Following last year's Lou Thesz poster, I've finally got back around to my series of screenprints celebrating beloved St. Louis folk icons. This one depicts hometown South City boy turned outfielder turned 3rd baseman turned Voice of the Cardinals Mike Shannon.
He ostensibly earned the nickname "Moon Man" because of his long-ball homeruns; I heard he once apologized to owner Gussie Busch for breaking some of the outfield lights at old Sportsman's Park, (historical footnote: Shannon hit both the last homerun there, and the first at the new Busch Stadium in 1966) who replied "You keep breakin' them and I'll keep replacing them." When he was forced to put down the bat and pick up the microphone, his nickname has come to represent his broadcasting voice, equal parts sage baseball knowledge, an off-kilter cosmic logic, and hillbilly vernacular. This post from the sadly defunct Redbird Nation I think does a good job of explaining the appeal of the Moon Man, and of why I love baseball in general.
Here's a sketch of sorta how I wanted the poster to look, a portrait of Mike with microphone and a cold frosty one...
...surrounded by a bunch of classic "Shannonisms", which I copied down from a few different online archives, and a couple I wrote down right as he said them on-air while I was working on the sketches.
Here's the ink drawing. Note that the two big quotes in the moon itself are Shannon's two trademark phrases, "Get up Baby, GET UP!" being his home-run call, and "Ol' Abner's has done it again!" being his dedication to the "inventor of baseball" when the meat of the batting lineup is due up in the 9th inning of a close game.
And here's the final digital art, in 3 colors. Get a load of that fancy used-car salesman plaid sportsjacket pattern I did the separations for!
I did two print-runs, one of 75 handpulled prints with white, blue and red ink on 18x24" double-ply brown chipboard (the picture at the top of this post), and another of 25 on thicker greyer chipboard. I'll be selling these around town and in person (maybe at the gift shop at Mike Shannon's Steak and Seafood), but if you'd be interested one in the meantime let me know. I think I'm selling the two editions for $35 and $50 apiece, respectively.Let's go you Redbirds!
9 comments:
Beautiful, Dan. This is really great!
Great Job, Dan!!! This print just makes me want to listen to the cardinal games on the radio!! And you know me - normally something like that would be about as appealing to me as an insurance seminar!
Dan:
Fabulous. I totally love this thing. If I had managed to make the adjustment to the National League, and if were able to drink the Kardinal Kool-Aid, I would totally buy one. Could you possibly do something with the Cleveland Indians and Herb Score? An excellent illustration opportunity, and creates the potential for a baseball broadcast set, if you cover Bobby Murcer (RIP, Yankees) and Vin Scully (Dodgers, not so long ago). Here's what I'm saying: GOLD MINE PORTFOLIO. Cooperstown panting. Seriously. MOMA, too.
Dan, can you manage your comments to exclude AL Nimrods? (See above.)
Love this illo, and I was going to remark on the plaid if you hadn't called attention to it.
Did you include "THATS a major league pop-up. Who wants it?"
Dan, I want one of these.
I miss ya. let's hang out and I'll buy one of these off ya.
-Tony
Boss! I'm definitely interested in picking up one of these.
Fav Moon Man quote this year: When asked by Rooney if he would be attending the All-Star game in NY, which landed on Moon Man's b-day, he responds, "The mail man don't take a walk on his day off!"
Wow.
-md
It’s great to see good information being shared and also to see fresh, creative ideas that have never been done before.
haha amazing creativity here.This blog is fantastic. Just saying thanks will not just be sufficient, for the phenomenal lucidity in your writing.
This is an excellent print. Great job with it. Is this print available for sale? If so I might be interested in buying one.
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