Samuel Elmer Shaw is featured here as a member of the Newark Little Giants, a preposterously tough team. Newark played in the Eastern League for one year before moving to the International League in 1887. The Little Giants went out of business in 1888. They returned to the minors in 1889 and won second place in the Atlantic Association. After taking third in 1890, Newark again went out of business, this time forever.

Shaw is featured in five different poses within the N172 set. This one pictures the Newark Pitcher in a dark uniform with a ball in his right hand, extended out as if at the end of his motion. Centering is east on the canvas. Decent corners and edges for the grade, though the left and bottom show chipping. Light staining toward the bottom of the card on both front and back, which seems to have caused some of the bottom text to begin to fade. Nice contrast in the image, which has lots of detail thanks to its clarity.