‘He chose unity.’ Manatee County icon Coach Eddie Shannon dies at age 104
Manatee County lost one of its most well-known residents on April 3.
Beloved football coach Eddie Shannon died at the age of 104.
But Shannon was more than a high school coach. He was a civil rights icon, a World War II veteran and an inspiration to multiple generations.
Shannon is a key figure in the award-winning 2010 documentary, “Through the Tunnel,” which explores the integration of Manatee County schools in 1969.
Shannon, who was the head football coach at Palmetto’s Lincoln Memorial High School — an all-Black school — was moved to the previously all-white Manatee High School to help with the transition period after the Civil Rights Act ended segregation.
“I wanted to go to another high school,” Shannon told the Herald in 2023. “They told me, ‘Noooo.’ You come on to Manatee High School, because they need you at Manatee High. My whole thing, and I didn’t know it right then, was to tie Black and white together.”
Coach Eddie Shannon dies at 104
Shannon was a peacekeeper, commanding respect in the community.
Born on March 7, 1922, Shannon served in the Navy during World War II before becoming Florida A&M’s first paid athletic trainer where he worked with future Wimbledon champ Althea Gibson.
“She sprained her ankle one day and I taped, and she said, ‘You’ve got to be around me to help me keep it going,’” Shannon said in 2023.
Shannon’s coaching career began in 1954 in Lakeland, but he returned home to Palmetto to guide the Lincoln Trojans.
The Trojans only lost two games during a seven-year stretch. He spent a combined 34 years at Lincoln and Manatee, which led to his induction into the Florida High School Athletic Association Hall of Fame in 2012.
Shannon also was Manatee County’s Distinguished Citizen in 2004.
Keep a goin’
Former player Moody Johnson, who narrates Through the Tunnel, told the Herald in 2023 that he never heard Coach Shannon criticize anyone.
“Coach Shannon’s greatest legacy is, with the number of years that he has lived, every time you met him, he had an inspirational statement for you,” Johnson said at the time.
One of those inspirational quotes was his “Keep a goin” mantra.
The saying goes, “If the weather kills your crop, keep a goin’. If you fail to get on top, keep a goin’. Suppose you’re broke and out of every dime, getting broke is not a crime. Tell the world you’re feelin’ fine, and keep a goin’.”
“This message doesn’t end with his final whistle — it lives on in every life he touched, every young scholar he mentored, and every community he helped unite,” the Manatee County School District said in a Facebook post.
Three-time Super Bowl champion Henry Lawrence and Ray Bellamy, who broke the color barrier as the first Black player to sign a football scholarship at the University of Miami, were some of the players Shannon guided during his career.
He had a curfew rule of 9 p.m. for his players and his philosophy included getting an education, obeying the teacher and your parents.
Shannon’s keys to a long life
Even after retirement, Shannon remained a spiritual leader and mentor in the community.
His house featured plaques and accolades, including a plaque in 2022 from former President Joe Biden commemorating him turning 100 and thanking him for his military service during World War II.
Shannon also was a torch-bearer during the 1996 Summer Olympics when the torch passed through Palmetto.
“I didn’t drink,” Shannon said in 2023, sharing his secret to living a long life. “You’ve got to have a decent meal and you still have to go to bed at a decent time. Get rest. I go for a walk every day. And it ain’t that far (now). … The key to all of it is to go to church, because if it wasn’t for God, you wouldn’t even be here. And the other key is to respect your parents.”
Shannon’s death sparked reactions throughout Manatee County.
“He will forever be a legend to all who knew and loved him,” Manatee High’s Alumni Association wrote on Facebook.
The School District of Manatee County said in a social media post about Shannon, “In a time when division could have defined us, he chose unity.”
Visitation for Shannon is on Friday from 6 to 8 p.m. His funeral is on Saturday at 11 a.m. Both are at Mount Raymond Baptist Church, 2410 Fourth Ave. E., Palmetto.
