VERMONT SPORTS HALL OF FAME

(Photo Courtesy USSA)

Stowe

Alpine Skiing

Inducted 2019

A standout alpine skier on the World Cup circuit and a NCAA champion in college, Gale ‘Tiger’ Shaw skied in two Olympic games and finished his career with nine USA national championships.

Shaw competed in the giant slalom and slalom in Sarajevo in 1984 and in the in the giant slalom and Super G in 1988 in Calgary. Shaw’s best effort in the Olympics came in the giant slalom in Calgary in 1988 when he placed 12th.  

Part of the third generation of a talented skiing family in Stowe, Shaw competed for the Mount Mansfield Ski Club before going on to Dartmouth. In 1982 he won the NCAA slalom title and finished third in the giant slalom. 

He joined the U.S. National Team in 1983 and skied in World Cup races until 1990, with 20 top-15 finishes in his career. Shaw turned in his best performance with a seventh place finish in the slalom at Park City, Utah in 1985.

While with the U.S. Ski Team, he twice won the Buddy Werner Award for leadership and good sportsmanship in national or international competition. 

In addition to his success on the slopes, Shaw has been instrumental in U.S. skiing off the mountain. After working in the ski industry and serving as a board member for the U.S. Ski and Snowboard Association for many years, Shaw in 2013 became the president and CEO of the USSA, the nation’s governing board for the sport. Among his accomplishments to promote the sport, he has helped spread the sport to urban areas in the U.S. including the 'Big Air' event at Fenway Park, Boston's century old baseball park. He also was instrumental in bringing an annual women's World Cup event to Vermont's Killington resort.

In 1999, Shaw ranked 30th on Sports Illustrated's Top 50 Greatest Sports Figures from Vermont for the 20th Century (1900-2000). He was named to the Vermont Ski Museum Hall of Fame in 2012.