Don Coleman - Michigan State Football Player

Michigan State Football Player

After graduating from Flint Central, Coleman enrolled at Michigan State University, 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:

"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. 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:

"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 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."