Don Coleman Don Edwin Coleman ( born May 4 , 1928 ) is a former American football player . Coleman played high school football at Flint Central High School and college football at Michigan State University . He was a unanimous All - American in 1951 , the first African - American All - American football player at Michigan State . He was also the first Michigan State player to have his jersey number retired by the school . In 1968 , he also became the first African - American to serve on the coaching staff at Michigan State . Coleman was elected to the College Football Hall of Fame in 1975 . Early years . Coleman was born in Ponca City , Oklahoma in 1928 and moved with his family to Flint , Michigan before his freshman year in high school . His father shined shoes at Flint ' s Durant Hotel , worked as a hotel porter , and worked in the automobile factories . Coleman did not play football until his senior year at Flint Central High School . Two of Coleman ' s older brothers had died in their youth , one from drowning and the other from pneumonia . Coleman ' s mother did not want her youngest son to be injured playing football . Accordingly , Coleman played No . 1 trumpet in the high school band and competed in swimming for three years . When Flint Central had a swim meet with Royal Oak High School , the Royal Oak coach " made it known Coleman would not be allowed to swim because a black swimmer had never been in their pool . " Flint Central swim coach , Bob Richardson , stood behind Coleman and told the Royal Oak coach that , " if Don Coleman couldn ' t swim , then the rest of the Flint Central team would not swim . " Coleman became the first black swimmer to enter Royal Oak ' s pool . As a senior in 1947 , Coleman ' s mother finally agreed to allow her son to play football . In his first year of football , he was selected as an all - state guard and led Flint Central to the state championship . Michigan State football player . After graduating from Flint Central , Coleman enrolled at Michigan State University , then known as Michigan State College . He played principally at the tackle position for Biggie Munn ' s Michigan State Spartans from 1949 to 1951 . At 178 pounds , he was the lightest player on the 1949 Michigan State football team . Coleman made up for what he lacked in size with quickness and intensity . Long - time Michigan State sports information director Fred Stabley in 1972 named Coleman as one of the two best players he saw at Michigan State and recalled that , despite his size , Coleman was " so quick and played with such intensity . He loved to play against big men . The 250 pounders were his meat . " In 1952 , the " Chicago Daily Tribune " wrote that Coleman " probably is packed with more football per pound than any man in the United States . " Coleman was also Michigan States ' s first unanimous All - American football player and its first African - American All - American . Michigan State under Biggie Munn and Duffy Daugherty earned a reputation as one of the leaders in racial integration of football , and Coleman was the first of many great African - American stars to play for the Spartans . In 1953 , a feature story on racial integration of football cited the example of Coleman : " In 1951 , for instance , as for two years previously , their watch - charm tackle , Don Coleman , was one of the world ' s best football players . Weighing only 180 pounds , Coleman employed quickness , agility , brains and courage to win unanimous selection as an All - American in 1951 . At Michigan State , he is perpetually nominated as one of the greatest football players of all time . " Interviewed in 1996 about Michigan State ' s role in integrating the sport , Coleman noted , " We changed the rules , changed the game and changed some attitudes . What we did at Michigan State helped everyone take a step closer to better understanding those who before that had no prior contact with one another . " As a junior in 1950 , Coleman played at every position on the left side of the line for Michigan State and was selected as the Midwest lineman of the week following a season - opening win over the Michigan Wolverines . Michigan coach Bennie Oosterbaan said that Coleman ' s only rival among Big Ten lineman was Bronko Nagurski . Oosterbaan added , " Pound for pound , the Big Ten has never seen a better tackler than Don Coleman , who was smart , quick as a cat , and a deadly , fearless tackler . " As a senior year in 1951 , Coleman was selected as the Most Valuable Player on the undefeated 1951 Michigan State Spartans football team and received the Governor of Michigan Award . In presenting Coleman with the award , Michigan Governor Mennen Williams said , " A couple of those tackles I saw you make in the Notre Dame game were enough to convince me . " Coleman was credited with being the key to the Michigan State offense in 1951 . Line coach Duffy Daugherty pointed to a Coleman blocks in the Marquette game as " one of the greatest plays by an offensive lineman that I ' ve ever seen . " According to Daugherty , Coleman was knocked to the ground , but got up , caught and passed the Michigan State ball carrier ( Leroy Bolden ) and " still made the key block that let him go for 33 yards . " Daugherty later credited Coleman with " changing the concept of offensive football at Michigan State " and added , " He gave me a lesson which made football a winning proposition at the school for ten of the next twelve years . " Daugherty went even further in 1954 with the following words of praise for Coleman : " If you want to pick a player on the basis of how close to perfection he is in whatever position he plays , I ' ll say Coleman was the greatest . " Coleman was also a talented special teams player . Against Michigan in 1951 , he tackled the Michigan kick returner on the nine yard line on the opening kickoff . Against Ohio State that same year , he tackled the return man at the seven yard line on the opening kickoff . At the end of the 1951 season , Coleman was selected as a first - team All - American on 13 All - American teams , including teams selected by the Associated Press and United Press . In choosing him for its All - American team , the Associated Press referred to Coleman as " the catlike tackle . " Coleman was also the runner - up to Oklahoma ' s Jim Weatherall for the Outland Trophy . At the Outland Trophy award ceremony , Coleman met Alabama coach Paul " Bear " Bryant . Bryant , whose Alabama team was segregated at the time , told Coleman , " You can play on my team anytime . " Coleman was also selected to play in three post - season honor games , including the East - West Shrine Game , the Hula Bowl and the College All - Star Game . In an interview with the " Chicago Daily Tribune " prior to the College All - Star Game in August 1952 , Coleman emphasized his pride in being an All - American both athletically and scholastically . He noted , " I think it ' s wonderful that football gave me a college education . " In February 1953 , an investigation by the Big Ten Conference revealed that a Michigan State booster organization known as the " Spartan Foundation " had either given or loaned a total of $ 3 , 183 to ten players on the 1951 football team , including Coleman . As a result of the finding , the Conference placed Michigan State on probation for one year . In 1956 , the Associated Press reported that the No . 7 position on the short side of the Michigan State line was still being called " The Coleman Tackle . " Starting with Coleman , Michigan State played only one lineman on the short side between the center and end positions . With Coleman on the short side , " with his speed and ability to knock down a couple of men on any given play , " Michigan State placed an emphasis on plays developing from the short side . One of the Michigan State coaches said , " Coleman taught us things about playing tackle we never thought could be done . " Professional football and military service . Coleman was drafted by the Chicago Cardinals in the 8th round ( 88th overall pick ) of the 1952 NFL Draft . Coleman initially " turned down all offers " from the Cardinals , saying that he felt he was too small at 185 pounds to make much of a showing in professional football . In August 1952 , Coleman noted that any thought he may have had of playing for the Cardinals vanished when he was drafted into the U . S . Army . He was required to report to Fort Lee , Virginia , after appearing in the College All - Star Game in August 1952 . Coleman served for two years in the U . S . Army , including one year in Korea . After being discharged from the Army , Coleman signed with the Cardinals and reported to training camp in August 1954 . He appeared in the Cardinals ' starting lineup for an exhibition game against the Green Bay Packers at Minneapolis . On September 1 , 1954 , the Cardinals traded Coleman to the Green Bay Packers for defensive halfback Marvin Johnson . Coleman chose not to play for the Packers and instead returned to Flint , Michigan as a school teacher . Interviewed in 2007 , Coleman expressed no regrets at passing on the opportunity : " I haven ' t regretted anything I ' ve done , including saying no to the Green Bay Packers . Giving up football gave me a chance to get started working with communities . I hope I ' ve been a Jackie Robinson on a smaller scale . I always wanted to set an example and do the right thing . And nothing feels better than when someone says , ' I always wanted to be a Don Coleman . ' " Teacher . Following his retirement from football , Coleman became a teacher at Flint Central High School . He was the first African - American teacher at Flint Central , and eventually became the position of Dean of Students at the school . Michigan State coach and administrator . In April 1968 , Coleman left his position as a school principal in Flint to join Duffy Daugherty ' s coaching staff as an assistant coach . He was the first African - American on Michigan State ' s coaching staff . That same month , a group of African - American athletes at Michigan State had announced plans to boycott all sports at the university in protest against the lack of African - Americans in coaching , counseling and administration positions . According to a report in the " Washington Afro - American " , Michigan State was forced to leave its " lily - white hiring " by the " quiet but firm demands of a militant , forward looking student organization . Coleman resigned his coaching position at Michigan State in January 1969 and accepted a new position in the school ' s residence hall program . At the time of his resignation , Coleman said , " Frankly , I found football coaching was not for me . . . During the years I had been out of football , the game had changed so drastically that I feel lost . " After his resignation from the coaching staff , Coleman held ten different assignments at Michigan State , including assistant dean of the graduate school , counselor and director of minority comprehensive support programs at the Michigan State College of Osteopathic Medicine , and professor emeritus . Health and family . In November 1992 , Coleman underwent quadruple bypass surgery . While recovering from the surgery , Coleman suffered a heart attack on Christmas Day 1992 . After the heart attack , Coleman worked to maintain his cardiovascular health . Eighteen years after suffering the heart attack , Coleman , at age 81 , told an interviewer , " Since then , my cardiovascular experience has gone well . " Coleman has been married to his wife , Geraldine , for more than 50 years . They have a daughter , Stephanie . Honors and awards . Coleman was the first Michigan State football player to have his number retired . On December 14 , 1951 , Biggie Munn announced that Coleman ' s No . 78 would never again be used on a Spartan uniform . An executive from General Motors presented Coleman with a check for $ 500 on behalf of the people of Flint , Michigan . Coleman has also received numerous other honors and awards , including the following :