Eddie M. Shannon, Jr.

Coach Eddie Morris Shannon, Jr. was born March 7, 1922, in Palmetto, Florida, where he attended Lincoln Memorial High School. He was married 53 years to the late Shirley Marie Davis. After graduating from high school, he joined the United States Navy and served for three years during World War II. After a successful World War II mission, he enrolled in Florida A&M College (now known as Florida A&M University – FAMU). He and his bride attended FAMC at the same time. In 1949, he joined the Greatest Fraternity in the World – Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Incorporated. While attending school he became a student trainer, under Coach Jake Gaither, where he built a foundation rooted in discipline and excellence. After he received his degree, he stayed with Coach Gaither and became the first paid trainer in FAMC’s history (Mrs. Shannon was still taking classes). After their graduation, they moved back to Palmetto. There, his legacy began. He eventually became a coach/teacher at Lincoln High in Palmetto, and Mrs. Shannon taught elementary school in Bradenton. 

In his early years at Lincoln, he coached football, basketball and track. He was also a physical ed. teacher, and a teacher of first aid. Eventually he became head football coach at Lincoln. He didn’t just build a winning football program—he built character. His teams were disciplined, united, and   proud, losing only two games over a remarkable seven-year stretch. He developed young men into leaders. Among them were Ray Bellamy, the first African American to receive a football scholarship at the University of Miami, and Henry Lawrence, a future NFL star and three-time Super Bowl champion with the Oakland Raiders, who also attended FAMU. 

When integration came to Manatee County schools in 1969, Lincoln High was shut down, and half of the students attended Manatee High. Needless to say, tensions ran high. But Coach Shannon stood as a steady force of unity. He helped guide Manatee High through one of its most challenging periods, serving as a “Bridge Builder” between communities by having a calming voice when it was most needed. His voice didn’t just protect a football program; it protected a community. 

His influence stretched far beyond football. He was four-time named “Omega Man of the Year” by his fraternity brothers. In 1996, he carried the Olympic Torch, leading up to the Olympic Games. He received the Key to the City of Palmetto. He had both the field house at the youth center and a park named after him. He was the winner of the Bradenton Herald’s “Rose Award”, and the 2004 Manatee County Distinguished Citizen Award. In 2011 he was deemed a “Distinguished National Rattler”. He was inducted into the Florida High School Athletic Association Hall of Fame in 2012, an honor that not just recognized his success on the field, but his commitment to shaping lives. 

But his greatest legacy can’t be measured in awards. It is in the “thousands” of lives of the young men he guided, the barriers he helped break, and the unity he helped build. Short in stature, but a GIANT of a MAN. 

Preceding Coach Shannon in death are his parents, Ed and Irene Shannon; sisters, Lila Woodson and Verdell Coby; wife of 53 years Shirley Davis Shannon; daughter, Sylvia Lynn Shannon; and son, Ronald Shannon and his great-grandson, Myles Crawford.

 He is survived by his son, Herbert (Fredda); daughter, Gail; daughter-in-law, Mary Ann, Nieces, Peggy (Ronnie) and Sharonee (Ellis); grandchildren, Ronette (James), Tawanda, Roderick (Wanda), Ronda (Edwin), Bretina, Shana, Tiffany (Mark), LaToya (Russell), Lyndsey, Nikki, Rodney (Toccarra), Joel (Nakia), and Kelvin (Ariel); 25 great-grandchildren; nine great-great-grandchildren; one great-greatgreat-grandchild; and a multitude of nieces and nephews

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