Gary Farmer was a baseball standout at Atlantic Christian for four seasons from 1967-70, and then impacted thousands of lives as a teacher, coach, and administrator in the Wilson area.
Farmer started every game at catcher during his four years at Atlantic Christian College, except for playing first base in the second game of some doubleheaders. He earned a scholarship after his first season and hit numerous home runs while batting clean-up all four years. His batting average was .400-plus his first two seasons and above .300 as a junior and senior. He played for Coach Jim Pfohl his first three seasons and Doc Sanford his final year.
Farmer also worked under Ed Cloyd in the athletics department to help pay expenses, served as Physical Education Club president and was a member of the Sigma Phi Epsilon Fraternity. He graduated with a B.S. degree in Health & Physical Education. In 1972, he earned his Deaf Education certification at ACC. He received his Master of Arts degree in Educational Administration and Supervision in 1983 from East Carolina University.
He was a high school baseball star at Fike High School in Wilson under head coach Gilbert Ferrell (a 1990 Barton Hall of Fame inductee). He also played defensive end on the Fike Cyclones football team and wrestled for one season.
Farmer was dean of students at the Central N.C. School for the Deaf in Greensboro from 1972-77, and then spent the next 20 years as a teacher/coach at the Eastern N.C. School for the Deaf in Wilson, serving as athletics director the final 11 years. He started the school’s physical education program and coached boys’ and girls’ soccer and varsity football for the Hornets. He was named National Prep Coach of the Year in soccer in 1987 and football in 1991, when his gridiron team went 8-0.
Farmer served as president of the Mason-Dixon Athletic Association for the Deaf and directed five highly successful tournaments at ENCSD. He also started the school’s athletic booster club. He is a decorated baseball and softball umpire and received both the Award of Merit and the Sportsmanship Award from the N.C. High School Athletic Association in 1995. Under his direction, the ENCSD athletic program was saluted as the prototype among N.C. high schools for sportsmanship since no Hornet athletes were ejected from games during an eight-year period from 1994-2001.
As if his playing, teaching, and coaching accomplishments aren’t enough, Farmer also gave back to the community in many other ways, including playing Santa Claus to local children for 20 years and playing an integral role in activities at the Salvation Army Boys & Girls Club.
Farmer and his wife, Brenda, a former principal at ENCSD, still reside in Wilson. They have two sons, T.J. and Will.
