St. Louis Cardinals: Happy Birthday to the late Mike Shannon

Mike Shannon is among the most significant individuals synonymous with the St. Louis Cardinals organization. Born in St. Louis on July 15th, 1939, Shannon grew up in the area and attended Clayton's Christian Brothers College High School. He was an outstanding athlete, winning the Missouri Prep Player of the Year in football and basketball. Football was Shannon's best sport, having signed a letter of intent to play at the University of Missouri. 

However, baseball allowed Shannon to make more money, and he signed with the hometown St. Louis Cardinals in the summer of 1958 for around $50,000. That signing forged a relationship between the player and the franchise that lasted over sixty years.

In the minor leagues, he earned the now-famous nickname "Moon Man" after a teammate described Shannon as floating like he was on the moon trying to avoid a pitched ball.

Shannon reached the Major Leagues in 1962 and played in 10 games. In his Major League debut on September 11th, 1962, Shannon singled off Cincinnati right-handed pitcher Bob Purkey for his first big league base hit. That base hit gave Shannon the confidence he needed to succeed with the Cardinals, as Purkey was having a stellar 1962 season.

Shannon bounced around between Triple-A and the Cardinals' Major League squad during the 1963 season, where we appeared in games as a defensive replacement for Stan Musial. Exactly one year to the date of his first base hit, Shannon collected his first Major League home run at Busch Stadium I off Chicago Cubs' southpaw Dick Ellsworth.

1964 was the season that saw Shannon cement his status into Cardinals' lore. After the Cardinals clinched the pennant from the reeling Phillies that season, Shannon crushed a game-tying two-run home run off future Hall of Famer Whitey Ford in the Cardinals' 9-5 win in Game One of the World Series. Shannon considered that home run the biggest thrill of his life at the time.

“I was a hometown boy in front of the hometown crowd, and I hit a home run off Whitey Ford in the World Series. You can’t hardly top that."

Shannon continued to play for the Cardinals until 1970 when his playing career ended due to a life-threatening disease, glomerulonephritis. Upon his retirement, Shannon worked in promotions and sales in the front office. After turning down an opportunity to coach, Shannon embarked on a new career in broadcasting and joined Cardinals radio announcer Jack Buck in 1972. Buck and Shannon went on to be broadcast partners for the next 30 seasons until Buck died in 2002.

Perhaps the most famous call of Shannon's career was Glenn Brummer's steal of home plate during the fantastic 1982 season.

"At the belt. Checks. Brummer's stealing home! He is safe, and the Cardinals win! Brummer stole home! The dugout comes on and they congratulate him! You wouldn't believe it!

During his tenure, Shannon became known for his quirky slogans, or "Shannonisms," as Cardinals fans dubbed them. Here are three examples of some good Shannonisms.

"It’s Mother’s Day today, so to all the mothers out there, ‘Happy Birthday.’"

"I just want to tell everyone Happy Easter, and to our Jewish friends, Happy Hanukkah."

"He knew he was out when he heard that right hand go up."

Shannon remained a fixture in the Cardinals radio booth until 2021 when he retired after 50 seasons with the team. Shannon passed away last year at 83 but remains a Cardinal legend.