Joseph Shaw (23 June 1928 – 18 November 2007) was an English

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby lea ...

who played for Sheffield United between 1945 and 1966. He also worked as a manager, being in charge of York City from 1967 to 1968 and Chesterfield from 1973 to 1976.

Career

Shaw made 714 appearances for Sheffield United in all competitions, including 632 in the League and 53

FA Cup The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual Single-elimination tournament, knockout association football, football competition in domestic Football in England, English football. First played during ...

ties, all three being club records. Shaw was a former Durham County schoolboy who joined United from Upton Colliery as an inside-forward and later successfully converted into a half back. He played for United in two wartime fixtures in the Football League North during the 1944–45 season. The first game was a 3–1 victory over

Huddersfield Town Huddersfield Town Association Football Club is a professional association football club based in Huddersfield, West Yorkshire, England. They compete in , the third tier of English football league system, English football. Huddersfield Town we ...

on 2 April 1945 when Shaw was just 16 years and 285 days old. His League debut came in a Division One game against

Liverpool Liverpool is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the River Mersey, Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population ...

on 30 August 1948, with United severely short of players, as a left-back. United lost 2–1, mainly against 10 men. Shaw was off the field with a bleeding nose when the first went in after around 21 minutes, missing a quarter of an hour of the first half and the majority of the second. In the next few years he played at wing half and right half, but after two heavy defeats in season 1954–55, Reg Freeman decided to select him at centre half. He was described as hard-working, the pivot of United's "double banking" defensive system, where his lack of height never let him down owing to his superb anticipation and ability to read the game. He was so successful that he was selected for the position for the Football League XI although the England cap that many thought he deserved was never awarded. In 1951, he also toured Australia with a

Football Association A football association, also known as a football federation, soccer federation, or soccer association, is a governing body for association football. Many of them are members of the sport's regional bodies such as UEFA and CONMEBOL and the world gov ...

team. His 600th League appearance came on 6 February 1965 in a 2–1 victory over

West Ham United West Ham United Football Club is a professional Association football, football club based in Stratford, London, Stratford, East London, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football league system, English f ...

and his last game was against the same team on 19 February 1966. He had three spells as team captain, 1954–1956, 1957 and 1964–1965. He died at the age of 79 on 18 November 2007 in

Sheffield Sheffield is a city in South Yorkshire, England, situated south of Leeds and east of Manchester. The city is the administrative centre of the City of Sheffield. It is historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire and some of its so ...

. In 2010, a statue of Shaw was erected at the

Bramall Lane Bramall Lane is a association football, football stadium in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England, which is the home of Sheffield United F.C., Sheffield United. The stadium was originally a cricket ground, built on a road named after the Bramall ...

home of Sheffield United, to commemorate his service to the club.

Career statistics

Managerial statistics

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Shaw, Joe 1928 births 2007 deaths People from Murton, County Durham Footballers from County Durham English men's footballers Men's association football defenders Men's association football midfielders Upton Colliery F.C. players Sheffield United F.C. players English Football League players English Football League representative players English football managers York City F.C. managers Chesterfield F.C. managers English Football League managers 20th-century English sportsmen