at left halfback, and Shaw substituted for Heston late in the games. Shaw did not appear in any games for Michigan after the Northwestern game. According to a newspaper account at the end of the 1901 season, he was "kept out of the game most of the year by an injured knee."

In the fall of 1902, Shaw began practicing law in Kansas City. He moved to Claremore, Oklahoma

Claremore, Oklahoma

Claremore is a city and the county seat of Rogers County, Oklahoma, United States. The population was 18,581 at the 2010 census, a 17.1 percent increase from 15,873 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Tulsa Metropolitan Area and home to Rogers State University...

 in 1904. Shaw practiced law in Claremore for eleven years. He also served as Claremore city attorney and was elected as a Rogers County

Rogers County, Oklahoma

Rogers County is a county located in the U.S. state of Oklahoma. As of 2010, the population was 86,905. Its county seat is Claremore. The county was originally created in 1906 and named Cooweescoowee...

 judge in November 1912. In 1915, he moved to Shreveport, Louisiana

Shreveport, Louisiana

Shreveport is the third largest city in Louisiana. It is the principal city of the fourth largest metropolitan area in the state of Louisiana and is the 109th-largest city in the United States....

, where he entered the bond business and also secured interests in oil. In 1918, Shaw moved to Tulsa, Oklahoma

Tulsa, Oklahoma

Tulsa is the second-largest city in the state of Oklahoma and 46th-largest city in the United States. With a population of 391,906 as of the 2010 census, it is the principal municipality of the Tulsa Metropolitan Area, a region with 937,478 residents in the MSA and 988,454 in the CSA. Tulsa's...

, where he became the manager of the bond department of the Exchange Trust Company and Exchange National Bank.

Shaw married Mary A. Bullette in June 1906. His wife was the daughter of Bullette, who was elected the Cherokee National Council in 1876. They had two children, Walter W. Shaw, Jr. (born in 1907) and Martha Helen Shaw (born in 1908).

Shaw was also active in the Masons, was a 32nd degree Mason, and a member of Akdar Temple of the Mystic Shrine.