Earl F. Shannon (November 23, 1921 – July 8, 2002) was an American professional

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...

player and college coach. He played for the

Providence Steamrollers The Providence Steamrollers were a Basketball Association of America team based in Providence, Rhode Island. As of 2025, the Steamrollers were the last professional sports franchise from one of the Big Four leagues to be based in Rhode Island. ...

of the

Basketball Association of America The Basketball Association of America (BAA) was a professional basketball league in North America, founded in 1946. Following its third season, 1948–49, the BAA merged with the National Basketball League (United States), National Basketball Lea ...

for three seasons, before being released by the team in 1949 and signing with the

Boston Celtics The Boston Celtics ( ) are an American professional basketball team based in Boston. The Celtics compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Atlantic Division (NBA), Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference (NBA), ...

. In three seasons as a player he averaged 8.6 points and 1.3 assists per game. In one year as

Bryant University Bryant University is a private university in Smithfield, Rhode Island, United States. It has three colleges, the College of Arts and Sciences, School of Health and Behavioral Sciences, and the College of Business, and is accredited by the New E ...

's head coach (1963–64), the program's first-ever season, the

Bulldogs The Bulldog is a British breed of dog of mastiff type. It may also be known as the English Bulldog or British Bulldog. It is a stocky, muscular dog of medium size, with a large head, thick folds of skin around the face and shoulders and a rel ...

went 12–11. In other coaching roles he served as the

University of Rhode Island The University of Rhode Island (URI) is a public land-grant research university with its main campus in Kingston, Rhode Island, United States. It is the flagship public research as well as the land-grant university of Rhode Island. The univer ...

's freshman basketball coach and an assistant on

Providence College Providence College is a Private university, private Roman Catholic university in Providence, Rhode Island, United States. Founded in 1917 by the Dominican Order and the Roman Catholic Diocese of Providence, it offers 47 undergraduate Academic ...

's varsity men's basketball squad. Shannon was also an agent for the

Federal Bureau of Investigation The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic Intelligence agency, intelligence and Security agency, security service of the United States and Federal law enforcement in the United States, its principal federal law enforcement ag ...

BAA career statistics

Regular season

Head coaching record

References

External links

Earl Shannon's Hall of Fame entry
@ the University of Rhode Island
Earl Shannon's obituary
{{DEFAULTSORT:Shannon, Earl 1921 births 2002 deaths American Basketball League (1925–1955) players American men's basketball players Basketball coaches from Rhode Island Basketball players from Providence, Rhode Island Boston Celtics players Bryant Bulldogs men's basketball coaches Guards (basketball) Federal Bureau of Investigation agents Players of American football from Rhode Island Providence Friars men's basketball coaches Providence Steamrollers players Rhode Island Rams baseball players Rhode Island Rams football players Rhode Island Rams men's basketball coaches Rhode Island Rams men's basketball players