Former Cardinals Broadcaster Mike Shannon Dies at 83; Won 2 World Series as Player
Mike Shannon, who won two World Series titles as a player with the St. Louis Cardinals before serving as the team's radio voice for 50 years, has died. He was 83.
The Cardinals did not share the cause of Shannon's death, though he had "long-haul" COVID-19 since 2020, reports Rick Hummel, Derrick Goold and Dan Caesar of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.
"Mike's unique connection to Cardinals fans and his teammates was reflected in his unbridled passion for the game, the Cardinals and the St. Louis community," Cardinals owner Bill DeWitt Jr. said in a statement.
Shannon, who was born in St. Louis, began playing minor league baseball in 1958 and was called up to the Cardinals for the first time in 1962.
Shannon became a regular in right field and eventually shifted to third base to help the team to World Series titles in 1964 and 1967.
"All of us at Major League Baseball mourn the passing of Mike Shannon, a beloved figure in the rich history of the St. Louis Cardinals," MLB commissioner Robert Manfred Jr. said in a statement.
Shannon finished his playing career in 1970 with 710 hits and 68 home runs, including some of the most important in Cardinals history. He hit the final home run at the Cardinals' former Sportsman's Park, the first Cardinals homer at the new Busch Memorial Stadium and hit a game-tying home run off Hall of Famer Whitey Ford in Game 1 of the 1964 World Series.
"I played in the World Series in my hometown, and I hit a home run off of Ford," Shannon wrote, per St. Louis Public Radio. "I'm a dreamer, but even I can't dream that good."
Shannon's Cardinals career, cut short on the field due to kidney disease, continued in the broadcast booth. For 50 seasons, he made calls so memorable, entire websites popped up to record new "Shannonisms."
Shannon called three more St. Louis World Series victories in 1982, 2006, and 2011 and was the voice behind a number of other memorable calls, including the hit that made Mark McGwire the first player in MLB history to record 62 home runs in a single season.
"My dad's life was encapsulated by his devotion to his family, his friends, the Cardinals' organization and the St. Louis community," Shannon's son, Tim Shannon, said in a statement, via the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. "My dad lived his life to the fullest, and he squeezed every drop from it."
Shannon was inducted into the Cardinals Hall of Fame in 2014 and retired from broadcasting in 2021. On October 3, 2021, St. Louis renamed the Busch Stadium radio booth the Shannon Broadcast Booth in honor of Shannon's 59-year Cardinals career.
