| Year: | 1947 |
| Team: | Shaw Bears |
| Sport: | football |
| Conference: | Colored Intercollegiate Athletic Association |
| Short Conf: | CIAA |
| Record: | 10–0 |
| Conf Record: | 6–0 |
| Head Coach: | Howard K. Wilson |
| Hc Year: | 2nd |
| Champion: | Black college national co-champion CIAA champion National Bowl champion |
| Bowl: | National Bowl |
| Bowl Result: | W 8–0 vs. South Carolina State |
The 1947 Shaw Bears football team was an American football team that represented Shaw University as a member of the Colored Intercollegiate Athletic Association (CIAA) during the 1947 college football season. In their second season under head coach Howard K. Wilson, the team compiled a 10–0 record (6–0 against CIAA opponents), won the CIAA championship, and outscored opponents by a total of 246 to 39.[1]
Key players included halfbacks Twillie Bellamy and Jim Jackson, fullback John Turner, end Bill Elliott, tackle Gladstone Booth, guard Leroy Way, and center Kermit Booker.
In post-season discussions about the black college football national championship, Shaw was criticized for a weak strength of schedule, having failed to schedule games against the three CIAA opponents that were ranked in the top 10 under the Dickinson Rating System: Hampton (No. 4), Virginia State (No. 7), and Morgan State (No. 9). In the final Dickinson ratings, Tennessee A&I was determined as the black college national champion with Shaw in fifth place. Florida A&M, a team that Shaw defeated by a 19–0 score, was ranked fourth under the Dickinson System.[2] Shaw was, however, determined to be the CIAA champion under the Dickinson methodology.[3]