Bob Shannon (born 1945) is an American former

high school football High school football (french: football au lycée) is gridiron football played by high school teams in the United States and Canada. It ranks among the most popular interscholastic sports in both countries, but its popularity is declining, part ...

coach. He is best known for coaching the East St. Louis Flyers to six Illinois and two national championships.

Biography

Early life

Robert Lavern Shannon was born 1945 in

Port Gibson, Mississippi Port Gibson is a city in Claiborne County, Mississippi, United States. The population was 1,567 at the 2010 United States Census, 2010 census. Port Gibson is the county seat of Claiborne County, which is bordered on the west by the Mississippi Ri ...

Career

Shannon achieved a record of 192-34 in 20 seasons at East St. Louis. In 1985 he was selected as the USA Today High School Football Coach of the Year along with taking the

High School Football National Championship The High School Football National Championship is a national championship honor awarded to the best high school football team(s) in the United States of America based on rankings from prep experts and analysts in the media, such as ''USA Today,'' an ...

. Shannon accused the school district of condoning corruption. He claimed the athletic director stole from the district. He left in 1995 after the school board backed the athletic director, who later pleaded guilty to stealing $90,000 from athletic accounts.

Janet Reno Janet Wood Reno (July 21, 1938 – November 7, 2016) was an American lawyer who served as the 78th United States attorney general. She held the position from 1993 to 2001, making her the second-longest serving attorney general, behind only Wi ...

awarded Shannon the United States Attorney General Award, an award rarely given outside of law enforcement, for his efforts to fight corruption. He coached

Alton Alton may refer to: People *Alton (given name) *Alton (surname) Places Australia *Alton National Park, Queensland * Alton, Queensland, a town in the Shire of Balonne Canada * Alton, Ontario *Alton, Nova Scotia New Zealand * Alton, New Zealand, ...

and

Christian Brothers College High School Christian Brothers College High School (CBC High School) is a Lasallian Catholic college preparatory school for young men in Town and Country, Missouri, a suburb of St. Louis. It is located in the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Saint Louis and ...

before retiring from coaching in 2007 at the age of 63. Shannon and the East St. Louis Flyers were the subject of the book ''The Right Kind of Heroes'', by newspaper reporter Kevin Horrigan, who is now a columnist with the ''

St. Louis Post-Dispatch The ''St. Louis Post-Dispatch'' is a major regional newspaper based in St. Louis, Missouri, serving the St. Louis metropolitan area. It is the largest daily newspaper in the metropolitan area by circulation, surpassing the ''Belleville News-De ...

''. The book chronicles the Flyers' 1990 and 1991 seasons, during which they lost the state championship and then won it back. Shannon coached pro football players

Dana Howard Dana Cortez Howard (born February 27, 1972) is a former American football linebacker in the National Football League (NFL) for the St. Louis Rams and Chicago Bears. He played college football at the University of Illinois. Early years Howard wa ...

and

Bryan Cox Bryan Keith Cox Sr. (born February 17, 1968) is an American football coach and former player. He is the assistant defensive line coach for the New York Giants of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for Western Illino ...

and

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding tea ...

player

Homer Bush Homer Giles Bush (born November 12, 1972) is an American former professional baseball second baseman. He played for the New York Yankees, Toronto Blue Jays and Florida Marlins of Major League Baseball from 1997 to 2002 and in 2004. He was a pa ...

, then a high school football star during his tenure at East St. Louis. Two years after retiring, Shannon was inducted into the St. Louis Metro Football Coaches Association hall of fame.

George H. W. Bush George Herbert Walker BushSince around 2000, he has been usually called George H. W. Bush, Bush Senior, Bush 41 or Bush the Elder to distinguish him from his eldest son, George W. Bush, who served as the 43rd president from 2001 to 2009; pr ...

recognized Shannon as "a beacon of hope in a sea of despair."

Bill Clinton William Jefferson Clinton ( né Blythe III; born August 19, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 42nd president of the United States from 1993 to 2001. He previously served as governor of Arkansas from 1979 to 1981 and agai ...

named Shannon one of his 53 faces of hope during his 1992 presidential campaign. Shannon was selected for overcoming difficulties and leading his team to success. He was invited to lunch prior to the inauguration with Clinton and attended the inauguration.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Shannon, Bob 1945 births Living people High school football coaches in Illinois High school football coaches in Missouri People from Port Gibson, Mississippi Sportspeople from East St. Louis, Illinois People from Alton, Illinois