A 1982 graduate of Ambridge High School, Shawn Holman logged 17 years of professional baseball. After a stellar high school career, he turned down a scholarship offer from West Virginia University and was taken in the 14th round of the 1982 draft by the Pittsburgh Pirates.

Shawn was elevated to "the show" in 1989 as a relief pitcher with the Detroit Tigers. Shawn recorded more than 100 wins along with 100 saves in the minor league systems of the Pirates, Tigers, Expos, Braves, and Dodgers.

Shawn was originally a starter during his first five seasons in the minors, playing for Pirates farm teams in Bradenton, Greenwood, Macon, Prince William, Nashua, and Harrisburg. His best year in the Pirates' organization was in 1985 at Prince William in the Carolina League, when Shawn collected 10 wins. Shawn was converted into a reliever when the Tigers organization acquired him midway through the 1987 season. He worked out of the bullpen with the Glen Falls Tigers and was named to the Eastern League All-Star Team when he went 8-3 in 1988. In 1989, he was ranked 4th in AAA as a member of the Toledo Mud Hens. During that terrific season, Shawn recorded 11 saves and was 5th in appearances with 51 games, finishing 31 of them. Later during the 1989 season, Shawn made five big league relief appearances playing for the Detroit Tigers under legendary manager Sparky Anderson. His major league debut was on September 5, 1989, when he pitched two innings of relief in the Tigers' 10-2 win over the Kansas City Royals.

During the 1990's, Shawn logged time with London, Laredo, Richmond, and Ottawa, and also played pro ball in Puerto Rico. Shawn finished 12-7 in 1992 with Laredo in the Mexican League and 12-7 again in 1993 with Richmond in the Eastern League.

An arm injury ended Shawn's playing career in 1997. Today, he is giving back to his hometown and alma mater as the head baseball coach at Ambridge High School. Under Shawn, the Bridgers made the WPIAL playoffs in 2016, their first visit since 2009. Shawn is now in his third year at Ambridge and is also an assistant coach and pitching coach for the Ambridge-Baden American Legion baseball team.

Shawn is married to Nancy Arendosh Holman, and their two sons, Shawn and Travis, are both pitchers and played for their father at Ambridge. Son Shawn is now pitching collegiately at Slippery Rock University of Pennsylvania, and son Travis will enter Indiana University of Pennsylvania in the fall of this year and will pitch there.