Hero Spotlight: Julio “John” Vannucci

Julio "John" Vannucci
MPD Sargent Julio “John” Vannucci

Julio John Vannucci was born on December 25, 1887 and was appointed to the Memphis Police Department in 1910. As a patrolman he was assigned to the Emergency Car. In 1921 the Emergency Car was what the SWAT Team is today. This was their heavily armed and aggressively trained team of officers who whose task it was to quell any police emergency of the day.

Patrolman Vannucci was later assigned to the serve as the Police Officer at the Elmwood Park baseball stadium. The Elmwood was later named Russwood after the General Manager, Russell Garner, of the Memphis Chicks, minor league baseball team. The name changed to Russwood in 1915.

Officer Vannucci was promoted to Sargent in 1927, and in 1938 he was promoted to Lieutenant. He served as the Officer at the Ball Park for more than 26 years. You would see him sitting just off of the Chicks dugout. He never missed a spring training or an opening day. He served the citizens for 30 years. He died on January 4, 1940.

 

 

 

Written by Joe Lowry with research and editorial assistance by Trish Gully.

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