170:, when he served as a player-coach in 1890. He also competed on the KU rowing team, winning the 1 mile 2 man rowing competition along with Charles Orton Lasley in 1892 with a time of 6:04. Coleman was a track and field athlete at Kansas as well. He ran both the 100-yard dash and the mile, coming in second in the 100-yard dash and first in the mile with a time of 5 minutes and 19.5 seconds at the 1892 official KU Field Day.
29:
205:
formation on offense where the center, Will's position, is the point of the "V" leading the way for the ball carrier and other blockers and takes the brunt of the punishment from defensive players. This formation proved so dangerous and lead to so many severe injuries that it was later banned in both
252:, also located in Lawrence, Kansas. He held this job for more than 15 years before changing careers and becoming a traveling salesman in 1910. In 1918 he moved his family to Kansas City, Missouri until later moving to Mission, Kansas and then Overland Park, Kansas where he eventually died in 1934.
222:, coaching for a single season in 1890 and tallying a mark of 1–2. The team actually went 2–1 on the field, but their last game against Baker University, which was initially won by KU with a score of 14 to 12, was awarded to Baker on a technicality.
524:
954:
517:
929:
969:
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510:
178:
Coleman was born in 1869 in
Kentucky to Leonidas William Coleman (July 20, 1842–1929) and Fena Coleman. At the age of one his family moved from Kentucky to rural
974:
533:
458:
245:
Coleman met his wife while attending KU. They later married in 1895 upon his graduation from the
University of Kansas. They had one child, a daughter.
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where he played football from 1890 through 1894. He was the starting center and lettered all five years he was at KU.
436:
230:
229:. Coleman was not an employee or a faculty member of the University of Kansas, but instead a KU student who played
103:
233:
on the football team. The first
Jayhawks football coach recognized by the University of Kansas was faculty member
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202:
402:, 1870; Toledo Township, Chase County, Kansas; page 1, line 27.
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For several years during
Coleman's time at Kansas, KU ran what was known as the
413:
819:
683:
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The 1890 Kansas
Jayhawks football team was not officially associated with the
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where he went on to become an athletic star at Chase County high school in
667:
218:
played in the state of Kansas. He served as the first head coach for the
56:
190:. After graduating from Chase County high school he attended the
506:
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Coleman coached the
Jayhawks in what is widely considered the
248:
Will's first job after college was as the superintendent of
495:
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154:(March 8, 1869 – September 2, 1934) was an American
414:"Introduction: A Brief History of College Football"
137:
132:
118:
109:
99:
85:
80:
63:
43:
38:
439:. Kansas Historical Quarterly. pp. 285–311
237:, who helmed the team the next season in 1891.
955:Kansas Jayhawks men's track and field athletes
518:
291:(Kansas Intercollegiate Athletic Association)
8:
21:
525:
511:
503:
33:Coleman in his 1893 KU football photograph
27:
20:
16:American college football player and coach
930:19th-century players of American football
970:Players of American football from Kansas
965:Coaches of American football from Kansas
259:
166:athlete. He was the first coach for the
354:
535:Kansas Jayhawks head football coaches
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320:
7:
975:Track and field athletes from Kansas
14:
250:Haskell Indian Nations University
960:People from Chase County, Kansas
945:Kansas Jayhawks football players
940:Kansas Jayhawks football coaches
398: 1870 United States Census,
463:College Football Data Warehouse
416:. College Football Encyclopedia
158:player and coach, as well as a
1:
435:Evans, Harold (August 1940).
206:collegiate and pro football.
174:Early life and playing career
900:# denotes interim head coach
437:"College Football in Kansas"
216:first college football game
991:
935:American football centers
542:
342:
330:
299:
284:
145:
128:
95:
26:
188:Cottonwood Falls, Kansas
459:"Kansas Yearly Results"
950:Kansas Jayhawks rowers
556:Edwin Mortimer Hopkins
235:Edwin Mortimer Hopkins
152:William Julius Coleman
708:Homer Woodson Hargiss
469:on September 30, 2012
74:Overland Park, Kansas
493:University of Kansas
491:. Lawrence, Kansas:
400:United States census
385:University of Kansas
383:. Lawrence, Kansas:
367:University of Kansas
365:. Lawrence, Kansas:
256:Head coaching record
241:Later life and death
227:University of Kansas
220:Kansas football team
192:University of Kansas
180:Chase County, Kansas
168:Kansas football team
133:Head coaching record
39:Biographical details
261:
23:
612:Arthur Hale Curtis
260:
907:
906:
580:Wylie G. Woodruff
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345:
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149:
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110:Coaching career (
67:September 2, 1934
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636:Ralph W. Sherwin
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588:Fielding H. Yost
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465:. Archived from
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196:Lawrence, Kansas
160:collegiate rower
156:college football
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287:Kansas Jayhawks
258:
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212:
210:Coaching career
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164:track and field
72:
68:
55:
49:
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34:
17:
12:
11:
5:
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824:
816:
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804:Mike Gottfried
800:
792:
784:
776:
772:Pepper Rodgers
768:
760:
752:
748:Jules V. Sikes
744:
736:
728:
720:
716:Adrian Lindsey
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280:Bowl/playoffs
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81:Playing career
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71:(aged 65)
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41:
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36:
35:
32:
15:
13:
10:
9:
6:
4:
3:
2:
987:
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893:
892:Lance Leipold
889:
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837:
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821:
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812:Bob Valesente
809:
805:
801:
797:
796:Don Fambrough
793:
789:
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780:Don Fambrough
777:
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764:Jack Mitchell
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713:
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669:
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661:
660:Herman Olcott
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653:
652:H. M. Wheaton
649:
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637:
633:
629:
628:A. R. Kennedy
625:
621:
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605:
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596:L. W. Boynton
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564:A. W. Shepard
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473:September 11,
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443:September 11,
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182:just outside
181:
173:
171:
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144:
140:
136:
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127:
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117:
114:unless noted)
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79:
75:
66:
62:
58:
54:March 8, 1869
46:
42:
37:
30:
25:
19:
899:
898:
860:Charlie Weis
844:Mark Mangino
756:Chuck Mather
740:George Sauer
692:George Clark
676:Leon McCarty
644:Arthur Mosse
572:Hector Cowan
548:Will Coleman
547:
488:
483:
471:. Retrieved
467:the original
453:
441:. Retrieved
430:
420:December 11,
418:. Retrieved
408:
393:
380:
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362:
357:
335:
321:
290:
285:
247:
244:
224:
213:
200:
177:
151:
150:
69:(1934-09-02)
22:Will Coleman
18:
925:1934 deaths
920:1869 births
886:(2019–2020)
878:(2015–2018)
876:David Beaty
868:Clint Bowen
862:(2012–2014)
854:(2010–2011)
852:Turner Gill
846:(2002–2009)
830:(1997–2001)
828:Terry Allen
822:(1988–1996)
814:(1986–1987)
806:(1983–1985)
798:(1979–1982)
790:(1975–1978)
782:(1971–1974)
774:(1967–1970)
766:(1958–1966)
758:(1954–1957)
750:(1948–1953)
742:(1946–1947)
734:(1943–1945)
732:Henry Shenk
726:(1939–1942)
724:Gwinn Henry
718:(1933–1938)
710:(1928–1932)
702:(1926–1927)
694:(1921–1925)
662:(1915–1917)
646:(1912–1913)
630:(1904–1910)
582:(1897–1898)
574:(1894–1896)
566:(1892–1893)
184:Strong City
100:Position(s)
914:Categories
820:Glen Mason
684:Phog Allen
620:Boss Weeks
349:References
274:Conference
50:1869-03-08
884:Les Miles
836:Tom Hayes
788:Bud Moore
277:Standing
86:1890–1894
894:(2021– )
870:# (2014)
838:# (2001)
668:Jay Bond
271:Overall
203:Flying V
57:Kentucky
489:Quivira
381:Quivira
363:Quivira
322:Kansas:
138:Overall
686:(1920)
678:(1919)
670:(1918)
654:(1914)
638:(1911)
622:(1903)
614:(1902)
606:(1901)
598:(1900)
590:(1899)
558:(1891)
550:(1890)
336:Total:
306:Kansas
294:(1890)
231:center
123:Kansas
104:Center
90:Kansas
76:, U.S.
59:, U.S.
268:Team
265:Year
475:2012
445:2012
422:2012
301:1890
162:and
119:1890
64:Died
44:Born
340:1–2
326:1–2
310:1–2
194:in
141:1–2
916::
461:.
112:HC
526:e
519:t
512:v
477:.
447:.
424:.
52:)
48:(
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