John Joseph Coleman (born 1935) is an Irish born former greyhound trainer. He was twice British champion trainer and was chairman of the Professional Trainers' Association for over 25 years.

Career

Coleman came to Britain from

Cork "Cork" or "CORK" may refer to: Materials * Cork (material), an impermeable buoyant plant product ** Stopper (plug), or "cork", a cylindrical or conical object used to seal a container *** Wine cork an item to seal or reseal wine Places Ireland * ...

in 1959 and started working in offices at Millwall Dock for the flour millers McDougalls. Soon afterwards, he began his career in UK greyhound racing when he started working for John Bassett at

Clapton Stadium The Clapton Stadium, also known as Millfields Road, was a football ground and greyhound racing stadium in the Lower Clapton area of London. History The stadium was originally named Whittles Athletic Ground and was mostly used for whippet rac ...

. He then secured the lease of the Chantilly Kennels owned by Jimmy Clubb and took out a private trainers licence in May 1966. He was appointed as a contracted trainer to

Romford Greyhound Stadium Romford Greyhound Stadium, referred to as Coral Romford Greyhound Stadium is a greyhound racing track located in Romford town centre in the London Borough of Havering in east London which is owned and operated by the Ladbrokes Coral group. The s ...

in 1968 and established a strong kennel of greyhounds and owners. His first big race success was Ace of Trumps who won the 1969 Scurry Gold Cup. In 1972 he switched from Romford to

Wembley Wembley () is a large suburbIn British English, "suburb" often refers to the secondary urban centres of a city. Wembley is not a suburb in the American sense, i.e. a single-family residential area outside of the city itself. in the London Borou ...

, taking the place of Jack Harvey who had retired. Coleman became Champion Trainer in 1974. In 1982, he reached the final of the 1982 English Greyhound Derby for the first time. He remained at Wembley until 1989 before taking a position at the leading track

Walthamstow Walthamstow ( or ) is a town within the London Borough of Waltham Forest in east London. The town borders Chingford to the north, Snaresbrook and South Woodford to the east, Leyton and Leytonstone to the south, and Tottenham to the west. At ...

. During the same year he finished runner-up in the 1989 English Greyhound Derby. Further final appearances came in

1993 The United Nations General Assembly, General Assembly of the United Nations designated 1993 as: * International Year for the World's Indigenous People The year 1993 in the Kwajalein Atoll in the Marshall Islands had only 364 days, since its ...

1996 1996 was designated as: * International Year for the Eradication of Poverty Events January * January 8 – A Zairean cargo plane crashes into a crowded market in the center of the capital city of the Democratic Republic of the Congo ...

and

1998 1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''. Events January * January 6 – The ''Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for Lunar water, frozen water, in soil i ...

and in between he was Champion Trainer for the second time in 1995, a year that also saw him secure the Trainers Championship for the second successive year. In 2008, Walthamstow closed and three years later in 2011, Coleman retired. He was based for most of his career at the Claverhambury Kennels in

Waltham Abbey Waltham Abbey is a suburban town and civil parish in the Epping Forest District of Essex, within the London metropolitan area, metropolitan and urban area of London, England, East London, north-east of Charing Cross. It lies on the Greenwich ...

. The one trophy that eluded him was the

English Greyhound Derby The English Greyhound Derby is the most prestigious race on the British Greyhound racing in the United Kingdom, greyhound racing calendar, with a history stretching back to 1927. It was first held at White City Stadium, but moved to Wimbledon ...

Awards

He is twice winner of the

Greyhound Trainer of the Year The Greyhound Trainer of the Year or Champion Trainer is an award for the leading greyhound trainer in the United Kingdom. It was inaugurated in 1961 and was originally elected by a press panel but is now awarded to the trainer who achieves th ...

in 1974 and 1995.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Coleman, John British greyhound racing trainers Irish greyhound racing trainers 1935 births Living people