Nationality American | ||
Full Name William James Bernard Shaw Born September 22, 1877 Barnet, Vermont, U.S Occupation Entrepreneur and philanthropist Died 1 March 1939, Caloocan, Philippines | ||
William James Bernard Shaw (20 September 1877, East Barnet, Vermont – 1 March 1939, Caloocan) 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 caddy who had won the 1929 Philippine Open tournament 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.[1]
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.