Edo Vanni was as feisty as they come.  Some called him a firebrand; others, a hothead. His wife once said he could start a fight in an empty room. How much of that headstrong nature was just for show is hard to know. But no one disputes the fact that Edo Vanni was a talented athlete. Called the heart and soul of Seattle baseball, he is well-remembered for his time with the Seattle Rainiers during its early years.

In fact, Vanni was a key member of the team when it won three straight pennants in the Pacific Coast League in 1939, 1940, and 1941 — the years that turned Seattle into a baseball-crazed town. Vanni was born in 1918 in Black Diamond, Wash., to Raffaello and Esterina, who had immigrated to Washington state from Garfagnana, Italy.