NEW YORK – On Tuesday, December 14, a special memorial service was held at St. Paul's Chapel on the campus of Columbia University to celebrate the life of Bill Shannon who tragically passed away on October 26, 2010 at the age of 69.

After attending Columbia University and serving in the office of sports information, Shannon was the head of public relations for Madison Square Garden from 1965 to 1973.  He was also a longtime assistant on the press staff for the U.S. Tennis Association and a member of the stats crew for New York Jets home games dating back to when they were known as the Titans in the AFL. 

In 1984, he turned his focus primarily to baseball and became the official scorer for the Mets and the Yankees for a number of decades.  He was a walking encyclopedia, and published the first-ever book entirely dedicated to scoring baseball called Official Scoring in the Big Leagues in 2006.

In addition to his work with the Mets and the Yankees, Shannon was also a sports writer for the Associated Press.  Always holding a special place in his heart for Columbia, Shannon was a regular in the Columbia Football press box at Wien Stadium and on press row in Levien Gymnasium.