Mike Shannon, the longtime St. Louis Cardinals broadcaster and two-time World Series champion, died on Saturday night, the team confirmed.
He was 83.
Shannon, a St. Louis native, spent nine seasons playing for the Cardinals from 1962-1970. He helped lead the Cardinals to a pair of World Series wins, first in 1964 as a right fielder. They beat the New York Yankees 4-3 that season to win what was the organization’s seventh title. Shannon, after moving to third base, then won another title with the Cardinals in 1967, when the team beat the Boston Red Sox 4-3 in the World Series.
Shannon retired after the 1970 season, and held a career batting average of .255 with 68 home runs on 710 hits. He ended his playing career due to a battle with nephritis, a kidney disease that nearly cost him his life.
After a short run in the front office, Shannon transitioned into the broadcast booth for the 1972 season. He remained there for 50 years before retiring after the 2021 season.
Shannon contracted long-haul COVID-19 in 2020, and had been sick on-and-off since his diagnosis, . The team did not provide a cause of death.
“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 Bill DeWitt Jr. said in a statement, via the Post-Dispatch. “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.”
Shannon was inducted into the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame in 1999, and then into the St. Louis Cardinals Hall of Fame in 2014.
“My dad’s life was encapsulated by his devotion to his family, his friends, the Cardinals’ organization and the St. Louis community,” Tim Shannon, one of Mike’s five children, said in a statement, via the Post-Dispatch.
“My dad lived his life to the fullest, and he squeezed every drop from it.”