Major League Baseball Player, Manager. He was a catcher who spent three years in the big leagues and managed the Boston Braves in 1943-45. He is best known as a legendary manager in the minor leagues for 35 years, a record until Stan Wasiak managed for 37 years, all in the Los Angeles Dodgers' system. Coleman broke into majors in 1913 with the Pittsburgh Pirates and had his best season in 1914, when he hit .267 in 73 games and belted his only big-league homer. He also played for the Cleveland Indians in 1916. The right-handed batter hit .241 lifetime with 27 RBIs. He first managed at Mobile of the Southern Association (1919-20), then came stops at Terre Haute (1921-22) and San Antonio (1923 to 1925) before he became a coach with the Boston Red Sox in 1926. Then it was back to the minors, managing Knoxville (1927), Evansville (1928-31) and Decatur, Illinois (1932). He was a coach briefly with the Detroit Tigers in 1932. Once again, it was back to minor-league circuit at Beaumont (1933), St. Paul (1934), Springfield, Ill. (1935), San Antonio (1936), Scranton (1937) and Evansville (1938 to 1942). The Braves named him a coach in 1943, and when manager Casey Stengel suffered a broken leg in April when struck by a taxicab while crossing a street in the rain and fog, Coleman became manager. Boston was 21-25 under Coleman before Stengel resumed his duties. Coleman became the Braves' manager in 1944 and finished in sixth place with a 65-89 record. With the club 42-51 in 1945, he was replaced by Del Bissonette. He returned to manage Evansville in the Three-I League from 1946 to 1949 and 1951 to 1957, with a stop as skipper of Milwaukee of the American Association in 1950. He managed Evansville 20 years with seven pennants. His record as a minor-league manager was 2,496-2,103. He had the most victories until Wasiak broke the record with 2,570. He was a scout with the Braves until his death.