Shannon's objective was objectivity

Most fans never had heard of Bill Shannon before Tuesday, when the long-time press box fixture and official baseball scorer died in a house fire in New Jersey at age 69.

But the emotional reaction from the baseball world offered a glimpse of one of the colorful behind-the-scenes characters who enrich sports.

Shannon’s passion was evident in a quirky 48-page booklet he wrote several years ago called “Official Scoring in the Big Leagues.’’

It includes everything from scorer trivia – J.G. Taylor Spink worked a record 11 World Series from to 1910 to 1920 – to philosophy:

“Popularity is not an objective for a scorer; objectivity is.’’