HEADING TO THE HALL: Shaw's 'pivotal' decision paid off
By Matt Kamp
The Edwardsville Intelligencer
January 16, 2023
Herman Shaw nearly wasn’t an Edwardsville Tiger.
When Edwardsville integrated its schools in 1951, Shaw, who had just completed his freshman year at Lincoln School, wasn’t sure if he wanted to continue his education. At the urging of football coach Warren Harris, Shaw elected to attend Edwardsville.
“That decision turned out to be pivotal for my life,” Shaw said in a “Where are they now?” story for the Edwardsville Intelligencer.
And now, Shaw will soon become a member of the Edwardsville Athletic Hall of Fame after an athletics career in football, basketball, baseball and track and field.
Shaw will be inducted into the Hall of Fame as part of the second re-charter class on Feb. 4 at Sunset Hills Country Club.
Also being inducted will be the 1990 baseball, 2000 boys soccer and 2004 girls golf teams, athletes Tom Price, Luke Kreamalmeyer, Lindsay Anderson and Christina Perozzi, coaches Dick Gerber and Winston Brown and contributor Wetzel.
“It’s quite an honor, especially when I’m being inducted along with two of the people I’m going in with, Winston Brown and Bob Wetzel. They were both dear friends of mine and it means even more to me going in at the same time as them,” Shaw said.
Shaw moved to Edwardsville in 1944 from Missouri after growing up in the Great Depression and World War II. According to Shaw, it was in a shack on North Road off Liberty Street.
In his first year at Edwardsville High School in 1951, Shaw played varsity football as only a sophomore. He scored a rushing touchdown in the team’s home opener. He also scored a touchdown in each of the next two games.
Shaw lettered in all four sports in his sophomore and junior years before only concentrating on basketball and football as a senior. In track, Shaw was a hurdler and 440-yard sprinter.
“It was a time in my life when I made some decisions to go in the right direction. It was a blessing for me to have an opportunity to go to Edwardsville High School. I was introduced to people that I played sports with, and they became lifelong friends,” Shaw said.
“There are a lot of pleasant memories, not all connected with sports. I had the opportunity to sing in the choir and there were so many things that happened that helped me a lot in my life.”
After graduating from EHS, Shaw attended Illinois State University on a football scholarship. He also competed in basketball and track and field with the Redbirds.
Following his time in the Army, Shaw worked for 32 years at University City High School. He worked his way up from technical assistant to the principal.
“The one thing I realized at that time was that education and school were very important, and up until that point I hadn’t given it much thought,” Shaw said. “To end up in a school setting myself (at University City High School), where I had an opportunity to help some young people make decisions in their lives, was a reflection back on some of the things that my teachers and coaches at Edwardsville had helped me with.”
The 88-year-old Shaw is currently president of the Lincoln School Alumni Foundation. Established in 1986, the Lincoln School Alumni Foundation works to keep the memory of Edwardsville’s once-segregated school alive while providing scholarships to EHS students to build a better future.
Community members can make nominations by visiting the Edwardsville High School athletics website at http://ecusd7.org/ehs/athletics/. The nomination form is done through Google Docs. The link is listed above the sports/schedules section.
