Thomas Michael "Mike" Shannon was born on July 15, 1939, in St. Louis, Missouri, to Thomas and Elizabeth (Richardson) Shannon. He married Judith Ann Bufe on February 7, 1959, and was the father of Thomas Michael Jr., Timothy, Patricia, Margaret, Daniel, and Erin. He graduated from Christian Brothers College High School in 1957 and played quarterback for the Missouri Tigers before leaving to pursue baseball. Signed by the Cardinals as an amateur free agent in 1958, he made his major league debut for the St. Louis Cardinals on September 11, 1962. In 1967, he unselfishly moved from right field to third base to make room for Roger Maris. He made three World Series appearances, in 1964, 1967, and 1968, and was a two-time World Series champion in 1964 and 1967. In Game 1 of the 1964 World Series against the New York Yankees, he hit a game-tying two-run home run off Whitey Ford, and in Game 3 of the 1967 World Series against the Boston Red Sox, he hit a key home run off Gary Bell. His home run against Mickey Lolich in the 1968 World Series was the only home run Lolich allowed in the series. Shannon also hit the last home run in the original Busch Stadium (Sportsman's Park) in 1966 and the first one for the Cardinals in the second Busch Stadium (Busch Memorial Stadium). He joined the Cardinals' promotional staff in 1971 and moved to the team's radio booth the following year. For almost three decades he was paired with Hall of Fame announcer Jack Buck on KMOX Radio. He received an Emmy Award for his work on Cardinals broadcasts in 1985, became the team's lead radio voice after Buck's death in 2002, was elected to the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame in 1999, and was recognized as a Missouri Sports Legend in May 2013.