Mike Shannon, a radio broadcaster for 50 years and two-time World Series champion for the St. Louis Cardinals, died. Check out how did he die.
Mike Shannon : Passed away | How did die | Age
Shannon was born on July 15, 1939, and raised in south St. Louis at 7045 Winona Avenue, the second-oldest of six children of Thomas A. Shannon and Elizabeth W. Richason Shannon.
Shannon’s father was a St. Louis police officer and after getting his law degree, worked in the prosecuting attorney’s office before becoming the Prosecuting Attorney for the City of St. Louis in the early 1970s.
Shannon attended grade school at Epiphany of Our Lord Catholic School and graduated from Christian Brothers College High School in 1957.
He was the Missouri High School Player of the Year in both football and basketball his senior year and remains the only athlete to win both awards in the same year.
Mike shannon Passed away
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!”
How did Mike Shannon die
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.
Age
Mike shannon died peacefully at the age of 83.