Baseball: America’s favorite pastime. For Brevard baseball is synonymous with Gil Coan. Gilbert (Gil) Fitzgerald Coan was born May 18, 1922 in Monroe, North Carolina. The second of four children born to devout Methodists George Phifer Coan and Florence Price Coan, Coan grew up on a farm.
When Coan was 10 years old he cracked a joint in his left thumb while playing sandlot football. The bone came loose at the middle joint, got infected, and had to be removed. This resulted in the loss of dexterity in most of his left thumb but no visible difference. The lifelong disability didn’t seem to affect his athleticism.
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