The National Federation Sports Hall of Fame recently inducted their 10th individual from West Virginia as veteran Oak Glen High School wrestling coach Larry Shaw was honored in ceremonies in Indianapolis, In.
Larry Shaw retired last year after a phenomenal 31-year career as wrestling coach at Oak Glen High School in New Cumberland, West Virginia. A committed educator who was as concerned about his teaching duties as his coaching responsibilities, Shaw retired with numerous state and national records and countless awards from all levels.
Shaw led the Oak Glen Golden Bears to 13 consecutive West Virginia Secondary School Activities Commission (WVSSAC) AA/A Wrestling State Championships (1997-2009) – a record for all sports in West Virginia and the fifth-longest wrestling streak nationally. Shaw also had five consecutive runner-up finishes (1987-91).
Shaw, who earned his bachelor’s degree from Concord (West Virginia) College and his master’s from Marshall (West Virginia) University, retired with a dual-meet record of 330-96-4. He coached 51 individual state champions, which ranks 10th nationally, and 165 of his wrestlers were state place-winners.
Shaw’s teams won five Ohio Valley Athletic Conference Tournament championships, 10 division championships and 13 dual-meet titles. The OVAC Tournament is billed as the largest conference tournament in the nation. Oak Glen was Region 1 team champion 16 times under Shaw and runner-up five other years.
Within the state of West Virginia, Shaw gave countless hours to the WVSSAC and the sport of wrestling. He is a past president of the West Virginia Wrestling Coaches Association (WVWCA) and a past vice president of the West Virginia chapter of the National Wrestling Hall of Fame. He also is a former member of the WVSSAC Wrestling Coaches Committee and the WVSSAC Wrestling Weight Management Committee.
Shaw, who has hosted and organized, and been an instructor at numerous camps and clinics across the country, was chosen OVAC Wrestling Coach of the Year 13 times, WVWCA Coach of the Year seven times, National Wrestling Coaches Association West Virginia Coach of the Year four times and USA Wrestling National High School Coach of the Year in 2008. He also was selected Wheeling Intelligencer Ohio Valley Wrestling Coach of the Year three times, and the West Virginia Sports Writers All-Sport Coach of the Year in 2000 – the only wrestling coach ever chosen.
Shaw has been inducted into four other halls of fame, including the Raleigh County Wrestling Hall of Fame (2000), Lou Holtz Upper Ohio Valley Hall of Fame (2009), National Wrestling Hall of Fame (2010) and the Ohio Valley Athletic Conference Hall of Fame (2011).
Shaw was born September 16, 1955, in Beckley, West Virginia, and now resides in New Manchester, West Virginia. Though he retired from coaching last year, Shaw remains active as Oak Glen’s school librarian/media specialist – a position he has held since 1985.
Shaw joins fellow West Virginians Jennings Boyd, Russ Parsons, Jerry West, Jerome Van Meter, Doug Huff, Sam Huff, John Lowery, Pat. C. Fragale and Mike Webb in the National High School Hall of Fame.