As a rookie, Coan took on five-time AL stolen-base champ George Case in a Griffith Stadium foot race. “Gil Coan was very fast, but I beat him,” Case said years later. “It was a darn good promotion and pulled a lot of people into the ballpark, including General Eisenhower.” With 23 stolen bases in 1948, Coan finished second in the AL. In 1950 and 1951 he put together back-to-back .303 seasons.
