Tom Varn
1922-1993
1963 Hernando High Baseball Team Top: Danny Cimbora, Harry Fehrmen, Doug Chorvat, Raymond Gist, Skipper Lewis Center: Donald Griffin, Alvin Mazourek, Bob Barnett, Jerry Jones, Frank Vohun, Coach Varn Bottom: Tommy Grant, Danny Chorvat, Buddy Hancock, Dean Sharp, R Syczak, Walter Townsend (Photo from Old Brooksville in Photos & Stories)
Bio
“Tom Varn was born in Brooksville in 1921, and starred in football, basketball, and baseball for Hernando High School. During World War II, he served as a gunner on a torpedo bomber and won the Distinguished Flying Cross. After graduation from the University of Florida, he returned to Brooksville, where he was a coach, teacher, and athletic director for the next 37 Years. He started the first youth summer recreation program in Hernando County in the late 1940's, as well as Brooksville's first youth baseball program. He worked tirelessly to create sports opportunities for girls, including starting the girls' softball program at HHS in 1979. He was elected to four terms on the Brooksville City Council, including one term as mayor. Tom Varn Park was dedicated in his honor in 1970. He influenced and improved the lives of countless young people throughout his life.
Tom Varn brought attention to Brooksville throughout his career. He retired as the third-winningest high school baseball coach in Florida history. He is the only coach to ever win a state championship in both baseball (1967) and girls' softball (1984). He won the Florida High School Coaches Association Coach of the Year award (1968), and the National Baseball Coach of the Year by Topps Chewing Gum (1969). In 1970, he was voted National Baseball High School Coach of the Year by the National High School Athletic Coaches Association (1970). When he was presented the award in downtown Chicago by Mayor Richard Daley, he gave the mayor a Key to Brooksville. He was elected to the Florida High School Coaches Hall of Fame in 1982. He also organized Florida's first all-star girls' softball series in 1987, attracting the state's top talent to games at Tom Varn Park.”
In 2022, Tom Varn was awarded “Great Brooksvillian” by the City of Brooksville.
CITATIONS/CREDIT:
"Great Brooksvillian” NOMINATION FORM completed by, Scott Nash