It was a gathering of Essendon royalty at the Victoria Hotel on Wednesday afternoon for the launch of Coleman: The Untold Story of an AFL Legend.
This 68 chapter biography written by Doug Ackerly reveals a fiery personality who clashed heatedly with his captain while playing and with five of his champions as coach.
Coleman’s hatred for umpires is evident after being reported nine times during his career – an unprecedented four as coach.
A household name in the AFL and legend of the game the high flying excitement machine finished his career with a knee injury in 1954 but returned to coach the Bombers to two premierships.
Premiership teammates Jack Jones and Ted Leehane were present at Wednesday’s launch as were Essendon greats Ken Fraser and Bluey Shelton to reflect on their former coach.
Myths are exploded as the author reveals the true story behind the infamous Caspar incident that cost Essendon the 1951 premiership, and why Coleman's knee injury should never have happened in the first place, and how it was dreadfully mismanaged.
Coleman's genius is examined by contemporaries and in 40 statistical tables, and his successful coaching methods compared with his revered predecessor, Dick Reynolds, and successor, Jack Clarke. His story is illustrated in more than 100 images.
John Coleman was named full-forward in the AFL Team of the Century, and is an inaugural Legend in its Hall of Fame. His memory is now preserved in bronze outside the MCG.
But, he was much more than that. A shy, yet charismatic, country boy, he grew to captivate the public like few others in a short life, changing newspapers in the 1950s.
Above all, he was a devoted family man. And, at last, this very human biography, with a Foreword by daughter, Jenny, reveals all.
