Lovell Coleman (May 9, 1938 – August 10, 2016) was an American-born Canadian football player. He was born in

Hamtramck, Michigan Hamtramck ( ) is a city in Wayne County in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2020 census, the city population was 28,433. Hamtramck is surrounded by the city of Detroit except for a small portion that borders the fellow enclave city of Hi ...

. Coleman played his college football with the

Western Michigan University Western Michigan University (Western Michigan, Western or WMU) is a public research university in Kalamazoo, Michigan. It was initially established as Western State Normal School in 1903 by Governor Aaron T. Bliss for the training of teachers ...

Broncos from 1957 to 1959. He rushed for 1918 yards, including 1068 in the 1958 season. His 279-yard game versus

Central Michigan University Central Michigan University (CMU) is a public research university in Mount Pleasant, Michigan. Established in 1892 as the Central Michigan Normal School and Business Institute, the private normal school became a state institution and renamed Cen ...

in 1958 is still a school record. Drafted in

1960 It is also known as the "Year of Africa" because of major events—particularly the independence of seventeen African nations—that focused global attention on the continent and intensified feelings of Pan-Africanism. Events January * Ja ...

by the

Cleveland Browns The Cleveland Browns are a professional American football team based in Cleveland. Named after original coach and co-founder Paul Brown, they compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference ( ...

of the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...

in the 17th round (199th pick) Coleman opted to play in the CFL. The

Calgary Stampeders The Calgary Stampeders are a professional Canadian football team based in Calgary, Alberta. The Stampeders compete in the West Division of the Canadian Football League (CFL). The club plays its home games at McMahon Stadium and are the third-old ...

were his home team for eight seasons, from 1960 to 1967. Coleman rushed for 6234 yards over this time, second only to Stampeder

Earl Lunsford Earl Lunsford (October 19, 1933 – September 3, 2008), known as the "Earthquake", was a fullback for the Calgary Stampeders and is a member of the Canadian Football Hall of Fame. College football Lunsford played during college at with Oklahoma ...

. The highlight of his time in Calgary was the 1964 season, when he rushed 260 times for a league-leading 1629 yards (6.3 average per carry.) This won him the

CFL's Most Outstanding Player Award The Most Outstanding Player Award is annually awarded to the best player in the Canadian Football League. The two nominees for the award are the Terry Evanshen Trophy winner from the East Division, and the Jeff Nicklin Memorial Trophy winner from ...

. His 1965 season was nearly as good, rushing 249 times for 1509 yards (6.1 average) but the only other time he led the league was in 1963, with 1343 yards. He was an All Canadian all star each of these years. He holds the Stamps record for most rushing yards in one game, with 238 against the

Hamilton Tiger-Cats The Hamilton Tiger-Cats are a professional Canadian football team based in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. They are currently members of the East Division of the Canadian Football League (CFL). The Tiger-Cats play their home games at Tim Hortons Fiel ...

on September 15, 1964. He also rushed for 224 yards against the

Edmonton Eskimos The Edmonton Elks are a professional Canadian football team based in Edmonton, Alberta. The club competes in the Canadian Football League (CFL) as a member of the league's West Division and plays their home games at the Brick Field at Commo ...

on August 18, 1965. Coleman moved on in 1968 to the

Ottawa Rough Riders The Ottawa Rough Riders were a Canadian Football League team based in Ottawa, Ontario, founded in 1876. Formerly one of the oldest and longest-lived professional sports teams in North America, the Rough Riders won the Grey Cup championship nine ...

, where he won his first and only Grey Cup. He finished his career in 1970 playing 16 games for the

British Columbia Lions The BC Lions are a professional Canadian football team based in Vancouver, British Columbia. The Lions compete in the West Division of the Canadian Football League (CFL), and play their home games at BC Place. The Lions played their first season ...

. In total, Coleman played 123 regular season and 26 playoff games in 10 seasons, rushing 1135 times for 6566 yards (5.8 yard average) and 42 touchdowns, with his longest run being 85 yards. He was added to the Calgary Stampeders Wall of Fame as No. 22 in 1999. After his playing career, Coleman settled in

Vancouver Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the ...

and ran a home renovation business for 20 years. Along with his wife Maureen, he later retired to a farm in rural

British Columbia British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, ...

. He died on August 10, 2016, in Kamloops, British Columbia.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Coleman, Lovell 1938 births 2016 deaths American football running backs BC Lions players Calgary Stampeders players Canadian Football League Most Outstanding Player Award winners Canadian football running backs Ottawa Rough Riders players People from Hamtramck, Michigan Players of American football from Michigan Western Michigan Broncos football players Sportspeople from Wayne County, Michigan