Hunky Shaw

Royal N. Shaw

• Bats Both, Throws Right
• Height 5' 8", Weight 165 lb.
• School University of Washington
• High School North Yakima High School
• Debut May 16, 1908
• Final Game May 16, 1908
• Born September 29, 1884 in Yakima, Washington Territory USA
• Died July 3, 1969 in Yakima, WA USA

BR page

Biographical Information

As proof that the dead-ball era affected more than just the major leagues, Hunky Shaw led the Pacific Coast League in 1910 with a .281 average. His team, the San Francisco Seals, hit .226 as a whole and that was the highest team average in the league.

Shaw came close to being the first major leaguer born in the state of Washington, coming up to the majors less than a week after the first Washington-born player, Jack Bliss. He was, however, the first player to come to the majors after attending the University of Washington.

The baseball card above shows him as a member of the Providence team. In 1920, he played for the Edmonton Eskimos. The book The Rajah of Renfew: The Life and Times of John E. Ducey states that Shaw once "tried to attack" umpire Beans Reardon under the stands after being upset about a call.

Many years later he owned the Yakima team in the Western International League.

He is (through 2020) the only major leaguer remembered with the name Hunky. A predecessor had a slightly different spelling - Hunkey Hines.

Related Sites

• Hunky Shaw at the SABR Bio Project
• Find-A-Grave Memorial for Hunky Shaw