Jim Coleman | |
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Born | James Alexander Coleman October 30, 1911 Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada |
Died | January 14, 2001 Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada | (aged 89)
Alma mater | Victoria College McGill University |
Occupation(s) | Sports journalist, writer, press secretary |
Years active | 1931–2001 |
Known for | |
Notable work | The Jim Coleman Show |
Father | D'Alton Corry Coleman |
Awards |
James Alexander Coleman CM (October 30, 1911 – January 14, 2001) was a Canadian sports journalist, writer and press secretary. His journalism career began with The Winnipeg Tribune in 1931, and included tenures with The Province and The Globe and Mail. He became Canada's first national print syndication sports columnist in 1950, writing for The Canadian Press and Southam Newspapers. He also appeared as a radio sports commentator and hosted The Jim Coleman Show on CBC Television, and served as press secretary for the Ontario Jockey Club and Stampede Park in Calgary. His father was D'Alton Corry Coleman, a former journalist and later president of the Canadian Pacific Railway. While travelling about North America to sporting events as a youth with his father, Coleman developed a lifelong love of horse racing, Canadian football and ice hockey.
Coleman was active for 70 years as a journalist, preferred to use a typewriter instead of a computer, wrote four books, and his final column was published on the day he died. Fellow journalist Milt Dunnell felt that Coleman "was one of the finest sports writers in North America".[1] The Canadian Press described Coleman as "known for his colourful writing, encyclopedic memory, dapper dress and ever-present cigar".[1] Coleman was a member of the Order of Canada, recipient of the Elmer Ferguson Memorial Award from the Hockey Hall of Fame, and was inducted into the Canadian News Hall of Fame, Canadian Football Hall of Fame, Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame, Canada's Sports Hall of Fame, and the Manitoba Hockey Hall of Fame.