View source for Ken Coleman

{{Short description|American sportscaster (1925–2003)}}
{{About|the now deceased American sportscaster|the nationally syndicated radio host and podcaster|Ken Coleman (radio host)}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=December 2024}}

{{Infobox person
|name= Ken Coleman
|image=Ken Coleman.jpeg
|caption= 
|birth_name = Kenneth Robert Coleman
|birth_date = {{Birth date|1925|4|22}}
|birth_place = [[Hartford, Connecticut]], U.S.
|death_date = {{Death date and age|2003|8|21|1925|4|22}}
|death_place = [[Plymouth, Massachusetts]], U.S.
|alma_mater = [[Curry College]]
|years_active = 1947&ndash;89
|relatives = [[Casey Coleman]] (son)
|spouse =
|module = {{infobox sports announcer details
|team = [[Cleveland Browns]] (1952–65)<br>[[Cleveland Indians]] (1954–63)<br>[[Boston Red Sox]] (1966–74, 1979–89)<br>[[Cincinnati Reds]] (1975–78)
|genre = [[Play-by-play]]
|sport = [[Major League Baseball]]<br>[[National Football League]]
}}
}}

'''Kenneth Robert Coleman''' (April 22, 1925 – August 21, 2003) was an American radio and television [[sportscaster]] for more than four decades (1947<ref>Pres Hobson. "Press Box." ''Quincy (MA) Patriot-Ledger'', August 1, 1947, p. 8.</ref>–1989).

==Early life==
Coleman was born in [[Hartford, Connecticut]], in 1925, the son of William (a salesman) and his wife Frances. The family subsequently moved to [[Dorchester, Boston|Dorchester, Massachusetts]], and then to nearby [[Quincy, Massachusetts|Quincy]], where he was raised. Coleman graduated from [[North Quincy High School]] in 1943.<ref>Paul Katzeff. "Sox Voice Bats Cleanup for Jimmy Fund." ''Boston Herald'', July 27, 1980, p. 60.</ref> He was a pitcher on the North Quincy High School baseball team,<ref>"North Quincy Bops Thayer." ''Quincy (MA) Patriot-Ledger'', May 25, 1943, p. 10.</ref> and subsequently played in the semi-pro Park League. But Coleman had dreams of being a sports broadcaster from the time he was a boy, when he enjoyed listening to the games on radio.<ref>Hy Hurwitz. "Broadcasting Red Sox Games Coleman's Boyhood Ambition." ''Boston Globe'', March 6, 1966, p. 55.</ref>

After serving in the [[United States Army|U.S. Army]], where he was a sergeant during [[World War II]],<ref>D. Leo Monahan. "Coleman Vows Impartial Reporting." ''Boston Sunday Advertiser'', March 6, 1966, p. 80.</ref> Coleman took oratory courses for one year at [[Curry College]], and then broke into broadcasting in [[Rutland (city), Vermont|Rutland, Vermont]], in 1947, working for station [[WSYB]]. He called the play-by-play of the Rutland Royals of the Vermont Northern League, a summer collegiate baseball circuit akin to the [[Cape Cod Baseball League|Cape Cod League]].  Coleman also was a newscaster and a deejay on the station.<ref>Pres Hobson. "Press Box." ''Quincy (MA) Patriot-Ledger'', August 1, 1947, p. 8.</ref> He was hired by station [[WJDA]] in Quincy, where he worked as a sports reporter until 1951; he then worked for a year at [[WNEB]] in [[Worcester, Massachusetts|Worcester]].<ref>D. Leo Monahan. "Coleman Vows Impartial Reporting." ''Boston Sunday Advertiser'', March 6, 1966, p. 80.</ref>  During this time, Coleman was broadcasting [[Boston University Terriers football|Boston University]] [[American football|football]]<ref>Art Cullison. "Strangers to Air Browns Games." ''Akron (OH) Beacon-Journal'', July 25, 1952, p. 34.</ref> during the [[Harry Agganis]] era.

==Broadcasting career==
===Cleveland Indians and Browns===
Coleman received critical praise for his college football play-by-play, which led to his big break: in 1952, he got the opportunity to broadcast for the [[National Football League|NFL]] [[Cleveland Browns]] (1952–1965), calling [[play-by-play]] of every [[touchdown]] that [[Pro Football Hall of Fame|Hall of Fame]] running back [[Jim Brown]] ever scored. He also began his [[Major League Baseball|MLB]] broadcasting career, 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 [[1954 World Series|World Series]] loss to the [[New York Giants (NL)|New York Giants]].

Coleman broadcast [[college football]] for various teams, including [[Ohio State Buckeyes football|Ohio State]] and [[Harvard Crimson football|Harvard]], as well as BU. He was the play-by-play announcer for the 1968 [[Harvard–Yale football rivalry|Harvard-Yale]] football game, a game forever remembered for the [[1968 Yale vs. Harvard football game|incredible Harvard comeback]] from a 16-point deficit to tie Yale at 29–29 in the game's last 42 seconds. Coleman also called [[NFL on NBC|NFL games]] for NBC in the early 1970s, and later in his career called [[Connecticut Huskies men's basketball|Connecticut]] and [[Fairfield Stags men's basketball|Fairfield]] basketball games for [[Connecticut Public Television]].

===Boston Red Sox===
In 1966, Coleman was named the lead play-by-play announcer for the [[Boston Red Sox]] on both radio and television, succeeding [[Curt Gowdy]], who resigned after 15 years of calling Red Sox games to become the top play-by-play voice for [[NBC]]'s ''[[Major League Baseball Game of the Week]]''.<ref>"Browns Seek Replacement for TV Voice." ''Cleveland Plain Dealer'', March 5, 1966, p. 42.</ref> Coleman joined a broadcast team that also included [[Ned Martin]] and [[color man]] [[Mel Parnell]],<ref>Larry Claflin. "Quincy's Coleman New Sox Announcer." ''Boston Record American'', March 5, 1966, p. 38.</ref> and signed a three-year contract that paid him $40,000 per year.<ref>Hy Hurwitz. "Broadcasting Red Sox Games Coleman's Boyhood Ambition." ''Boston Globe'', March 6, 1966, p. 55.</ref> Coleman broadcast the [[1967 World Series]] (which the Red Sox lost to the [[St. Louis Cardinals]]) for [[Major League Baseball on NBC|NBC]] television, working alongside Gowdy, and radio.

Coleman was the "Voice of the Red Sox" on both [[WEEI (AM)|WHDH-AM 850]] and [[WHDH-TV (channel 5)|the original WHDH-TV]] for six seasons, through 1971. When the [[FCC]] revoked WHDH's television license during the winter of 1971–1972, the Red Sox split their radio and TV announcing crews and signed a three-year contract with [[WBZ-TV]]. Coleman and color man [[Johnny Pesky]] worked exclusively on television through the 1974 season. In 1975, the Red Sox awarded their television rights to [[WSBK-TV]] and increased their telecast schedule from 65 to over 100 games,<ref>Craig, Jack (21 October 1974): "Channel 38 Holds Off on Sox TV team," ''[[The Boston Globe]]'', page 39, via newspapers.com</ref> and the new flagship station opted for a new broadcasting team, [[Dick Stockton]] and [[Ken Harrelson]]. Coleman then returned to [[Ohio]]. From 1975 to 1978, he was the play-by-play man for [[WLWT]] and the [[Cincinnati Reds]]' television network, calling regular-season games for the [[Big Red Machine]]'s back-to-back 1975–1976 World Series champions.

After the Red Sox' legendary radio combination of [[Ned Martin]] and [[Jim Woods]] were fired for failing to follow the dictates of sponsors following the 1978 season, Coleman went back to Boston in 1979 and spent 11 years as the Red Sox' top radio voice. He broadcast the Red Sox' [[1986 World Series]] loss to the [[1986 New York Mets season|New York Mets]] and two Red Sox [[American League Championship Series|ALCS]] (1986 and 1988). Coleman remained in the Red Sox booth until his retirement in 1989. He worked with #2 announcers [[Rico Petrocelli]], [[Jon Miller]] and [[Joe Castiglione]] during this "second term" with the Red Sox.

It was Coleman who was on the call on the [[Boston Red Sox Radio Network|Red Sox Radio Network]] when Red Sox first baseman [[Bill Buckner]] let a groundball hit by [[Mookie Wilson]] of the New York Mets go through his legs at the end of Game 6 of the 1986 World Series:

{{quote|[[Ray Knight|Knight]] at second. Three and two. The pitch... groundball to first base. Buckner...it goes by him! And here comes...the winning run! The Mets have won it...6 to 5 on a groundball to Buckner...that went through him...for what has to be an error! And Knight comes home. And the Mets are still alive! They are going wild in [[Shea Stadium|New York]]! As the New York Mets after the Red Sox in the top of the 10th inning, got two with two men out and nobody on...come back and get three and win it....win it...6 to 5 to force Game 7 tomorrow night. Game 7 tomorrow night! And we'll be back with a recap...in a moment.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://sabr.org/bioproj/person/ken-coleman/|title=Ken Coleman|last=Smith|first=Curt|date=February 19, 2014|website=Society for American Baseball Research|publisher= |access-date=November 8, 2024|quote=}}</ref>}}

In 1972, Coleman returned briefly to the NFL, rotating play-by-play duties with Stockton for [[New England Patriots]]' preseason games on WBZ-TV with no color commentators.

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.

==Personal life and death==
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]], from complications of bacterial meningitis.<ref>"Ken Coleman: Longtime Sports Broadcaster." (Columbia, So. Carolina) ''The State'', August 23, 2003, p. 9.</ref>

==References==
{{Reflist|2}}

==External links==
* {{YouTube|G1qlOjIVBuY|Video of Ken R. Coleman (appearing with Don Gillis) on WHDH-TV 5's 1967 Red Sox special, ''The Impossible Dream''}}
* [https://www.bostonglobe.com/sports/2015/08/26/play-play-announcers-enjoy-special-place-red-sox-nation/vFmPXLGCmYGSlS68VaQLUI/story.html Ken R. Coleman (1966-74) earns a special place in Red Sox Nation]
*{{find a Grave|14797725}}

{{Boston Red Sox Hall of Fame}}
{{Major League Baseball on ABC}}
{{Major League Baseball on NBC}}
{{Major League Baseball on NBC Radio}}
{{NFL on SNI}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Coleman, Ken}}
[[Category:1925 births]]
[[Category:2003 deaths]]
[[Category:American radio sports commentators]]
[[Category:American television sports commentators]]
[[Category:Boston Red Sox announcers]]
[[Category:Cincinnati Reds announcers]]
[[Category:Cleveland Browns announcers]]
[[Category:Cleveland Indians announcers]]
[[Category:College baseball announcers in the United States]]
[[Category:College basketball announcers in the United States]]
[[Category:College football announcers]]
[[Category:Curry College alumni]]
[[Category:Major League Baseball broadcasters]]
[[Category:Minor League Baseball broadcasters]]
[[Category:NFL announcers]]
[[Category:New England Patriots announcers]]
[[Category:North Quincy High School alumni]]
[[Category:Ohio State Buckeyes football announcers]]
[[Category:People from Plymouth, Massachusetts]]
[[Category:Sports in Cleveland]]
[[Category:Sportspeople from Quincy, Massachusetts]]
[[Category:Television news anchors from Boston]]
[[Category:Television news anchors from Cleveland]]
[[Category:United States Army personnel of World War II]]