Ernest "Ernie" Coleman (4 January 1908 – 20 January 1984) was an English footballer who played as a

centre forward Forwards (also known as attackers) are outfield positions in an association football team who play the furthest up the pitch and are therefore most responsible for scoring goals as well as assisting them. As with any attacking player, the role ...

Career

Born in

Blidworth Blidworth is a village and civil parish approximately five miles east of Mansfield, Nottinghamshire, England. The population of the civil parish at the 2011 census was 4,457. Its history can be traced back to the 10th century, although many of t ...

Nottinghamshire Nottinghamshire (; abbreviated Notts.) is a landlocked county in the East Midlands region of England, bordering South Yorkshire to the north-west, Lincolnshire to the east, Leicestershire to the south, and Derbyshire to the west. The trad ...

, Coleman started his career as a youth playing for

Hucknall Hucknall, formerly Hucknall Torkard, is a market town in the Ashfield district of Nottinghamshire, England. It lies 7 miles north of Nottingham, 7 miles south-east of Kirkby-in-Ashfield, 9 miles from Mansfield and 10 miles south of Sutton-i ...

. After being turned down by Nottingham Forest he joined Halifax Town of the Third Division North in 1927. He scored five times in nineteen appearances, enough to catch the attention of

Grimsby Town Grimsby Town Football Club is a professional football club based in Cleethorpes, North East Lincolnshire, England, that in the 2022–23 season will compete in , the fourth tier of the English football league system, following the victory in t ...

of the

Second Division In sport, the Second Division, also called Division 2 or Division II is usually the second highest division of a league, and will often have promotion and relegation with divisions above and below. Following the rise of Premier League style compet ...

, joining them in March 1928. In just eight appearances in the 1928-29 season he scored seven times, helping Grimsby reach the First Division. Coleman remained at Grimsby for the next three seasons, and was Grimsby's top scorer in 1930-31 and 1931-32, and in March 1932 was signed by

Herbert Chapman Herbert Chapman (19 January 1878 – 6 January 1934) was an English football player and manager. Though he had an undistinguished playing career, he went on to become one of the most influential and successful managers in the early 20th ...

for £7,500 to join the reigning league champions,

Arsenal An arsenal is a place where arms and ammunition are made, maintained and repaired, stored, or issued, in any combination, whether privately or publicly owned. Arsenal and armoury (British English) or armory (American English) are mostl ...

; he made 85 league appearances for Grimsby, scoring 57 goals. Intended as a replacement for Jack Lambert, Coleman made his Arsenal debut in a 2–1 win against

Leicester City Leicester ( ) is a city, unitary authority and the county town of Leicestershire in the East Midlands of England. It is the largest settlement in the East Midlands. The city lies on the River Soar and close to the eastern end of the National ...

Highbury Highbury is a district in North London and part of the London Borough of Islington in Greater London that was owned by Ranulf brother of Ilger and included all the areas north and east of Canonbury and Holloway Roads. The manor house was sit ...

on 5 March 1932 and played a total of six games that season, as Arsenal finished runners-up to Everton. In his first full season at the club, 1932-33, Coleman scored 24 times in just 27 league games, including two hat-tricks as Arsenal reclaimed their title, earning Coleman a championship medal. However, his form dropped in 1933-34 and he only scored once in 12 league appearances, though he played as they won the

1933 FA Charity Shield The 1933 FA Charity Shield was the 20th FA Charity Shield, an annual football match. It was played between Everton (1932–33 FA Cup winners) and Arsenal ( 1932–33 Football League champions) at Goodison Park in Liverpool on 18 October 1933. A ...

. The signing of Ted Drake in March 1934 meant Coleman was forced out of the Arsenal team, and he signed for

Middlesbrough Middlesbrough ( ) is a town on the southern bank of the River Tees in North Yorkshire, England. It is near the North York Moors national park. It is the namesake and main town of its local borough council area. Until the early 1800s, the ...

in August 1934. In total he had played 47 games for Arsenal, scoring 26 goals. Coleman spent three seasons with Middlesbrough, scoring 21 goals in 85 league appearances, before finishing his career with

Norwich City Norwich City Football Club (also known as The Canaries or The Yellows) is an English professional football club based in Norwich, Norfolk. The club competes in the EFL Championship following their relegation from the Premier League in the 20 ...

. After the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...

, he was manager of Linby Colliery he left Linby to manage Notts County and saved them from relegation from the Football League. He died in 1984, aged 76.

Footnotes

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Coleman, Ernie 1908 births 1984 deaths People from Blidworth Footballers from Nottinghamshire English men's footballers Men's association football forwards Halifax Town A.F.C. players Grimsby Town F.C. players Arsenal F.C. players Middlesbrough F.C. players Norwich City F.C. players English football managers Notts County F.C. managers