William James Shaw

William James Bernard Shaw (20 September 1877, East Barnet, Vermont – 1 March 1939, Caloocan, Commonwealth of the Philippines) was an American entrepreneur and philanthropist in the Philippines.

Shaw worked as a busboy on a US Army transport ship to pay his passage to Manila, arriving in 1901 and never leaving hence. He eventually became part owner of Atlantic, Gulf & Pacific. He also served as President of the Rotary Club of Manila in 1925–1926. Shaw Boulevard (in Mandaluyong and Pasig) and The William J. Shaw Theater (Greenbelt, Ayala Center, Makati) were named after him.

Shaw is most known for the Wack Wack Golf and Country Club. Shaw started Wack Wack in 1930 – because he was disgusted that Larry Montes, a caddie who had won the 1929 Philippine Open tournament^[1] at the Manila Golf Club, of which Shaw was a member, had been asked to leave the tournament celebration, by virtue of a rule against the presence of caddies inside the Manila Golf Club.

Shaw was a member of the board of the Boy Scouts of America Philippine Islands Council No. 545.

A small monument of Shaw's stands along Shaw Boulevard, Mandaluyong.

References[]

Bibliography[]

• Gleeck, Lewis Edward Jr. (1912–2005), Bill Shaw: The Man and the Legend, San Juan, Metro Manila: William J. Shaw Foundation, 1998.
• ___, The Manila Americans (1901–1964), Manila: Carmelo & Bauermann, 1977.[1]
• ___, Over Seventy-five Years of Philippine-American History: The Army and Navy Club of Manila, Manila: Carmelo & Bauermann, 1976.
• Zafra, Jessica, The Life and Legacy of William J. Shaw, San Juan, Metro Manila: William J. Shaw Foundation, 2009.
• Lou Gopal, Manila Nostalgia

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