Steve Cannon

The best radio man in Minnesota history--Steve Cannon--has died tonight in Minneapolis at age 81. The joy of hearing the Eveleth City Dogs in chorus bring Steve-o on the air at 3:00 pm every day will stay with me forever. His love of the U of M and Stadium Village, all Gopher sports, bouts with Sid Hartman, and his Mess buddies Morgan Mundane, Ma Linger, and Backlash La Rue are now part of the Minnesota genome and will enhance every walk around Lake of the Isles forevermore.

Steve Cannon was a reader and often mentioned on air what he was reading at the time. I remember one interview with Roy Smalley, a star player with the Minnesota Twins, which Cannon ended by asking Smalley what he was reading these days, and Smalley responded with a superb account of his current book. No other sports interview in the Twin Cities, other than Cannon's, would end that way. Not then and not now.

I saw him in person only once--in the mid-80's standing behind me in the check-out line at Lund's on West Lake St. Steve had a half-smile, clearly amused at all around him. He had a few items in his hands and I got the impression that he was going to a party.

You got the money, Steve.