Team
Mike Shannon will be broadcasting his 38th season on the Cardinals radio network. Throughout his years as a broadcaster for the Cardinals, Shannon has also made appearances for the Cardinals television broadcasts, including as a pre-game analyst for FSN Midwest.
A St. Louis native, Shannon broke into the big leagues with the Cardinals in 1962 and became the Cardinals regular right fielder during the 1964 World Championship season. During the 1964 Series opener vs. New York, Shannon hit a game-tying, two-run homer off Whitey Ford as St. Louis went on to defeat the Yankees in seven games. In 1967 Shannon was moved to third base to make room for newly acquired right fielder Roger Maris, as the Cardinals went on to win two straight National League pennants in 1967 and '68 as well as the 1967 World Series. His 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. His career was cut short by nephritis, a kidney disease, in 1970. He joined the Cardinals front office in 1971 as assistant director of promotions and sales and entered the broadcast booth in 1972, where he has remained. His many years with the organization give Shannon a unique insight in his commentary. He was honored at the end of the 2007 season for his 50 years of service with the club.
In 1999, Shannon 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. A few of the numerous awards and honors Shannon has received throughout his career include the Missouri prep Player of the Year in 1957 for basketball and football - the only player ever to receive both in the same year, St. Louis Ambassador's 1993 Sportsman of the Year, St. Louis Variety Club 1996 Champion for Kids and the 1985 Emmy Award for Sports Broadcasting, St. Louis chapter.
Mike, 69, resides in Illinois. He, and his late wife, Judy, have six children and 10 grandchildren.
John Rooney is in his third year of broadcasting Cardinals games with partner Mike Shannon. Rooney, a Richmond, Mo. native, came to St. Louis from the Chicago White Sox where he spent 18 years (1988-2005) - one in TV and 17 seasons following in the radio booth. The Cardinals World Championship crown in 2006 gave John the privilege of working with the World Champion team in back-to-back seasons, following the White Sox win in 2005.
Rooney, 53, called his first major league game in 1983 with Shannon and Hall of Fame Broadcaster Jack Buck during a three-game series between the Cardinals and host Cincinnati Reds. He began his baseball broadcasting career at the class AAA level, spending the 1981-82 seasons with the Oklahoma 89ers and the 1983-84 campaigns with the Louisville Redbirds. John juggled two stints in the 1980's as a sports reporter for KMOX around his baseball broadcasting and also called University of Missouri basketball games for 20 seasons. His major league baseball radio assignments have included the Division Series (1995-97, 2002-03), League Championship Series (1987-97), All-Star Games (1990-1998), World Series (1987-97), and the FOX Saturday afternoon "Game of the Week" (1996-98). John also has broadcast several college football bowls as well as the NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament, including the Final Four (1984-2002).
Rooney was inducted into the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame in February 2004. He and his wife, Susan, have two daughters, Colleen and Rachel.
Al Hrabosky will be calling games on Cardinals telecasts this year for his 25th season. It marks his 13th straight-season in his role as color commentator on FSN Midwest. He began working as a commentator on telecasts for the team in 1985 and through the years has worked for Fox Sports Midwest, WB11, Prime and Sportstime cable.
Hrabosky made a smooth transition from one of St. Louis' best-loved athletes, the "Mad Hungarian" of the Cardinals 1970's bullpen, to one of the town's favorite broadcasters. During a 13-year major league career in which he compiled 97 saves and earned Fireman of the Year honors in 1975, Hrabosky already was preparing himself for broadcasting by working as a sportscaster for a St. Louis TV station.
Hrabosky, 59, was inducted into the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame in February 2003. Away from the booth he is active in many charities, including the Health Careers Foundation. He participates in the Cardinals Legend Camp each off-season and hosts an annual golf tournament, "The Mad Hungarian Legends Classic" with the Health Careers Foundation a beneficiary of both. In September 2004 he helped open "Al Hrabosky's Ballpark Saloon" just south of Busch Stadium. He and his wife, June, reside in St. Louis.
Dan McLaughlin enters his 10th year as the play-by-play voice for Cardinals television broadcasts. He covers all road games and several home games on FSN Midwest, as well as serving as a pre-game host and analyst on FSN broadcasts. Dan has also filled in on Cardinals radio broadcasts.
During the baseball off-season, McLaughlin, 35, has worked 13 years as a regular on St. Louis Blues telecasts on FSN Midwest and CW11, and has also been a pregame, intermission and postgame analyst for Blues radio broadcasts. He has also served as a television play-by-play voice for the University of Missouri men's basketball team, Missouri Valley Conference and the Mid-Continent Conference. Dan is a regular contributor to the national magazine show "Fox Sports Net Across America."
Before joining the Cardinals, McLaughlin did baseball play-by-play at the collegiate level. A 1996 graduate of Lindenwood College, he began his professional broadcasting career in 1996 as a sports talk show host at KMOX Radio.
McLaughlin is involved in several local charities as well as hosting "The Dan McLaughlin Golf Tournament to benefit the Special Education Foundation". Dan and his wife, Libby, make their home in St. Louis with their son, Luke (7/12/05), daughter, Avery (2/19/07) and twins Olivia and Barrett, were born on 2/11/2009.
Jay Randolph returned to the Cardinals broadcast booth in 2007 to call games on KSDK TV, just as he did previously from 1973-1987. He also worked alongside Johnny Bench in 1988 for Cincinnati Reds telecasts and in 1993-2001 for the Florida Marlins as the first television play-by-play voice for the organization.
Golf was Randolph's first passion as he won several amateur championships in the late '50's. He began his career in broadcasting, however, in 1958 taking the job of sports and promotion director at WHAR-Radio in Clarksburg, WV. After five years in West Virginia and two years in Dallas with the Cowboys and Southern Methodist University, he joined KMOX in Saint Louis in 1966 to call the football Cardinals and be the original television voice of the St. Louis Blues. In 1968 he became Sports Director and anchor for KSDK (NBC-TV). Over 28 years with KSDK, Randolph did play-by-play for the NFL, college football, PGA Tour, PGA Champions Tour, LPGA, Major League Baseball's Game of the Week, Pro Bowler's Tour, three Olympic Games and the NCAA Basketball Tournament. He hosted the nationally syndicated "The Golf Show" in the late 1980's and early 90's and for 22 years was lead announcer for the Big 8 Basketball Network. Most recently, he broadcast the PGA Champions Tour tournaments on CNBC from 2000 through 2003.
In August 2006 he received Delta Tau Delta Alumni Achievement award at their convention in Indianapolis. Randolph was inducted into the Texas Radio Hall of Fame in January 2005 and into the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame in Springfield, Mo. in 2007. He and his wife, Sue, reside in St. Louis and have three children, Jay, Brian and Rebecca, and two grandchildren, Jennings and Grace.
Rick Horton will provide color commentary on all KSDK broadcasts for a third season as well as continuing his role as a baseball analyst for FSN Midwest for a third year. He provided color commentary for three previous seasons on KPLR telecasts (2004-'06) and was a co-anchor on the WB11 post-game show, Extra Innings, in 2003. Horton has filled in on KMOX Radio and Cardinals television broadcasts since 1997.
A former left-handed pitcher for the Cardinals, Rick spent seven years in the Major Leagues, playing for St. Louis, Los Angeles and the Chicago White Sox. He made his Major League debut with the Cardinals in 1984 and participated in the 1985 and 1987 World Series with the Redbirds and won the Series in 1988 while with the Dodgers. Horton was both a starter and relief pitcher for the club and had one of his best years in 1987 when he went 8-3 in 67 games, pitching 125 innings with 55 strikeouts. In 1991, he spent the season as a pitching coach in the Cleveland Indians minor league system.
After retiring from his Major League playing career, Horton remained in the St. Louis area where he has been active in the Greater St. Louis Area Fellowship of Christian Athletes, serving as the Director of the St. Louis FCA since 1993. Horton has assisted with Baseball Chapel with the Cardinals and also works with the St. Louis Rams football team in leading chapel and Bible studies.
Horton, 49, and his wife, Ann, reside in St. Louis and have two children, Jen, 22, and Drew, 18.
