Professional baseball pitcher Virgil Oliver Trucks (1919-2013) came out of Depression-era Alabama as a minor-league sensation by striking out 420 batters in a season. As a major league pitcher, he helped the Detroit Tigers win the 1945 World Series, and later in his career he pitched two 1-0 no-hitters during the same season—a feat accomplished only three times in major league history. He was nicknamed "Fire" Trucks for the speed of his pitching style.

Trucks became the minor league sensation of the 1938 season in Andalusia. He went 25-6, threw two no-hitters, and struck out 420 hitters, a minor league record that stood for eight years. With an overpowering fastball clocked in excess of 100 mph, the young pitcher was compared inevitably with Cleveland Indian Bob Feller, who also had an overwhelming fastball. Andalusia sold Trucks's contract to the Detroit Tigers, and he spent the next three years (1939-1941) in the Detroit farm system. He threw two additional no-hitters while pitching for Class D Alexandria, Louisiana; Class B Beaumont, Texas; and Class AA Buffalo, New York.

From 1946 to 1952, Trucks pitched for the Tigers, winning 78 games and losing 73. With a baseball salary of only $3,500 in 1946, Trucks, like most major leaguers, worked during the off season to make ends meet. He was employed by the city of Birmingham and by the Alabama Great Southern Railroad as a switchman. In addition, he earned $2,000 to $3,000 during the postseason with exhibition, or "barnstorming," teams organized by Bob Feller and Harry Walker. By 1951, he was making a baseball salary of $10,000, and during his last season in 1958 he made $28,500.
Trucks regularly faced two of the era's greatest hitters in Joe DiMaggio and Ted Williams. He fared well against the right-handed DiMaggio but gave up more than a few home runs to the left-handed Williams—a hitter he loved to challenge. In 1952, Trucks suffered through his most trying season, posting a 5-19 record. Ironically during that season, he pitched 1-0 no-hitters against the Washington Senators and the New York Yankees, a feat matched only by Johnny Vander Meer, Allie Reynolds, and Nolan Ryan.

Overall in his major league career, Trucks won 177 games, lost 135, and struck out 1,534 batters. He compiled a 3.39 earned run average, threw 124 complete games, had 33 shutouts, and played in the 1951 and 1954 All-Star games. He also had two no-hitters during the 1952 season. Trucks remained affiliated with baseball as a coach and scout with the Pittsburgh Pirates, Atlanta Braves, and Detroit Tigers through 1974. Trucks married four times and fathered five children. He lived in Calera, Shelby County, until his death on March 23, 2013. His nephew, Claude "Butch" Trucks, was a founding member of the Allman Brothers Band.
Additional Resources
Marshall, William. Oral History interview with Virgil Trucks. Birmingham, Ala., May 11, 1988 (88OH80, Special Collections and Digital Programs, University of Kentucky Libraries).
Additional Resources
Marshall, William. Oral History interview with Virgil Trucks. Birmingham, Ala., May 11, 1988 (88OH80, Special Collections and Digital Programs, University of Kentucky Libraries).
Trucks, Virgil. Throwing Heat: The Life and Times of Virgil "Fire" Trucks. Dunkirk, Md.: Pepperpot Productions, 2004.