Like Mike Campaign

What is Like Mike?


Like Mike is a fun campaign to engage Cardinals fans in celebrating Mike Shannon’s 40 years in the broadcast booth. The Cardinals are asking fans to show the world they Like Mike by voting to nominate Mike Shannon for the National Baseball Hall of Fame’s Ford C. Frick Award, baseball’s highest honor for broadcasters.

The Hall of Fame is conducting fan balloting on their Facebook page during the month of September to select three of ten nominees for the 2012 Ford C. Frick Award.

For the last four decades, Cardinals fans have enjoyed some of the most memorable moments in team history as called by one the team’s most beloved broadcasters. This is a chance for Cardinals fans to voice their support for Mike, who has been a voice of the Cardinals for 40 years, has called over 6,000 games and is a true St. Louis success story.

How can fans get involved?

Fans should go to cardinals.com/likemike and click the “vote now” button to be directed to the Hall of Fame’s Facebook page to cast their vote to nominate Mike for baseball’s highest honor for broadcasters – the Hall of Fame’s Ford C. Frick Award.

The Hall of Fame is encouraging fans to vote once a day for the entire month of September on the Hall’s Facebook page. The top three broadcasters selected by the fans in the Facebook balloting will join seven others selected by the Hall of Fame as nominees for this prestigious award in 2012.

Cardinal fans that follow the team on Facebook will be able to listen to the “Like Mike Call of the Day” throughout the month of September and will be able post messages to Mike. While fans must have a Facebook account to take part in the vote, all fans can join in the fun and show the world they Like Mike.

What will fans find at cardinals.com/likemike?

Fans will find a web page that celebrates Mike Shannon and pays tribute to his four decades in the broadcast booth. Fans can learn more about Mike Shannon, view galleries of photos, listen to some of Mike’s most memorable calls and learn more about the Ford C. Frick Award. Most importantly, fans can click the “vote now” button to be directed to the Hall of Fame’s Facebook page to cast their vote to nominate Mike Shannon for the Ford C. Frick Award.

What is the Ford C. Frick Award and have any former Cardinals broadcasters been recipients?

The Ford C. Frick Award is the highest honor presented to a broadcaster by the National Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown. The award recognizes broadcasters for “major contributions to baseball.” Legendary broadcasters Jack Buck (1987) and Harry Caray (1989) were both recipients of this prestigious award.

St. Louis Cardinals As the Emmy‐award winning radio broadcaster for the St. Louis Cardinals, Mike Shannon has been a voice of the Cardinals for 40 years and has called over 6,000 games. A longtime fan favorite of Cardinal Nation, Mike is beloved by multiple

generations of baseball players and members of the MLB community. During his time as a broadcaster for the team, Mike has been in the booth for five Cardinals’ World Series appearances (31 games) calling two World Championships for the Redbirds (1982, 2006). He has made ppearances on Cardinals television broadcasts, including working pre‐game analysis for Fox Sports

Midwest and NBC’s Baseball Game of the Week. He has also called Cardinals football games on the radio. A St. Louis native, Mike has been with the organization for 54 years as he joined the Cardinals in 1962 and became the Cardinals regular right fielder during the 1964 World Series Championship season. In 1967 hannon was moved to third base to make room for newly acquired right fielder Roger Maris as the team
again captured a World Series crown. Mike’s career was cut short by nephritis, a kidney disease, in 1970. He joined the Cardinals front office in 971 as assistant director of promotions and sales and entered the broadcast booth in 1972, where he has remained. During his playing career, Mike was part of the two World Series winners as well as the National League pennant winning team in 1968. Mike’s home run off Boston's Gary Bell was the key blow in Game 3 of the 1967 Series and his solo shot in Game 7 of the 1968 Series was the Cardinals only run off Mickey Lolich as the Tigers clinched the Series. In his three World Series appearances (1964, ’67 & ’68), Mike ranks tied for hird all‐time in the Cardinals record books for total runs scored (12) and tied for second in total home runs hit (3). Mike Shannon is a treasured part of the St. Louis local community, making numerous appearances at charity events throughout the region. He has been recognized by various organizations for his community efforts. Mike has raised over $ 1 million for Christian Brothers College High School as part of annual scholarship undraisers over the past 20 years. For over twenty‐five years, Mike has owned and operated one of the most popular restaurants in downtown St. Louis – Mike Shannon’s Steak & Seafood. He has received numerous awards and honors throughout his career. He was named St. Louis Ambassador’s 1993 Sportsman of the Year, St. Louis Variety Club 1996 Champion for Kids and received the 1985 Emmy Award for Sports Broadcasting, St. Louis chapter. In 1999, Mike was inducted into the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame in recognition of his popularity and performance on the air and as a player on the field, and in November 2009 was selected to be a member of the Academy of Missouri Squires, recognizing the 100 reatest living Missourians. In September 2010, Mike was honored as St. Louis Press Club Media Person of the Year. A gifted athlete, he was a High School All‐American football player, and in 1957 was named the Missouri prep Player of the Year in both basketball and football ‐ the only player ever to receive both in the same year. Mike, 72, resides in Illinois. He, and his late wife, Judy, have six children, 18 grandchildren and one great grandchild.

The National Baseball Hall of Fame’s Ford C. Frick Award

FAQ - Frequently Asked Questions

What is the Ford C. Frick Award?

The Ford C. Frick Award is the highest honor presented to a baseball radio or television broadcaster for “major contributions to baseball”. It has been presented annually since 1978 by the National Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, New York.

While awardees are not inducted into the Hall of Fame, each award recipient is presented with calligraphy of the award and is recognized in the “Scribes & Mikemen” exhibit in the Library of the National Baseball Hall of Fame.

Who is eligible to receive the Ford C. Frick Award?

The award is given to an active or retired radio or television broadcaster with a minimum of 10 years of continuous major league broadcast service with a team, a network or combination of the two.

Have any former Cardinals broadcasters been recipients of this prestigious award?

Former Cardinals broadcasters Jack Buck (1987) and Harry Caray (1989) are recipients of the Ford C. Frick Award.

Who selects the Award nominees each year? What role do fans play?

Since 2004, fans have been allowed to vote for three of the award's ten annual nominees. For the last few years, fan voting has been conducted on the Hall’s Facebook page. The remaining seven nominees are selected by a Hall of Fame research team.

Online voting for fan selections for the 2012 Frick Award will begin at 9 a.m. CT on Thursday, Sept. 1 at the Hall of Fame’s Facebook page www.facebook.com/baseballhall and will conclude at 4 p.m. CT on Friday, September 30. Fans can vote once per day.

This year fans will have the opportunity to select from a ballot of 75 eligible broadcasters, including a pair from each of the 20 big league markets as well as traditional fan-ballot favorites. Bios of each of the 75 candidates eligible for the fan voting will appear at www.baseballhall.org. The total list of ten nominees for the 2012 award, along with fan balloting vote totals, will be released some time in October.

When will the winner of the award be announced?

The 2012 Frick Award winner will be selected by a 20-member electorate, with the winner to be announced at baseball’s Winter Meetings in Dallas in December.

When is the award presented?

The Ford C. Frick Award is presented annually during the Hall of Fame Weekend.

Who decides who wins the award?

A twenty member committee consisting of previous Frick Award winners, as well as a group of broadcast historians and columnists selected by the Hall of Fame, are tasked with selecting the annual recipient of the Ford C. Frick award.

The voting electorate features 2011 Ford C. Frick Award winner Dave Van Horne and the other 14 living Frick Award winners: Marty Brennaman, Jerry Coleman, Gene Elston, Joe Garagiola, Milo Hamilton, Jaime Jarrin, Tony Kubek, Denny Matthews, Jon Miller, Felo Ramirez, Vin Scully, Lon Simmons, Bob Uecker and Bob Wolff.

The five historians and veteran media members of the electorate include: Bob Costas (NBC/MLB Network), Barry Horn (Dallas Morning News), Stan Isaacs (formerly of New York Newsday), Ted Patterson (historian) and Curt Smith (historian).

What criteria do electors consider in awarding the Ford C. Frick Award?

The award is to honor a broadcaster who has made “major contributions to baseball.” Electors consider the following criteria in casting their vote: (1) longevity; (2) continuity with a club; (3) honors, including awards and national assignments, such as the World Series and All-Star Games; and (4) popularity with the fans.

Who was Ford C. Frick?

Ford Christopher Frick was a broadcaster, National League President, Commissioner of Baseball and Hall of Famer. Frick was a driving force behind the creation of the Hall of Fame in Cooperstown and he helped foster the relationship between broadcasting and baseball. The Ford C. Frick award was created in 1978, following Frick’s death.
 
All information cam from Like Mike Media Press