A native of West Newton, Massachusetts, Gaw was a high school baseball and hockey star for Newton, and began playing minor league baseball at age 19. Throughout the 1910s, he played for the Brockton Shoemakers and Worcester Busters of the New England League, and the Toronto Maple Leafs, Buffalo Bisons, and Providence Grays of the International League. Along the way, he received his degree in dentistry from Tufts University.
Gaw made his major league debut with the Chicago Cubs in the 1920 season. He pitched in six major league games for the Cubs, posting a 4.85 ERA in 13 innings of work, and recording one hit and one run in four plate appearances. Gaw's longest outing for Chicago came on June 11 when he tossed 7.1 innings in relief of Speed Martin against the Philadelphia Phillies in an 8-3 Cubs loss at the Baker Bowl. The Cubs sent Gaw down to the Indianapolis Indians in July. He spent 1921 with the Milwaukee Brewers of the American Association, his final season in professional baseball.
After his professional playing career, Gaw went on to coach at the collegiate level. He was head ice hockey coach at Dartmouth College (1921–1922), Princeton University (1922–1924) and Boston University (1924–1928), and also coached baseball at BU.

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