ST. LOUIS — Mike Shannon, a beloved broadcaster and two-time World Series champion for the St. Louis Cardinals, has died at the age of 83.
Shannon has spent more than 60 years with the Cardinals organization, including 50 years as a member of the team’s radio broadcasts. On the shows, Shannon was well known for her “Get Up, Baby!” calls when cardinals delivered circuits.
A native of St. Louis, Shannon broke into the big leagues with the Cardinals in 1962. He patrolled third base and outfield for nine seasons and won World Series titles in 1964 and 1967.
Shannon’s career as a baseball player was cut short due to kidney disease, although he dedicated his life to the Cardinals well beyond that. Shannon got her start on Cardinals Radio Network alongside Hall of Fame broadcaster Jack Buck in 1972, forming a bond through which the two called nearly three decades of games together on 1120 KMOX.
Shannon officially became the main voice of Cardinals radio in 2002 after Buck’s death. He hit a remarkable 50-year milestone in the broadcast booth in 2021, retiring from the KMOX airwaves after that season.
Shannon has been recognized in recent years by the National Baseball Hall of Fame as a finalist for the prestigious Ford C. Frick Broadcasting Award. He was officially inducted into the St. Louis Cardinals Hall of Fame in 2014.
His decorated career includes many accolades beyond that. In 1985, Shannon won her first Emmy Award for sports broadcasting. He was also named “Sportscaster of the Year” for the state of Missouri by the National Sportscasters and Sportswriters Association (NSSA) in 2002, 2003 and 2014.
Over the years, Shannon has also made appearances for the Cardinals on their television shows, occasionally as a pre-game analyst for Fox Sports Midwest. He also worked with NBC’s Baseball Game of the Week and called St. Louis Cardinals NFL football games on the radio.
One of Shannon’s finest moments as a player came in Game 1 of the 1964 World Series, when he hit a two-run tying homer. The Cardinals won the season opener and beat the Yankees in seven league games.
Shannon hit .255 with 68 homers and 367 RBI as a player. He produced his best regular-season campaign in 1967, when he hit .266 with 15 home runs, 79 RBIs, and earned a seventh-place finish in NL MVP voting.
“The St. Louis Cardinals were saddened to learn this morning of the passing of St. Louisan Cardinals Hall of Famer and beloved Mike Shannon,” said Cardinals owner and CEO Bill DeWitt, Jr. “Mike’s unique bond with Cardinals fans and teammates was reflected in his unbridled passion for the game, the Cardinals and the St. Louis community. On behalf of the entire Cardinals organization, we extend our condolences to Mike’s family and friends, as well as his many fans.
“My father’s life was summed up by his dedication to his family, friends, the Cardinals organization and the community of St. Louis,” said his son, Tim Shannon, on behalf of the Shannon family. “My dad lived his life to the fullest and squeezed every last drop out of it.”
Shannon is the second longtime broadcaster with Cardinals ties to die in 2023. Tim McCarver, a teammate of Shannon in the 1960s, died aged 81 in February.
#Mike #Shannon #longtime #Cardinals #radio #host #dies