Legendary Cardinals player-turned-broadcaster Thomas Michael “Mike” Shannon died Saturday in St. Louis. Check out his cause of death here.
Mike Shannon : Died | Cause of death | Net worth
Shannon was raised in St. Louis, Missouri, and was an integral part of some of the Cards’ most successful seasons, during the 1960s.
Shannon was the proprietor of Mike Shannon’s Steaks and Seafood restaurant in downtown St. Louis until it closed on January 30, 2016.
Mike Shannon continued to operate two Mike Shannon’s Grill locations, in Edwardsville, Illinois, and at St. Louis Lambert International Airport, which is run by his grandson, Justin VanMatre.
He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the St. Louis Cardinals from 1962 to 1970, and then worked as a Cardinals radio broadcaster from 1972 to 2021.
Mike Shannon died
Mike Shannon, who played on three World Series teams with the St. Louis Cardinals but made a bigger impact as the voice of his hometown team for 50 years, died Saturday. He was 83.
The Cardinals confirmed Shannon’s death in a tweet on Sunday. He died three months after his former teammate, Tim McCarver, who enjoyed a Hall of Fame broadcasting career.
Shannon was born and raised in St. Louis, where he graduated from Christian Brothers College High School in 1957, KDSK-TV reported.
He signed with the Cardinals in 1958 and broke into the majors in 1962, according to Baseball-Reference.com.
He played his entire nine-year major league career with St. Louis, retiring after the 1970 season because of nephritis, a kidney ailment that nearly ended his life, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported.
Shannon joined the Cardinals’ promotional staff in 1971, according to the Post-Dispatch. A year later he embarked upon a 50-year broadcasting career on KMOX Radio with another broadcasting legend, Jack Buck, punctuating home run calls with his signature phrase, “Get up, baby! Get up!”
Mike Shannon Cause of death
Longtime St. Louis Cardinals broadcaster Mike Shannon has died, the team announced Sunday. He was 83.
No cause of death was given.
“The St. Louis Cardinals were saddened to learn this morning of the passing of Cardinals Hall of Famer and beloved St. Louisan Mike Shannon,” Cardinals owner and CEO Bill DeWitt Jr. said in a statement. “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. On behalf of the entire Cardinals organization, we share our condolences with Mike’s family and friends, and his many fans.”
“My dad’s life was encapsulated by his devotion to his family, his friends, the Cardinals organization and the St. Louis community,” Tim Shannon, Mike’s son, said on behalf of the family in a statement. “My dad lived his life to the fullest, and he squeezed every drop from it.”
Born and raised in St. Louis, Shannon sign with the Cardinals as an amateur free agent in 1958 and reached the big leagues at age 23 in 1962.
He was the club’s starting right fielder during their 1964 World Series championship run before moving to third base in deference to new addition Roger Maris in 1967. Shannon started at the hot corner during the Cardinals’ 1967 World Series run.
In Game 1 of the 1964 Fall Classic, Shannon hit a game-tying two-run home run against New York Yankees lefty Whitey Ford. St. Louis went on to win the game and series.
Shannon’s playing career was cut short by kidney disease. He played his entire nine-season career with the Cardinals from 1962-70 and retired as a .255/.311/.387 hitter with 710 hits and 68 home runs.
Net worth
According to Sportsworldzone.com, Mike Shannon had an estimated net worth of $15 million at the time of his death.