There has not been many athletes who have spent a longer time with one organization than Mike Shannon has with the St. Louis Cardinals. Whether it has been in a uniform or in a broadcast booth, Shannon has been part of over half a century of Cardinals baseball.

Beloved by multiple generations, and millions of fans, it’s time Shannon receives the highest award an announcer in his position can receive…

It’s time to award Shannon the Ford C. Frick Award.

Essentially, it’s the broadcasting branch of the Baseball Hall of Fame.

The Ford C. Frick Award is presented annually to someone for excellence in baseball broadcasting by the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum. The Ford C. Frick Award election cycle rotates annually with three different broadcasting categories for election: Current Major League Markets (team-specific announcers); National Voices (broadcasters whose contributions were realized on a national level); and Broadcasting Beginnings (early team voices and pioneers of baseball broadcasting).

Under the current format, Shannon will be eligible again for the honor in 2023, as he just narrowly missed out on induction a couple years ago.

Bob Costas, Joe Garagiola, Harry Caray and Jack Buck are the four KMOX broadcasters (as of now) who have been recipients of the Ford C. Frick Award. If Shannon receives the honor in 2023, he would be the fifth.

Shannon announced earlier this season (his 50th as Cardinals announcer) that he would retire at the end of the season. Over the years, his workload has become smaller, as he only calls Cardinals home games. But nevertheless, the now 80-year old Shannon has the second-longest tenure of any Cardinals broadcaster aside from Buck.

And it has been one amazing career both on-field and in the booth.