Mike Shannon

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Mike Shannon (born July 15, 1939) is a former American Major League Baseball player and current radio sportscaster.

Mike Shannon has become a beloved Cardinal institution having been raised in St. Louis, having played with the Cardinals during some of its most successul years, operating an area restaurant and having broadcast games over the radio for the entire lifetime of many young fans.

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[edit] Early life

Shannon was born and raised in St. Louis, Missouri where he graduated from Christian Brothers College High School in 1957. He attended the University of Missouri before leaving to begin his professional baseball career. Shannon has commented that if football players were payed better during his era, he probably would have stayed at Missouri, and sought a professional football career. He believed himself a better football player, and his former coach, Frank Broyles commented that had he stayed in school, Shannon might have won the Heisman Trophy.[1] Shannon was awarded an Emmy for his work on Cardinal broadcasts in 1985, Shannon is a 1999 inductee of the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame.

[edit] Playing career

Shannon began his big-league career with the St. Louis Cardinals in 1962. In 1964 he became the team's regular right fielder, shifting to third base (in order to make room for the newly acquired Roger Maris) in 1967. Shannon played in three World Series for the Cardinals. He hit a game-tying two-run homer off Whitey Ford in the Game 1 of the 1964 World Series against the New York Yankees, which St. Louis won 9-5. In Game 3 of the 1967 World Series against the Boston Red Sox, Shannon hit a key home run off of Gary Bell. In Game 7 of the 1968 World Series against the Detroit Tigers, Shannon's solo home run off of Mickey Lolich was the Cardinals' only run off of Lolich as the Tigers clinched. Shannon also hit the last homerun in the oldest Busch Stadium and the first one in the old Busch stadium. In 1970 he contracted nephritis, a rare kidney disease, which ended his playing career.

[edit] Broadcasting career

Shannon joined the Cardinals’ promotional staff in 1971; two years later he moved to the team's radio booth. For three decades Shannon was paired with Hall of Fame announcer Jack Buck over station KMOX and the rest of the Cardinals' radio network; following Buck's death in 2002, he was named as the team's lead radio voice, teaming with Joel Myers (2002), Wayne Hagin (2003-2005), and John Rooney (2006-).

Shannon also hosts a local sports talk show after each Friday Cardinals home game from his self-titled restaurant.

[edit] Commentating style

Shannon's casual conversation style, his frequent references to and indulgence in sponsor Anheuser-Busch products, slurred verbal gaffes, and famous chuckle (heh-heh-heh) have also gained him popularity with Cardinal fans in much the same way as Harry Caray with their rival Cubs. Shannon is also known for using a phrase, "you can't sneak the sun past the rooster".

He is known for his "get up baby, get up" call when a Cardinal player hits a home run.

Preceded by
Gaylord Perry		 Major League Player of the Month
July, 1966		 Succeeded by
Pete Rose

[edit] External links

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