Baseball writer Bill Shannon dies in house fire

This is such sad news. Few people in baseball were as nice as Bill. And "character" doesn't half describe it. One of the things I looked forward to most at Yankee Stadium was a hearty greeting from Bill. He will be so very, very missed.

 

Lupica, Daily News, 10/31:

<i>
By now, if you read the sports section, you know that a baseball gent named Bill Shannon died tragically this week at 69 in a house fire in New Jersey.

Bill Shannon was a fixture in local press boxes because of his gentle nature, his love for the game, and a head full of baseball.

He always made you remember the question Jimmy Cannon once asked of Leonard Koppett, when Koppett showed up at a baseball game carrying his old briefcase:

"Whatcha got in there, Leonard, decimal points?"

Shannon was an official scorer and so much more than that, because of his passion for the game and its history.
You asked a question, somehow he always had the answer.

When the bottom of the fourth inning of Game 4 of the Yankees-Rangers series seemed to last forever, there was only one person to ask exactly how long it had lasted.

Shannon.

I found him in the Yankee Stadium press box and asked the question and he didn't hesitate, almost like he was waiting for me.

"Just under twenty-six minutes," he said.

The television people confirmed Shannon's count.

Of course.</i>

 

Jack Curry Tweet, 11/1:

<i>JackCurryYES The NY baseball community did a wonderful job paying tribute to Bill Shannon at his funeral today. Jordan Sprechman's eulogy was superb.</i>

 

Post-mortem on the fire:

http://caldwells.patch.com/articles/fatal-fire-in-west-caldwell-deemed-accidental

 

If anyone would like to sign the online guest book, here's the link:

http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/nytimes/obituary.aspx?n=bill-shannon&pid=146313865