The Ninth Taddy & Co. QPR Cigarette Card – Charlie Shaw

Taddy & Co. produced three sets of cards in their Prominent Footballer series. This is now the ninth QPR card that I have featured from the first series in 1907.

On the reverse side of this original card it reads: ‘Imperial Tobacco – A ripe, full flavoured pipe tobacco, fine cut. In a good well-seasoned briar or a well-coloured meerschaum it will be found an admirable tobacco.’

Their second set was issued the following year and a number of these cards would have included the same players.

I also have a reproduction set from the 1990’s and on the reverse side of this particular player’s card it refers to “Grapnel Mixture” so it is unclear which one is the 1907 design?

Charlie Shaw was born in 1885 in Twechar in East Dunbartonshire. James Cowan signed him from Port Glasgow in 1907 and he made his debut against Tottenham later that year on 21st September.

I found the following reference to him In Dennis Signy’s history of the club which was first published in 1969:

‘For six seasons with Rangers, Shaw was a model of consistency. Although he stood no higher than 5ft 6ins, he combined wonderful anticipation with showmanship and he became a great favourite with the crowd.

Shaw possessed a keen sense of humour. Often when play moved to the other end he would walk nearly to the half-way line and, with arms akimbo, stand there talking to a full-back colleague as if unconcerned at events. But he always kept one eye upfield.

In those days long kicks were not uncommon and the tale is told that on one occasion a full-back cleared heftily and the ball sailed downfield assisted by a stiff wind. Shaw spotted the danger in the nick of time and, racing back to his goal, was just able to reach the ball and scramble it away.

He left Rangers in 1913 after missing only three games, and he maintained his fine record with his new club, Glasgow Celtic, in whose colours he gained Scottish international caps.’

(Note: I can find no record of Charlie ever playing at full international level for Scotland).

I also came across this extract about him in a copy of Soccer Star dated 29th December 1967:

‘Supporter Walters (W.J.) then only seven years old, was taken by his father to watch Rangers play on the old playing fields at Kensal Rise, NW London (QPR were actually at Park Royal during this period).

He says: “My father often tossed a bag of peppermints through the goal-net to Rangers’ goalie Charlie Shaw. And this day I was allowed to toss the peppermints to Shaw, who munched them throughout the game.”

It is said that whilst at Celtic, the team went 1,287 minutes in all competitions without conceding a goal! Following a brief loan spell with Clyde, he left Celtic and emigrated to the USA.

He died of pneumonia in New York on 27th March 1938.

Steve Russell