Bob Hannah (baseball)

{{Short description|American baseball player (died 2025)}} {{Use mdy dates|date=June 2025}} {{Sources|date=December 2025}} '''Robert M. Hannah''' ({{circa|1931}} – December 14, 2025) was an American [[college baseball]] coach who served as head coach of the [[Delaware Fightin' Blue Hens baseball]] team from 1965 to 2000.

==Playing career== Hannah was born around 1931.<ref name="nj1" /><ref>{{cite news|title=Calif. trip on Hens' minds|url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-morning-news/186910113/|last=Fleischmann|first=Bill|date=February 11, 1969|page=20|newspaper=Morning News|location=Wilmington, Delaware}}</ref> He played basketball and baseball at [[Wesley College (Delaware)|Wesley College]] in [[Dover, Delaware]], in the 1950s.

==Coaching career and honors== During his tenure, he was one of the most successful intercollegiate baseball coaches in the country, producing over 1,000 wins in a 35-year career. Hannah's baseball teams have had many successful seasons including eight straight 30 win seasons from 1976–1983 and five straight 40 win seasons from 1994–1998. Hannah coached many [[Major League Baseball]] players including pitcher Steve Taylor who was a No. 1 draft pick of the New York Yankees in 1977. In 2000, the Delaware Baseball Stadium was renamed [[Bob Hannah Stadium]] in his honor.<ref>{{cite web|title=A Long-time baseball coach announces retirement|url=http://www.udel.edu/PR/UpDate/00/4/long.html|work=UPDATE|accessdate=2013-05-17}}</ref>

Hannah was named [[America East Conference Baseball Coach of the Year|America East Coach of the Year]] five times, a conference record.

He was inducted into the [[Delaware Sports Museum and Hall of Fame|Delaware Sports Hall of Fame]] in 1998.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.desports.org/inductees/1998/|title=Delaware Sports Museum and Hall of Fame in Wilmington, Delaware - 1998|website=www.desports.org}}</ref> ''[[The News Journal]]'' ranked him fourth on their 2023 list of the "125 Greatest Coaches in Delaware History".<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-news-journal/138588693/|newspaper=[[The News Journal]]|author=Tresolini, Kevin|date=August 6, 2023|page=C1, [https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-news-journal/142220308/ C3], [https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-news-journal/142220328/ C4], [https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-news-journal/142220359/ C5]|title=Best Of The Best|via=[[Newspapers.com]]}} {{Open access}}</ref>

==Death== Hannah died on December 14, 2025, in [[Newark, Delaware]], at the age of 93.<ref name="nj1">{{cite web|title=Ex-Blue Hens baseball coach Bob Hannah dies, leaving a lasting legacy|url=https://www.delawareonline.com/story/sports/college/ud/2025/12/16/ex-blue-hens-baseball-coach-bob-hannah-dies-former-players-mourn/87775083007/?gca-cat=p&gnt-cfr=1|date=December 16, 2025|last=Tresolin|first=Kevin|publisher=Delaware News Journal|access-date=December 16, 2025}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=University of Delaware Mourns the Passing of Baseball Coaching Icon Bob Hannah |url=https://bluehens.com/news/2025/12/15/university-of-delaware-mourns-the-passing-of-baseball-coaching-icon-bob-hannah |access-date=15 December 2025 |publisher=University of Delaware Blue Hens |date=15 December 2025}}</ref>

==References== {{Reflist}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hannah, Bob}} [[Category:1930s births]] [[Category:Year of birth missing]] [[Category:2025 deaths]] [[Category:Delaware Fightin' Blue Hens baseball coaches]] [[Category:Baseball players from Trenton, New Jersey]] [[Category:University of Delaware alumni]] [[Category:Wesley Wolverines baseball players]] [[Category:Wesley Wolverines men's basketball players]]