John Joseph Coleman (born 1935) is an Irish born former

greyhound trainer A greyhound trainer is a person who trains greyhounds for racing. This involves exercising, feeding, and grooming them in addition to keeping the greyhound in race condition to enable the greyhound to race to the best of its ability. History Befo ...

. He was twice British champion trainer and was chairman of the Professional Trainers' Association for over 25 years.

Career

Coleman came to Britain from

Cork Cork or CORK may refer to: Materials * Cork (material), an impermeable buoyant plant product ** Cork (plug), a cylindrical or conical object used to seal a container ***Wine cork Places Ireland * Cork (city) ** Metropolitan Cork, also known as G ...

in 1959 and started working for John Bassett at

Clapton Stadium The Clapton Stadium, also known as Millfields Road, was a football ground and greyhound racing stadium in the Lower Clapton area of London. History The stadium was originally named Whittles Athletic Ground and was mostly used for whippet racin ...

. He then secured the lease of the Chantilly Kennels owned by Jimmy Clubb and took out a private trainers licence in May 1966. He was appointed as a contracted trainer to

Romford Greyhound Stadium Romford Greyhound Stadium, referred to as Coral Romford Greyhound Stadium is a Greyhound racing in the United Kingdom, greyhound racing track located in Romford town centre in the London Borough of Havering in east London which is owned and oper ...

in 1968 and established a strong kennel of greyhounds and owners. His first big race success was Ace of Trumps who won the 1969

Scurry Gold Cup The Scurry Gold Cup is an original classic greyhound competition currently run at Perry Barr Stadium. It was run at Clapton Stadium from 1928 until its closure in 1973. The event moved to Slough Stadium in 1974 which consequently closed in 198 ...

. In 1972 he switched from Romford to

Wembley Wembley () is a large suburbIn British English, "suburb" often refers to the secondary urban centres of a city. Wembley is not a suburb in the American sense, i.e. a single-family residential area outside of the city itself. in north-west Londo ...

and was Champion Trainer in 1974. In 1982 he reached the final of the 1982 English Greyhound Derby for the first time. He remained at Wembley until 1989 before taking a position at the leading track

Walthamstow Walthamstow ( or ) is a large town in East London, east London, England, within the Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county of Greater London and the Historic counties of England, ancient county of Essex. Situated northeast of Chari ...

. During the same year he finished runner-up in the 1989 English Greyhound Derby. Further final appearances came in

1993 File:1993 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The Oslo I Accord is signed in an attempt to resolve the Israeli–Palestinian conflict; The Russian White House is shelled during the 1993 Russian constitutional crisis; Czechoslovakia is peace ...

1996 File:1996 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: A Centennial Olympic Park bombing, bomb explodes at Centennial Olympic Park in Atlanta, set off by a radical Anti-abortion violence, anti-abortionist; The center fuel tank explodes on TWA Flight 8 ...

and

1998 1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''. Events January * January 6 – The '' Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for frozen water, in soil in permanently ...

and in between he was Champion Trainer for the second time in 1995, a year that also saw him secure the Trainers Championship for the second successive year. In 2008 Walthamstow closed and Coleman retired three years later in 2011, he was based for most of his career at the Claverhambury Kennels in

Waltham Abbey Waltham Abbey is a town and civil parish in the Epping Forest District of Essex, within the metropolitan and urban area of London, England, north-east of Charing Cross. It lies on the Greenwich Meridian, between the River Lea in the west and E ...

. The one trophy that eluded him was the

English Greyhound Derby The English Greyhound Derby is the most prestigious race on the British Greyhound racing in the United Kingdom, greyhound racing calendar, with a history stretching back to 1927. It was first held at White City Stadium, but moved to Wimbledon ...

Awards

He is twice winner of the

Greyhound Trainer of the Year The Greyhound Trainer of the Year or Champion Trainer is an award for the leading greyhound trainer in the United Kingdom. It was inaugurated in 1961 and was originally elected by a press panel but is now awarded to the trainer who achieves the ...

in 1974 and 1995.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Coleman, John British greyhound racing trainers Irish greyhound racing trainers 1935 births Living people