Athlete - Basketball
Inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2021
His career at Acadia was relatively short, just two seasons, but his individual accomplishments and his on-court impact during that time number Ed Shannon among the greatest of basketball Axemen.
A native of Worcester, MA, Ed was recruited to Acadia by Axemen head coach Dick Hunt in 1975. He had formerly played at Anselm College and arrived at Acadia with two years of varsity eligibility remaining.
A 6'7” forward, 'Steady Eddie' made an immediate impact on the fortunes of the basketball Axemen. Along with fellow recruit Alvin Jessamy from Yonkers, NY, they turned a decent Axemen team into a squad that was capable of contending for a national championship.
In his first season, Ed was third in the AUBC with a 57.53 field goal percentage. He scored an average of 19.15 points and had 11.54 rebounds per game and was named to the first All-Conference team.
Finishing as runner-up to Saint Mary's in the AUBC, the Axemen earned a wildcard berth to the CIAU nationals, played that year in Halifax. After a 62-60 loss to Waterloo in their opening game at nationals, the Axemen won their next two games to finish as consolation champs, fifth in the country.
Ed had 12 points and 22 rebounds in the loss to Waterloo and contributed 12 points to an 80-79 Acadia victory in the consolation final.
Ed saved many of his most memorable performances for his second and final season at Acadia. Shooting at a 56.21 percent clip, he finished the 1976-1977 regular season averaging 19.2 points and 11.7 rebounds per game, helping lead Acadia to a 9-1 record and first place in the standings.
In the playoffs, on a snowy evening in Wolfville, he poured in 48 points and had 23 rebounds in an 88-69 semifinal win over St. F.X., avenging Acadia's only regular-season defeat in Antigonish.
Ed then contributed 16 points and 19 rebounds to an 84-82 overtime win over UPEI in the conference final. He added playoff MVP honours to his second straight first-team all-conference selection.
Moving on to CIAU nationals at the venerable Halifax Forum, Shannon had 13 rebounds in a relatively easy 88-70 win over UPEI in the quarterfinal round.
In the semifinals against a strong Waterloo squad, Ed led the way with 21 points, 18 rebounds, and the game-winning shot in the final seconds of a 65-63 Axemen win. He also provided solid defense against the Warriors' all-Canadian post player Lou Nelson.
During a timeout with the score tied at 63, coach Hunt had mapped out “a power-move off a reverse” for his centre. The big man “made no mistake with one of his soft jumpers” for the winning points with only seconds to play.
The win advanced Acadia to the national final against Lakehead and their 7'1” centre Jim Zoet. Coach Hunt chose to play Lakehead 'straight-up' with a tenacious (and often punishing) man-to-man defense.
Ed was handed the assignment of defending Zoet and did a tremendous job with able assistance from Ted Upshaw and Tony Aker after Ed was whistled for a fourth foul in the second half.
According to a newspaper account, Shannon “took Zoet completely out of the game, limiting the giant to a mere six points in the first half and outrebounding him 13-9.” Somewhat overlooked, though equally vital to Acadia's 72-63 win, was that Shannon also contributed 17 points on offense.
Afterward, Hunt defended his decision to play Lakehead man-to-man. “If they were better than us, they would have deserved to win,” he said, adding, “Ed Shannon can play as tall as he has to, and he did.”
In his post-game analysis, reporter Hugh Townsend suggested that while many Axemen deserved credit for the team's victory, in the final analysis, Acadia had 'Shannonized' their opponents.
Ed was a near-unanimous choice as tournament MVP, which helped take away some of the sting from his failure to be named even a second-team all-Canadian, an honour Acadia fans felt he richly deserved.
With the win over Lakehead, Ed completed his four years of university eligibility, and his Acadia career ended. His career wasn't a long one, but it more than made up in quality for what it lacked in quantity.