Siena Athletics Hall of Fame
The first non-basketball member of the Siena Athletics Hall of Fame to be inducted, Shields came to Loudonville after transferring from Notre Dame in 1947, where he nearly tied their course record by shooting a 64. He was known as a tireless worker who spent countless hours perfecting his game at Wolfert’s Roost Golf Club in Albany and helped to propel Leo Callahan’s infant squad to victory because of it. Among many medalist finishes at Siena, he was the only member of the team to qualify for the Pinehurst Tournament at the prestigious Pinehurst Golf course in 1948. From his youth and throughout his adult life, he went on to set several amateur records, including carding a 65 at an Eastern NY Golf Association Event at Van Schaick Island C.C. in Cohoes. A four-time winner of the Eastern New York Golf Association crown, the native Albanian also won the first three glens Falls Invitational Championships in 1951, 1952, & 1953, captured three NYS Men's Amateur titles in 1951, 1952, & 1955, and participated in the national amateur on nine different occasions. He died in 1983 at the age of 54.
