Mike Shannon, who played his entire career with the St. Louis Cardinals and spent 50 years as a Cardinals radio broadcaster, has died at 83.
A decorated football player at Christian Brothers College High School in Town and Country, Shannon passed up a chance to play quarterback for the Missouri Tigers. Instead, he signed a professional baseball contract and debuted for the Cardinals on Sept. 11, 1962. He played until Aug. 12, 1970.
Shannon entered the broadcast booth in 1972 and called five decades of Cardinals baseball until he retired in 2021. In the beginning, Shannon was paired with the legendary Jack Buck on KMOX and the Cardinals Radio Network. After Buck's death in 2002, Shannon became the team's lead radio voice.
Among his various honors and awards, Shannon received a local Emmy, was named Missouri Sportscaster of the Year multiple times and was inducted into the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame and Cardinals Hall of Fame.
His signature home run call was "Here's a long one... get up baby, get up, get up... oh yeah!"
