Kenneth Robert "Ken" Coleman (April 22, 1925 - August 21, 2003) was an American radio and television sportscaster for 38 years (1952-1989).
A native of Quincy, Massachusetts and a graduate of Curry College, Coleman broke into broadcasting with the NFL Cleveland Browns (1952-1965), calling play-by-play of every touchdown that Hall of Fame running back Jim Brown ever scored. He also began his MLB broadcasting career in Cleveland, calling Cleveland Indians games on television for ten seasons (1954-1963). In his first year with the Indians, Coleman called their record-setting 111-win season and their World Series loss to the New York Giants.
In 1965, Coleman got a job with the Boston Red Sox, replacing Curt Gowdy. He broadcast the 1967 World Series (which the Red Sox lost to the St. Louis Cardinals) for NBC television and radio. From 1975 to 1978 Coleman worked with the Cincinnati Reds' television crew.
Coleman broadcast college football for various teams, including Ohio State, Harvard, and BU. He was the play-by-play announcer for the 1968 Harvard-Yale football game, a game that will be forever be remembered for the incredible Harvard comeback from a 16-point deficit to tie Yale at 29-29. He also called NFL games for NBC in the early 1970s, and later in his career called Connecticut and Fairfield basketball games for Connecticut Public Television.
After the legendary radio combination of Ned Martin and Jim Woods were fired for failing to follow the dictates of sponsors following the 1978 season, Coleman returned to Boston in 1979. He broadcast the Red Sox' 1986 World Series loss to the New York Mets and two Red Sox ALCS (1986 and 1988). Coleman remained in the Red Sox radio booth until his retirement in 1989.
Additionally, he wrote books on sportscasting, was one of the founding fathers of the Red Sox Booster Club and the BoSox Club, and was intimately involved with the Jimmy Fund, which raises money for cancer research.
Coleman followed the routine of taking a swim in the Atlantic Ocean as often as he could through the late fall and into the earliest days of spring, until his death.
He was the father of the late Cleveland sports and newscaster Casey Coleman, who died in 2006 from pancreatic cancer.
Coleman was inducted into the Boston Red Sox Hall of Fame on May 18, 2000 at the age of 75. He died three years later, aged 78, in Plymouth, Massachusetts.
In 1972, Coleman, along with Dick Stockton rotated play-by-play duties for New England Patriots preseason with no color commentators.
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External links
- Video of Ken R. Coleman (appearing with Don Gillis) on WHDH-TV 5's 1967 Red Sox special, The Impossible Dream on YouTube
- Ken R. Coleman (1966-74) earns a special place in Red Sox Nation
- Ken Coleman at Find a Grave
Source of article : Wikipedia
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