Joseph Patrick Coleman (July 30, 1922 – April 9, 1997) was an

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

professional baseball Professional baseball is organized baseball in which players are selected for their talents and are paid to play for a specific team or club system. It is played in baseball league, leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Mod ...

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("pitches") the baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of retiring a batter, who attempts to either make contact with the pitched ball or draw ...

who appeared in 223

games A game is a structured form of play, usually undertaken for entertainment or fun, and sometimes used as an educational tool. Many games are also considered to be work (such as professional players of spectator sports or games) or art (such ...

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

(MLB) over ten seasons between 1942 and 1955 for the

Philadelphia Athletics The Philadelphia Athletics were a Major League Baseball team that played in Philadelphia from 1901 to 1954, when they moved to Kansas City, Missouri, and became the Kansas City Athletics. Following another move in 1967, the team became the Oaklan ...

Baltimore Orioles The Baltimore Orioles are an American professional baseball team based in Baltimore. The Orioles compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League East, East division. As one of the American L ...

and

Detroit Tigers The Detroit Tigers are an American professional baseball team based in Detroit. The Tigers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the American League (AL) Central division. One of the AL's eight charter franchises, the club was f ...

. He was the father of Joe Coleman, a major league pitcher for 15 seasons from 1965 to 1979 and a two-time 20-game winner, and the grandfather of

Casey Coleman Kenneth R. "Casey" Coleman Jr. (March 24, 1951 – November 27, 2006) was a sportscaster and radio personality in the Cleveland area for nearly 30 years. Early life Coleman was born in Cleveland in 1951 to legendary play-by-play announcer K ...

, a pitcher with the

Chicago Cubs The Chicago Cubs are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The Cubs compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as part of the National League (NL) Central division. The club plays its home games at Wrigley Field, which is located ...

and the

Kansas City Royals The Kansas City Royals are an American professional baseball team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Royals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. The team was founded as an expans ...

between 2010 and 2014. A native of

Medford, Massachusetts Medford is a city northwest of downtown Boston on the Mystic River in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. At the time of the 2020 U.S. Census, Medford's population was 59,659. It is home to Tufts University, which has its campus alo ...

, Coleman attended

Malden Catholic High School Malden Catholic High School is a private, Catholic secondary school located in Malden, Massachusetts. The school was founded by the Congregation of the Brothers of St. Francis Xavier, an international congregation of religious brothers. It is ...

, where he was coached by Brother Gilbert Mathias who had mentored

Babe Ruth George Herman "Babe" Ruth Jr. (February 6, 1895 – August 16, 1948) was an American professional baseball player whose career in Major League Baseball (MLB) spanned 22 seasons, from 1914 through 1935. Nicknamed "the Bambino" and "the Su ...

as a youth in

Baltimore Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...

. In 1940, Mathias introduced Coleman to Ruth who was visiting the school. After watching Coleman pitch, Ruth took him aside and helped him throw a more effective

curveball In baseball and softball, the curveball is a type of pitch thrown with a characteristic grip and hand movement that imparts forward spin to the ball, causing it to dive as it approaches the plate. Varieties of curveball include the 12–6 curve ...

. Coleman missed the 1943–1945 seasons while serving in the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

during World War II. Along with other notable major league baseball players including

Ted Williams Theodore Samuel Williams (August 30, 1918 – July 5, 2002) was an American professional baseball player and manager. He played his entire 19-year Major League Baseball (MLB) career, primarily as a left fielder, for the Boston Red Sox from 1939 ...

and

Johnny Pesky John Michael Pesky (born John Michael Paveskovich; February 27, 1919 – August 13, 2012), nicknamed "The Needle" and "Mr. Red Sox", was an American professional baseball player, manager and coach. He was a shortstop and third baseman during a t ...

, Coleman enlisted in the Navy's Aviation Cadet Training Program located on the

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States ...

campus. He finished 19th in voting for the 1954 American League MVP for having a 13–17 win–loss record, 33 games, 32 games started, 15 complete games, 4 shutouts, innings pitched, 184 hits allowed, 102 runs allowed, 86 earned runs allowed, 16 home runs allowed, 96 walks allowed, 103 strikeouts, 3 hit batsmen, 1 wild pitch, 912 batters faced, and a 3.50 ERA. In 10 seasons he had a 52–76 win–loss record, 223 games, 140 games started, 60 complete games, 11 shutouts, 55 games finished, 6 saves, 1134 innings pitched, 1172 hits allowed, 616 runs allowed, 552 earned runs allowed, 92 home runs allowed, 566 walks allowed, 444 strikeouts, 13 hit batsmen, 19 wild pitches, 4993 batters faced, 3 balks, and a 4.38 ERA. He died in

Fort Myers, Florida Fort Myers (or Ft. Myers) is a city in southwestern Florida and the county seat and commercial center of Lee County, Florida, United States. The Census Bureau's Population Estimates Program calculated that the city's population was 92,245 in 20 ...

, at the age of 74, in 1997.

References

External links

Joe Coleman
at SABR (Baseball BioProject)
Joe Coleman
at Baseball Library * 1922 births 1997 deaths American League All-Stars Baltimore Orioles players Baseball players from Massachusetts Buffalo Bisons (minor league) players Detroit Tigers players Major League Baseball pitchers Malden Catholic High School alumni Ottawa A's players Philadelphia Athletics players Savannah Indians players Sportspeople from Medford, Massachusetts Toronto Maple Leafs (International League) players Wilmington Blue Rocks (1940–1952) players United States Navy personnel of World War II Newport News Pilots players American expatriate baseball players in Canada {{US-baseball-pitcher-1920s-stub

See also

References

External links