James Harrison "Truck" Hannah (June 5, 1889 – April 27, 1982) was a

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

catcher Catcher is a Baseball positions, position in baseball and softball. When a Batter (baseball), batter takes their at bat, turn to hit, the catcher crouches behind home plate, in front of the (home plate, home) Umpire (baseball), umpire, and recei ...

who also had a lengthy

minor league Minor leagues are professional sports leagues which are not regarded as the premier leagues in those sports. Minor league teams tend to play in smaller, less elaborate venues, often competing in smaller cities/markets. This term is used in Nor ...

career. Hannah played three seasons with the

New York Yankees The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Amer ...

(1918–1920). He had 173 career hits in 736 at bats. He also had five

home run In baseball, a home run (abbreviated HR) is scored when the ball is hit in such a way that the batter is able to circle the bases and reach home plate safely in one play without any errors being committed by the defensive team. A home run i ...

s. He was the first Major League Baseball player born in North Dakota and would be the only one until 1930. Hannah's minor league playing career extended from 1909, when he played for Tacoma of the

Northwestern League The Northwestern League was a sports league that operated in the Central United States during the early years of professional baseball for five seasons: 1879, 1883–1884, and 1886–1887. After the 1887 season, the league was replaced by the We ...

, through 1940, when he played for

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of the

Southern Association The Southern Association was a higher-level minor league in American organized baseball from 1901 through 1961. For most of its existence, the Southern Association was two steps below the Major Leagues; it was graded Class A (1902–1935), Cl ...

. Hannah managed for seven seasons in the minor leagues, serving as player-manager of the

Los Angeles Angels The Los Angeles Angels are an American professional baseball team based in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. The Angels compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division. Since 1966, the team ha ...

of the PCL during 1937-38-39. He is a member of the Pacific Coast League Hall of Fame. Truck Hannah played himself in two

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films, ''

Warming Up 'Warming up' is a part of stretching and preparation for physical exertion or a performance by exercising or practicing gently beforehand, usually undertaken before a performance or practice. Athletes, singers, actors and others warm up before s ...

'' (1928), Paramount's first sound features (with music and sound effects only), and ''

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'' (1929). He was the father of Helen Hannah Campbell (1916-2013), who was a chaperone for the

Muskegon Lassies The Muskegon Lassies were one of the expansion teams of the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League in the 1946 season, representing Muskegon, Michigan. The team played their home games at Marsh Field. History The 1946 Muskegon Lassies p ...

in the

All-American Girls Professional Baseball League The All-American Girls Professional Baseball League (AAGPBL) was a professional women's baseball league founded by Philip K. Wrigley which existed from 1943 to 1954. The AAGPBL is the forerunner of women's professional league sports in the Uni ...

.Helen Hannah Campbell dies at 97; women's league baseball chaperon
April 1, 2013, at ''

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the Un ...

References

External links

Truck Hannah
at SABR (Baseball BioProject) 1889 births 1982 deaths People from Grand Forks County, North Dakota Major League Baseball catchers New York Yankees players Tacoma Tigers players Calgary Bronchos players Butte Miners players Chattanooga Lookouts players Spokane Indians players Sacramento Wolves players Mission Wolves players Salt Lake City Bees players Vernon Tigers players Portland Beavers players Los Angeles Angels (minor league) managers Los Angeles Angels (minor league) players Memphis Chickasaws players Portland Beavers managers St. Paul Saints (AA) managers Baseball players from North Dakota {{US-baseball-catcher-1880s-stub