ST. LOUIS -- Fifty years of quips, of calls, of memories and of Shannonisms came to an end on Sunday afternoon.

Longtime broadcaster and Cardinals Hall of Famer Mike Shannon, a stalwart on the KMOX airwaves for the past five decades, took the mic for the final call of his career as the Cards closed out their 2021 regular season against the Cubs.

Shannon, a Cardinal for nine seasons and a two-time World Series champion who is unabashedly St. Louis -- by birth and boyhood choice -- will leave behind a legacy ingrained into countless homes across not just the state of Missouri, but in kitchen tables all across the Midwest.

“It's a little bit surreal,” said manager Mike Shildt, who caught countless games called by Shannon as he was rising up the Minor League managerial ranks across the Midwest in the Cardinals’ system. “I talk about the Mount Rushmore of Cardinals -- there's a lot of quality people on that that we know about, but it puts a spotlight on Mike Shannon. He's got to be in that group for the combination of what he did as a player and 50 years of being a broadcaster.”

The party started in April, when Shannon embarked on his 50th season in earnest. During each game he called this year, Busch Stadium played one of his marquee calls and then called his attention to the jumbotron, where he was given a standing ovation. Coaches, media personalities, St. Louis celebrities and Cardinal Hall of Famers had prerecorded thank-you messages to Shannon broadcast throughout the season.

The party hit a peak this week, when Ballpark Village held a blowout festival on Thursday and then hosted Mike Shannon Day with a pregame ceremony on the field on Sunday.

Shannon was celebrated with speeches from friends, longtime colleagues and Cardinals chairman Bill DeWitt Jr., with his family looking down from a suite. In the stands, it was announced that Shannon paid for and reserved four seats to be donated to fans all next season. Up above, the KMOX booth unfurled a new billboard: The Shannon Broadcast Booth.

It was a celebration for the local legend -- one who was made by St. Louis and one who made St. Louis as special as it was to grow up in for many young fans.

“He's a local guy,” Shildt said. “The passion of this organization just gets exuded by Mike Shannon. A lot of what this organization represents is Mike Shannon-esque.”

There is a chance that Shannon calls at least one more game at Busch Stadium, but that will require the Cardinals to win the National League Wild Card Game on Wednesday; it wouldn’t come until Game 3 of the NL Division Series at the earliest. Shannon had been plotted out for 50 home games over the course of the season, not traveling to away cities.

But now, Shannon sets down his headset as one of only 14 announcers in baseball history known to have spent as long as 50 years in a broadcast booth, and one of just six to call all those games for only one team. Just three other active broadcasters -- Jamie Jarrín of the Dodgers, Denny Matthews of the Royals and Bob Uecker of the Brewers -- have been calling games for their respective teams longer than Shannon has.

What they’ll remember Shannon for in St. Louis is his intertwinement with the memories. His presence in Mark McGwire’s home run chase and the “Get up, baby! Get up!” calls that were heard aplenty. Bob Forsch throwing his second no-hitter in 1983. Albert Pujols’ home run off Brad Lidge in the 2005 NL Championship Series. The 2011 World Series. All making up his equal parts quirky, brutally honest and colorful calls, coined “Shannonisms.”

The Cardinals just hope they can give Shannon at least one more marquee call to make this postseason.