Don Coleman
Encyclopedia
Don Edwin Coleman is a former American football
player. Coleman played high school football at Flint Central High School
and college football at Michigan State University
. He was a unanimous All-American in 1951, the first African-American All-American football player at Michigan State. He was also the first Michigan State player to have his jersey number retired by the school. In 1968, he also became the first African-American to serve on the coaching staff at Michigan State. Coleman was elected to the College Football Hall of Fame
in 1975.
in 1928 and moved with his family to Flint, Michigan
before his freshman year in high school. His father shined shoes at Flint's Durant Hotel, worked as a hotel porter, and worked in the automobile factories.
Coleman did not play football until his senior year at Flint Central High School
. Two of Coleman's older brothers had died in their youth, one from drowning and the other from pneumonia. Coleman's mother did not want her youngest son to be injured playing football. Accordingly, Coleman played No.1 trumpet in the high school band and competed in swimming for three years. When Flint Central had a swim meet with Royal Oak High School, the Royal Oak coach "made it known Coleman would not be allowed to swim because a black swimmer had never been in their pool." Flint Central swim coach, Bob Richardson, stood behind Coleman and told the Royal Oak coach that, "if Don Coleman couldn't swim, then the rest of the Flint Central team would not swim." Coleman became the first black swimmer to enter Royal Oak's pool.
As a senior in 1947, Coleman's mother finally agreed to allow her son to play football. In his first year of football, he was selected as an all-state guard
and led Flint Central to the state championship.
, then known as Michigan State College. He played principally at the tackle position for Biggie Munn
's Michigan State Spartans
from 1949 to 1951. At 178 pounds, he was the lightest player on the 1949 Michigan State football team. Coleman made up for what he lacked in size with quickness and intensity. Long-time Michigan State sports information director Fred Stabley in 1972 named Coleman as one of the two best players he saw at Michigan State and recalled that, despite his size, Coleman was "so quick and played with such intensity. He loved to play against big men. The 250 pounders were his meat." In 1952, the Chicago Daily Tribune
wrote that Coleman "probably is packed with more football per pound than any man in the United States."
Coleman was also Michigan States's first unanimous All-American football player and its first African-American All-American. Michigan State under Biggie Munn
and Duffy Daugherty
earned a reputation as one of the leaders in racial integration of football, and Coleman was the first of many great African-American stars to play for the Spartans. In 1953, a feature story on racial integration of football cited the example of Coleman:
Interviewed in 1996 about Michigan State's role in integrating the sport, Coleman noted, "We changed the rules, changed the game and changed some attitudes. What we did at Michigan State helped everyone take a step closer to better understanding those who before that had no prior contact with one another."
As a junior in 1950, Coleman played at every position on the left side of the line for Michigan State and was selected as the Midwest lineman of the week following a season-opening win over the Michigan Wolverines
. Michigan coach Bennie Oosterbaan
said that Coleman's only rival among Big Ten lineman was Bronko Nagurski
. Oosterbaan added, "Pound for pound, the Big Ten has never seen a better tackler than Don Coleman, who was smart, quick as a cat, and a deadly, fearless tackler."
As a senior year in 1951, Coleman was selected as the Most Valuable Player on the undefeated 1951 Michigan State Spartans football team
and received the Governor of Michigan Award. In presenting Coleman with the award, Michigan Governor Mennen Williams said, "A couple of those tackles I saw you make in the Notre Dame game were enough to convince me." Coleman was credited with being the key to the Michigan State offense in 1951. Line coach Duffy Daugherty
pointed to a Coleman blocks in the Marquette
game as "one of the greatest plays by an offensive lineman that I've ever seen." According to Daugherty, Coleman was knocked to the ground, but got up, caught and passed the Michigan State ball carrier (Leroy Bolden) and "still made the key block that let him go for 33 yards." Daugherty later credited Coleman with "changing the concept of offensive football at Michigan State" and added, "He gave me a lesson which made football a winning proposition at the school for ten of the next twelve years." Daugherty went even further in 1954 with the following words of praise for Coleman:
Coleman was also a talented special teams player. Against Michigan in 1951, he tackled the Michigan kick returner on the nine yard line on the opening kickoff. Against Ohio State that same year, he tackled the return man at the seven yard line on the opening kickoff.
At the end of the 1951 season, Coleman was selected as a first-team All-American on 13 All-American teams, including teams selected by the Associated Press
and United Press. In choosing him for its All-American team, the Associated Press
referred to Coleman as "the catlike tackle."
Coleman was also the runner-up to Oklahoma's Jim Weatherall
for the Outland Trophy
. At the Outland Trophy award ceremony, Coleman met Alabama coach Paul "Bear" Bryant
. Bryant, whose Alabama
team was segregated at the time, told Coleman, "You can play on my team anytime."
Coleman was also selected to play in three post-season honor games, including the East-West Shrine Game
, the Hula Bowl
and the College All-Star Game
. In an interview with the Chicago Daily Tribune
prior to the College All-Star Game in August 1952, Coleman emphasized his pride in being an All-American both athletically and scholastically. He noted, "I think it's wonderful that football gave me a college education."
In February 1953, an investigation by the Big Ten Conference
revealed that a Michigan State booster organization known as the "Spartan Foundation" had either given or loaned a total of $3,183 to ten players on the 1951 football team, including Coleman. As a result of the finding, the Conference placed Michigan State on probation for one year.
In 1956, the Associated Press
reported that the No. 7 position on the short side of the Michigan State line was still being called "The Coleman Tackle." Starting with Coleman, Michigan State played only one lineman on the short side between the center and end positions. With Coleman on the short side, "with his speed and ability to knock down a couple of men on any given play," Michigan State placed an emphasis on plays developing from the short side. One of the Michigan State coaches said, "Coleman taught us things about playing tackle we never thought could be done."
. Coleman initially "turned down all offers" from the Cardinals, saying that he felt he was too small at 185 pounds to make much of a showing in professional football. In August 1952, Coleman noted that any thought he may have had of playing for the Cardinals vanished when he was drafted into the U.S. Army. He was required to report to Fort Lee, Virginia
, after appearing in the College All-Star Game in August 1952. Coleman served for two years in the U.S. Army, including one year in Korea
.
After being discharged from the Army, Coleman signed with the Cardinals and reported to training camp in August 1954. He appeared in the Cardinals' starting lineup for an exhibition game against the Green Bay Packers
at Minneapolis
. On September 1, 1954, the Cardinals traded Coleman to the Green Bay Packers
for defensive halfback Marvin Johnson
. Coleman chose not to play for the Packers and instead returned to Flint, Michigan
as a school teacher. Interviewed in 2007, Coleman expressed no regrets at passing on the opportunity: "I haven't regretted anything I've done, including saying no to the Green Bay Packers. Giving up football gave me a chance to get started working with communities. I hope I've been a Jackie Robinson on a smaller scale. I always wanted to set an example and do the right thing. And nothing feels better than when someone says, 'I always wanted to be a Don Coleman.'"
. He was the first African-American teacher at Flint Central, and eventually became the position of Dean of Students at the school.
's coaching staff as an assistant coach. He was the first African-American on Michigan State's coaching staff. That same month, a group of African-American athletes at Michigan State had announced plans to boycott all sports at the university in protest against the lack of African-Americans in coaching, counseling and administration positions. According to a report in the Washington Afro-American, Michigan State was forced to leave its "lily-white hiring" by the "quiet but firm demands of a militant, forward looking student organization. Coleman resigned his coaching position at Michigan State in January 1969 and accepted a new position in the school's residence hall program. At the time of his resignation, Coleman said, "Frankly, I found football coaching was not for me ... During the years I had been out of football, the game had changed so drastically that I feel lost." After his resignation from the coaching staff, Coleman held ten different assignments at Michigan State, including assistant dean of the graduate school, counselor and director of minority comprehensive support programs at the Michigan State College of Osteopathic Medicine, and professor emeritus.
Coleman has been married to his wife, Geraldine, for more than 50 years. They have a daughter, Stephanie.
announced that Coleman's No. 78 would never again be used on a Spartan uniform. An executive from General Motors
presented Coleman with a check for $500 on behalf of the people of Flint, Michigan
.
Coleman has also received numerous other honors and awards, including the following:
American football
American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...
player. Coleman played high school football at Flint Central High School
Flint Central High School
Flint Central High School was one of the Flint Community Schools, located in Flint, Michigan, USA. Flint Central was the city's oldest school. Its first building was built in 1875, and the school moved into the present building in 1923. It was called Flint High School until Flint Northern High...
and college football at Michigan State University
Michigan State University
Michigan State University is a public research university in East Lansing, Michigan, USA. Founded in 1855, it was the pioneer land-grant institution and served as a model for future land-grant colleges in the United States under the 1862 Morrill Act.MSU pioneered the studies of packaging,...
. He was a unanimous All-American in 1951, the first African-American All-American football player at Michigan State. He was also the first Michigan State player to have his jersey number retired by the school. In 1968, he also became the first African-American to serve on the coaching staff at Michigan State. Coleman was elected to the College Football Hall of Fame
College Football Hall of Fame
The College Football Hall of Fame is a hall of fame and museum devoted to college football. Located in South Bend, Indiana, it is connected to a convention center and situated in the city's renovated downtown district, two miles south of the University of Notre Dame campus. It is slated to move...
in 1975.
Early years
Coleman was born in Ponca City, OklahomaPonca City, Oklahoma
Ponca City is a small city in Kay and Osage counties in the U.S. state of Oklahoma, which was named after the Ponca Tribe. Located in north central Oklahoma, it lies approximately south of the Kansas border, and approximately east of Interstate 35. 25,919 people called Ponca City home at the...
in 1928 and moved with his family to Flint, Michigan
Flint, Michigan
Flint is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan and is located along the Flint River, northwest of Detroit. The U.S. Census Bureau reports the 2010 population to be placed at 102,434, making Flint the seventh largest city in Michigan. It is the county seat of Genesee County which lies in the...
before his freshman year in high school. His father shined shoes at Flint's Durant Hotel, worked as a hotel porter, and worked in the automobile factories.
Coleman did not play football until his senior year at Flint Central High School
Flint Central High School
Flint Central High School was one of the Flint Community Schools, located in Flint, Michigan, USA. Flint Central was the city's oldest school. Its first building was built in 1875, and the school moved into the present building in 1923. It was called Flint High School until Flint Northern High...
. Two of Coleman's older brothers had died in their youth, one from drowning and the other from pneumonia. Coleman's mother did not want her youngest son to be injured playing football. Accordingly, Coleman played No.1 trumpet in the high school band and competed in swimming for three years. When Flint Central had a swim meet with Royal Oak High School, the Royal Oak coach "made it known Coleman would not be allowed to swim because a black swimmer had never been in their pool." Flint Central swim coach, Bob Richardson, stood behind Coleman and told the Royal Oak coach that, "if Don Coleman couldn't swim, then the rest of the Flint Central team would not swim." Coleman became the first black swimmer to enter Royal Oak's pool.
As a senior in 1947, Coleman's mother finally agreed to allow her son to play football. In his first year of football, he was selected as an all-state guard
Guard (American football)
In American and Canadian football, a guard is a player that lines up between the center and the tackles on the offensive line of a football team....
and led Flint Central to the state championship.
Michigan State football player
After graduating from Flint Central, Coleman enrolled at Michigan State UniversityMichigan State University
Michigan State University is a public research university in East Lansing, Michigan, USA. Founded in 1855, it was the pioneer land-grant institution and served as a model for future land-grant colleges in the United States under the 1862 Morrill Act.MSU pioneered the studies of packaging,...
, then known as Michigan State College. He played principally at the tackle position for Biggie Munn
Biggie Munn
Clarence Lester "Biggie" Munn was an American football player, coach, and college athletics administrator in the United States. He was the head football coach at Albright College , Syracuse University , and most notably Michigan State College , where his 1952 squad won a national championship...
's Michigan State Spartans
Michigan State Spartans football
The Michigan State Spartans football program represents Michigan State University in college football as members of the Big Ten Conference at the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision level...
from 1949 to 1951. At 178 pounds, he was the lightest player on the 1949 Michigan State football team. Coleman made up for what he lacked in size with quickness and intensity. Long-time Michigan State sports information director Fred Stabley in 1972 named Coleman as one of the two best players he saw at Michigan State and recalled that, despite his size, Coleman was "so quick and played with such intensity. He loved to play against big men. The 250 pounders were his meat." In 1952, the Chicago Daily Tribune
Chicago Tribune
The Chicago Tribune is a major daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, and the flagship publication of the Tribune Company. Formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper" , it remains the most read daily newspaper of the Chicago metropolitan area and the Great Lakes region and is...
wrote that Coleman "probably is packed with more football per pound than any man in the United States."
Coleman was also Michigan States's first unanimous All-American football player and its first African-American All-American. Michigan State under Biggie Munn
Biggie Munn
Clarence Lester "Biggie" Munn was an American football player, coach, and college athletics administrator in the United States. He was the head football coach at Albright College , Syracuse University , and most notably Michigan State College , where his 1952 squad won a national championship...
and Duffy Daugherty
Duffy Daugherty
Hugh Duffy Daugherty was an American football player and coach. He served as the head coach at Michigan State University from 1954 to 1972, where he compiled a career record of 109–69–5. Duffy's 1965 and 1966 teams won national championships...
earned a reputation as one of the leaders in racial integration of football, and Coleman was the first of many great African-American stars to play for the Spartans. In 1953, a feature story on racial integration of football cited the example of Coleman:
"In 1951, for instance, as for two years previously, their watch-charm tackle, Don Coleman, was one of the world's best football players. Weighing only 180 pounds, Coleman employed quickness, agility, brains and courage to win unanimous selection as an All-American in 1951. At Michigan State, he is perpetually nominated as one of the greatest football players of all time."
Interviewed in 1996 about Michigan State's role in integrating the sport, Coleman noted, "We changed the rules, changed the game and changed some attitudes. What we did at Michigan State helped everyone take a step closer to better understanding those who before that had no prior contact with one another."
As a junior in 1950, Coleman played at every position on the left side of the line for Michigan State and was selected as the Midwest lineman of the week following a season-opening win over the Michigan Wolverines
1950 Michigan Wolverines football team
The 1950 Michigan Wolverines football team, coached by Bennie Oosterbaan, won the Big Ten Conference championship with a record of 6–3–1 and defeated the California Bears in the 1951 Rose Bowl, 14–6. The team had two All-Big 10 backs in Don Dufek and Chuck Ortmann and All-American tackle R. Allen...
. Michigan coach Bennie Oosterbaan
Bennie Oosterbaan
Benjamin Gaylord "Bennie" Oosterbaan was a three-time first team All-American football end for the Michigan Wolverines football team, two-time All-American basketball player for the basketball team and an All-Big Ten Conference baseball player for the baseball team...
said that Coleman's only rival among Big Ten lineman was Bronko Nagurski
Bronko Nagurski
Bronislau "Bronko" Nagurski was a Canadian-born American football player. He was also a successful professional wrestler, recognized as a multiple-time world heavyweight champion.-Youth and collegiate career:...
. Oosterbaan added, "Pound for pound, the Big Ten has never seen a better tackler than Don Coleman, who was smart, quick as a cat, and a deadly, fearless tackler."
As a senior year in 1951, Coleman was selected as the Most Valuable Player on the undefeated 1951 Michigan State Spartans football team
1951 Michigan State Spartans football team
The 1951 Michigan State Spartans football team represented Michigan State University in the 1951 college football season.The Spartans played their home games at Macklin Stadium in East Lansing, Michigan...
and received the Governor of Michigan Award. In presenting Coleman with the award, Michigan Governor Mennen Williams said, "A couple of those tackles I saw you make in the Notre Dame game were enough to convince me." Coleman was credited with being the key to the Michigan State offense in 1951. Line coach Duffy Daugherty
Duffy Daugherty
Hugh Duffy Daugherty was an American football player and coach. He served as the head coach at Michigan State University from 1954 to 1972, where he compiled a career record of 109–69–5. Duffy's 1965 and 1966 teams won national championships...
pointed to a Coleman blocks in the Marquette
Marquette Golden Eagles
The Marquette Golden Eagles are the intercollegiate athletic teams of Marquette University....
game as "one of the greatest plays by an offensive lineman that I've ever seen." According to Daugherty, Coleman was knocked to the ground, but got up, caught and passed the Michigan State ball carrier (Leroy Bolden) and "still made the key block that let him go for 33 yards." Daugherty later credited Coleman with "changing the concept of offensive football at Michigan State" and added, "He gave me a lesson which made football a winning proposition at the school for ten of the next twelve years." Daugherty went even further in 1954 with the following words of praise for Coleman:
"If you want to pick a player on the basis of how close to perfection he is in whatever position he plays, I'll say Coleman was the greatest."
Coleman was also a talented special teams player. Against Michigan in 1951, he tackled the Michigan kick returner on the nine yard line on the opening kickoff. Against Ohio State that same year, he tackled the return man at the seven yard line on the opening kickoff.
At the end of the 1951 season, Coleman was selected as a first-team All-American on 13 All-American teams, including teams selected by the Associated Press
Associated Press
The Associated Press is an American news agency. The AP is a cooperative owned by its contributing newspapers, radio and television stations in the United States, which both contribute stories to the AP and use material written by its staff journalists...
and United Press. In choosing him for its All-American team, the Associated Press
Associated Press
The Associated Press is an American news agency. The AP is a cooperative owned by its contributing newspapers, radio and television stations in the United States, which both contribute stories to the AP and use material written by its staff journalists...
referred to Coleman as "the catlike tackle."
Coleman was also the runner-up to Oklahoma's Jim Weatherall
Jim Weatherall
James Preston Weatherall was an American football defensive tackle in the National Football League for the Philadelphia Eagles, Washington Redskins, and the Detroit Lions. He also played in the Western Interprovincial Football Union for the Edmonton Eskimos...
for the Outland Trophy
Outland Trophy
The Outland Trophy is awarded to the best United States college football interior lineman by the Football Writers Association of America. It is named after John H. Outland. One of only a few players ever to be named All-America at two positions, Outland garnered consensus All-America honors in...
. At the Outland Trophy award ceremony, Coleman met Alabama coach Paul "Bear" Bryant
Bear Bryant
Paul William "Bear" Bryant was an American college football player and coach. He was best known as the longtime head coach of the University of Alabama football team. During his 25-year tenure as Alabama's head coach, he amassed six national championships and thirteen conference championships...
. Bryant, whose Alabama
Alabama Crimson Tide football
|TeamName = Alabama football |Image = Alabama Crimson Tide Logo.svg |ImageSize = 110 |Helmet = Alabama Football.png |ImageSize2 = 150 |CurrentSeason = 2011 Alabama Crimson Tide football team...
team was segregated at the time, told Coleman, "You can play on my team anytime."
Coleman was also selected to play in three post-season honor games, including the East-West Shrine Game
East-West Shrine Game
The East–West Shrine Game is an annual post-season college football all-star game played each January since 1925. The game is sponsored by the fraternal group Nobles of the Mystic Shrine, and the net proceeds are earmarked to some of the Shrine's charitable works, most notably the Shriners...
, the Hula Bowl
Hula Bowl
The Hula Bowl was an independently administered post-season invitational college football game held each year in Hawaii from 1947 to 2008. The game was last played at Aloha Stadium in the Hālawa district of Honolulu, Hawaii. At one point the longest-running sporting event in Hawaii, it had been...
and the College All-Star Game
College All-Star Game
The Chicago Charities College All-Star Game was a preseason American football game played annually from 1934 to 1976 between the National Football League champions and a team of star college seniors from the previous year...
. In an interview with the Chicago Daily Tribune
Chicago Tribune
The Chicago Tribune is a major daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, and the flagship publication of the Tribune Company. Formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper" , it remains the most read daily newspaper of the Chicago metropolitan area and the Great Lakes region and is...
prior to the College All-Star Game in August 1952, Coleman emphasized his pride in being an All-American both athletically and scholastically. He noted, "I think it's wonderful that football gave me a college education."
In February 1953, an investigation by the Big Ten Conference
Big Ten Conference
The Big Ten Conference is the United States' oldest Division I college athletic conference. Its twelve member institutions are located primarily in the Midwestern United States, stretching from Nebraska in the west to Pennsylvania in the east...
revealed that a Michigan State booster organization known as the "Spartan Foundation" had either given or loaned a total of $3,183 to ten players on the 1951 football team, including Coleman. As a result of the finding, the Conference placed Michigan State on probation for one year.
In 1956, the Associated Press
Associated Press
The Associated Press is an American news agency. The AP is a cooperative owned by its contributing newspapers, radio and television stations in the United States, which both contribute stories to the AP and use material written by its staff journalists...
reported that the No. 7 position on the short side of the Michigan State line was still being called "The Coleman Tackle." Starting with Coleman, Michigan State played only one lineman on the short side between the center and end positions. With Coleman on the short side, "with his speed and ability to knock down a couple of men on any given play," Michigan State placed an emphasis on plays developing from the short side. One of the Michigan State coaches said, "Coleman taught us things about playing tackle we never thought could be done."
Professional football and military service
Coleman was drafted by the Chicago Cardinals in the 8th round (88th overall pick) of the 1952 NFL Draft1952 NFL Draft
The 1952 National Football League Draft was held on January 17, 1952. Picks made by New York Yanks were assigned to the new Dallas Texans.-Player selections:-Round one:* HOF Member of the Professional Football Hall of Fame-Round two:-Round three:...
. Coleman initially "turned down all offers" from the Cardinals, saying that he felt he was too small at 185 pounds to make much of a showing in professional football. In August 1952, Coleman noted that any thought he may have had of playing for the Cardinals vanished when he was drafted into the U.S. Army. He was required to report to Fort Lee, Virginia
Fort Lee, Virginia
Fort Lee is a census-designated place in Prince George County, Virginia, United States. The population was 7,269 at the 2000 census.Fort Lee is a United States Army post and headquarters of the U.S. Army Combined Arms Support Command / Sustainment Center of Excellence , the U.S. Army Quartermaster...
, after appearing in the College All-Star Game in August 1952. Coleman served for two years in the U.S. Army, including one year in Korea
Korea
Korea ) is an East Asian geographic region that is currently divided into two separate sovereign states — North Korea and South Korea. Located on the Korean Peninsula, Korea is bordered by the People's Republic of China to the northwest, Russia to the northeast, and is separated from Japan to the...
.
After being discharged from the Army, Coleman signed with the Cardinals and reported to training camp in August 1954. He appeared in the Cardinals' starting lineup for an exhibition game against the Green Bay Packers
Green Bay Packers
The Green Bay Packers are an American football team based in Green Bay, Wisconsin. They are members of the North Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The Packers are the current NFL champions...
at Minneapolis
Minneapolis, Minnesota
Minneapolis , nicknamed "City of Lakes" and the "Mill City," is the county seat of Hennepin County, the largest city in the U.S. state of Minnesota, and the 48th largest in the United States...
. On September 1, 1954, the Cardinals traded Coleman to the Green Bay Packers
Green Bay Packers
The Green Bay Packers are an American football team based in Green Bay, Wisconsin. They are members of the North Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The Packers are the current NFL champions...
for defensive halfback Marvin Johnson
Marvin Johnson
Marvin Johnson is a former boxer from the United States, who fought in the 1972 Olympics in Munich, winning a bronze medal, and made his way up the professional ranks in the light heavyweight division soon thereafter...
. Coleman chose not to play for the Packers and instead returned to Flint, Michigan
Flint, Michigan
Flint is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan and is located along the Flint River, northwest of Detroit. The U.S. Census Bureau reports the 2010 population to be placed at 102,434, making Flint the seventh largest city in Michigan. It is the county seat of Genesee County which lies in the...
as a school teacher. Interviewed in 2007, Coleman expressed no regrets at passing on the opportunity: "I haven't regretted anything I've done, including saying no to the Green Bay Packers. Giving up football gave me a chance to get started working with communities. I hope I've been a Jackie Robinson on a smaller scale. I always wanted to set an example and do the right thing. And nothing feels better than when someone says, 'I always wanted to be a Don Coleman.'"
Teacher
Following his retirement from football, Coleman became a teacher at Flint Central High SchoolFlint Central High School
Flint Central High School was one of the Flint Community Schools, located in Flint, Michigan, USA. Flint Central was the city's oldest school. Its first building was built in 1875, and the school moved into the present building in 1923. It was called Flint High School until Flint Northern High...
. He was the first African-American teacher at Flint Central, and eventually became the position of Dean of Students at the school.
Michigan State coach and administrator
In April 1968, Coleman left his position as a school principal in Flint to join Duffy DaughertyDuffy Daugherty
Hugh Duffy Daugherty was an American football player and coach. He served as the head coach at Michigan State University from 1954 to 1972, where he compiled a career record of 109–69–5. Duffy's 1965 and 1966 teams won national championships...
's coaching staff as an assistant coach. He was the first African-American on Michigan State's coaching staff. That same month, a group of African-American athletes at Michigan State had announced plans to boycott all sports at the university in protest against the lack of African-Americans in coaching, counseling and administration positions. According to a report in the Washington Afro-American, Michigan State was forced to leave its "lily-white hiring" by the "quiet but firm demands of a militant, forward looking student organization. Coleman resigned his coaching position at Michigan State in January 1969 and accepted a new position in the school's residence hall program. At the time of his resignation, Coleman said, "Frankly, I found football coaching was not for me ... During the years I had been out of football, the game had changed so drastically that I feel lost." After his resignation from the coaching staff, Coleman held ten different assignments at Michigan State, including assistant dean of the graduate school, counselor and director of minority comprehensive support programs at the Michigan State College of Osteopathic Medicine, and professor emeritus.
Health and family
In November 1992, Coleman underwent quadruple bypass surgery. While recovering from the surgery, Coleman suffered a heart attack on Christmas Day 1992. After the heart attack, Coleman worked to maintain his cardiovascular health. Eighteen years after suffering the heart attack, Coleman, at age 81, told an interviewer, "Since then, my cardiovascular experience has gone well."Coleman has been married to his wife, Geraldine, for more than 50 years. They have a daughter, Stephanie.
Honors and awards
Coleman was the first Michigan State football player to have his number retired. On December 14, 1951, Biggie MunnBiggie Munn
Clarence Lester "Biggie" Munn was an American football player, coach, and college athletics administrator in the United States. He was the head football coach at Albright College , Syracuse University , and most notably Michigan State College , where his 1952 squad won a national championship...
announced that Coleman's No. 78 would never again be used on a Spartan uniform. An executive from General Motors
General Motors
General Motors Company , commonly known as GM, formerly incorporated as General Motors Corporation, is an American multinational automotive corporation headquartered in Detroit, Michigan and the world's second-largest automaker in 2010...
presented Coleman with a check for $500 on behalf of the people of Flint, Michigan
Flint, Michigan
Flint is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan and is located along the Flint River, northwest of Detroit. The U.S. Census Bureau reports the 2010 population to be placed at 102,434, making Flint the seventh largest city in Michigan. It is the county seat of Genesee County which lies in the...
.
Coleman has also received numerous other honors and awards, including the following:
- Coleman was one of the charter members of the Flint Hall of Fame.
- In January 1970, Coleman was named to the All-Time Michigan State football team based on ballots collected by the Michigan State Alumni Magazine and Michigan State News. He was also named as the best all-time interior lineman in Michigan State history.
- In January 1971, Coleman was named to the all-time Hula BowlHula BowlThe Hula Bowl was an independently administered post-season invitational college football game held each year in Hawaii from 1947 to 2008. The game was last played at Aloha Stadium in the Hālawa district of Honolulu, Hawaii. At one point the longest-running sporting event in Hawaii, it had been...
team and was named as the outstanding college lineman in the 25 year history of the Hula Bowl. - In February 1975, Coleman was inducted into the College Football Hall of FameCollege Football Hall of FameThe College Football Hall of Fame is a hall of fame and museum devoted to college football. Located in South Bend, Indiana, it is connected to a convention center and situated in the city's renovated downtown district, two miles south of the University of Notre Dame campus. It is slated to move...
. At the time of his induction, Coleman was working as a counselor and director of minority comprehensive support programs in the MSU College of Osteopathic Medicine. On learning of the honor, Coleman said, "This is the greatest honor I've ever received." - In 1992, Coleman was a charter inductee into the Michigan State Hall of Fame.
- In December 1996, Coleman was selected by the Michigan Hall of Fame as the recipient of its second annual Legends Award.