“Salisbury steak, baked potato, peas, toast with honey, never any butter, and hot chocolate with no whipped cream,’’ recalled athletic director Harry Sheehy III, who played for Mr. Shaw in the 1972-1973 season.

“You knew what was coming at the dinner table, and you also knew that you were playing for one of the best teachers of the game, who was always prepared for an opponent.’’

Mr. Shaw, who coached the Williams squad from 1949-1973, compiling a 301-171 record and guiding his team to the 1955, 1959, and 1961 NCAA Tournaments, died Sunday at North Adams Regional Hospital after suffering a stroke. A 2003 inductee to the New England Basketball Hall of Fame along with his 1955 team, Mr. Shaw was 102. He had resided in Williamstown since his arrival from the Midwest 60 years ago.

“I’d see him in our gym in recent years shooting hoops with senior citizens, and he could still beat you at a game of 21 with that two-handed set shot of his,’’ added Sheehy, who cherishes playing in Mr. Shaw’s 300th victory game. Mr. Shaw held the Williams record for basketball victories until it was broken by Sheehy, who had a 324-104 record over 17 seasons. “But Al’s teams played fewer games in a season and in those days, when the NCAA was one division and then two divisions, Williams played teams like Boston College, Army, UMass, Harvard, and Yale,’’ Sheehy noted. Williams is now an NCAA Division 3 school for athletics.

Mr. Shaw, who also taught physical education and was an assistant football, baseball, and lacrosse coach at Williams, put a lot of miles on his car in the days before football teams exchanged videos of their games.

In a 2003 article written for the Williams football program by the sports information director, Dick Quinn, Mr. Shaw recalled coaching the team’s receivers during the week, then hitting the road to scout their upcoming opponents on the weekend.

“Sometimes I saw Amherst play five or six times before we played them,’’ recalled Mr. Shaw, who used his football scouting techniques to scout basketball opponents. “When you see a team play in person, you can also pick up a lot of other information, like how the team members get along and what kinds of things bother them or the coach.’’

That regimen paid off with 18 Little Three titles and an NCAA Division 1 appearance in 1955 at Madison Square Garden. His ’55 team (which finished 17-2) opened the season with a record 14 consecutive victories before a 68-60 loss at archrival Amherst. The rematch, according to the 2003 article, resulted in a 53-48 Williams victory.

A 107-75 win against a tough University of Rhode Island team that season caught the attention of the NCAA Tournament Committee, and the Ephs, after getting approval from the faculty and administration, were en route to New York City to play Canisius, which defeated Williams, 73-60. Mr. Shaw kept the game program as a memento.

Born in Detroit, Mr. Shaw was a star at Southeastern High School, where he played on two state championship teams. He played at the University of Michigan, where one of his opponents was Purdue’s John Wooden, later the legendary coach at UCLA. Mr. Shaw graduated in 1932. He received a graduate degree there in 1938 and served with the Navy from 1943-47, rising to captain.

Mr. Shaw, who was married for 74 years to Marion (Davis), met her because of basketball.

“My mom lived in Dearborn, Mich. and liked to watch basketball, and my dad was both a player and a referee after his college days,’’ said Mr. Shaw’s son, John of Stamford, Vt. “When dad was offered the Williams job, they drove to Williamstown and decided that they’d rather live among the pine trees in the country than go back to city living.

Mr. Shaw believed that players should stay off their feet before a game.

A memorial service will be held tomorrow at 1 p.m. at the Congregational Church in Williamstown, where Mr. Shaw was a congregant and where, for his 100th birthday, the church bell was rung 100 times in his honor. A reception will follow at the church’s Fellowship Hall.