- Ken Coleman
Kenneth R. Coleman (
April 22 1925 -August 21 2003 ) was an Americanradio andtelevision sportscaster for 34 years (1954 - 1989). He was born inQuincy, Massachusetts .Coleman broke into broadcasting with the NFL
Cleveland Browns (1952 - 1965), callingplay-by-play of everytouchdown that Hall of Fame running backJim Brown ever scored. He also began hisMLB broadcasting career inOhio , callingCleveland 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 , replacingCurt Gowdy . He helped broadcast the1967 World Series (which the Red Sox lost to theSt. Louis Cardinals ) for NBC television and radio. From 1975 to 1978 Coleman worked with theCincinnati Reds ' television crew. He also called NFL games for NBC in the early 1970s.Coleman also did
college football , especially in 1968 when he was the play-by-play announcer for theHarvard -Yale 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.After the legendary radio combination of
Ned Martin andJim Woods was 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 theNew 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 theBoSox Club , and was intimately involved with theJimmy Fund , which raises money forcancer research.He had the routine of taking a swim in the
Atlantic Ocean every day (including the winter) until he died.He was the father of the late Cleveland sports and newscaster
Casey Coleman , who died in 2006.Coleman was inducted to the
Boston Red Sox Hall of Fame onMay 18 2000 at the age of 75. He died three years later, aged 78, inPlymouth, Massachusetts .Quotes
References
External links
* [http://www.baseballhalloffame.org/news/2005/051206.htm 2006 Ford C. Frick Award finalists]
* [http://youtube.com/watch?v=G1qlOjIVBuY YouTube video of Ken Coleman (appearing with Don Gillis) on WHDH-TV 5's 1967 Red Sox special, "The Impossible Dream"]
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