National Football League Hall of Famer and former Buffalo Bills legend Billy Shaw died on October 5 of “hyponatreemia,” the NFL wrote on October 4, releasing Shaw’s cause of death in a tribute to him.
According to the National Library of Medicine “Hyponatremia is a common electrolyte abnormality caused by an excess of total body water when compared to total body sodium content . . . Hyponatremia represents an imbalance in this ratio where total body water is more than total body solutes.”
According to the Mayo Clinic, “Hyponatremia occurs when the concentration of sodium in your blood is abnormally low. Sodium is an electrolyte, and it helps regulate the amount of water that’s in and around your cells.”
The NFL called Shaw, 85, “An all-time great of the American Football League and one of the most decorated Buffalo Bills in team chronicle, describing Shaw, an offensive guard, as having “made eight AFL All-Star games in his nine seasons.”
Shaw “was an All-AFL selection five times and was twice an AFL champion. He was also a member of the All-Time AFL Team,” the NFL wrote.
Billy Shaw Died in Georgia With His Wife & 3 Daughters at His Side, Reports Say
According to the Democrat & Chronicle, Shaw “passed away at the age of 85 at his home in Toccoa, Georgia with his wife Patsy and their three daughters at his bedside.” The newspaper also reported Shaw’s cause of death, attributing it to the family.
According to the Mayo Clinic, “Many possible conditions and lifestyle factors can lead to hyponatremia.” The NFL did not explain what led to Shaw’s condition.
The Mayo Clinic said the condition can be caused by “certain medications” and “Heart, kidney and liver problems. Congestive heart failure and certain diseases affecting the kidneys or liver can cause fluids to accumulate in your body, which dilutes the sodium in your body, lowering the overall level.”
In addition, chronic vomiting, drinking too much water, and hormonal changes, were linked to the condition, according to The Mayo Clinic.
Billy Shaw Was Remembered for His ‘All-Around Athleticism’
The president of the Hall of Fame praised Shaw in the NFL’s statement.
“Billy Shaw holds the distinction of being the only member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame to play his entire career in the American Football League, but while that fact is worthy of noting and nice to recite, it comes nowhere near providing the reason he was elected as a member of the Class of 1999,” Hall of Fame president Jim Porter said, according to the NFL.
“Billy’s all-around athleticism brought a new dimension to the guard position and made the 1960s Buffalo Bills a formidable opponent capable of bruising opponents with a punishing rushing attack. And while Billy could be unforgiving to anyone in his way on the football field, he was the classic example of the ‘Southern gentlemen’ off the field to everyone he encountered,” the NFL wrote.
“Protecting quarterback and future United States Representative Jack Kemp and paving the way for running back Cookie Gilchrist, Shaw was a driving force in the Bills winning back-to-back AFL Championships in 1964-65. Those title triumphs stand as the Bills’ only AFL/NFL championships,” the NFL wrote.
“Selected in the second round of the 1961 AFL Draft by the Bills and the 14th round of the 1961 NFL Draft by the Dallas Cowboys, the Georgia Tech product headed north to Buffalo,” the NFL’s release said, adding:
Shaw started all 14 games as a rookie and would start 116 of the 119 he played in his career. At 6-foot-2, 258 pounds, Shaw was on the smaller side for an offensive lineman even during his era. Nonetheless, he was a prototypical pulling guard and a crucial cog in the Bills’ success as a running team in an AFL often dominated by the pass.
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