Hall of Fame
Bill Coleman was a four-year letterman and starting cornerback for the Vulcan football team from 1957 through 1960.
Coleman led the defense in interceptions three times, and he helped the 1958 team compile a perfect 8-0 record. That squad’s defense held opponents to averages of 3.9 points and 42 rushing yards per game while registering four shutouts. Cal’s closest victory that season was a 13-point win.
“I think it was just luck that I was able to meet and play with such great people at one time,” Coleman said. “The NAIA eliminated strict in-game substitution rules that year which really helped because we could platoon. We were a close team with many players from the same high schools and just clicked.”
The Vulcans won 21 of 24 games over Coleman’s final three seasons. The 1959 and 1960 defenses recorded two shutouts each and allowed per-game averages of just 6.4 and 9.3 points, respectively. Eleven of 16 opponents were held to seven points or less in those two seasons.
Coleman is the fifth Vulcan from the 1958 team to earn Cal U Hall of Fame honors, joining Frank Bernadowski ’62, Phil Clifford ’62, Fleming Mosely III ’60 and Jack Scarvel ’59. Coach Ted Nemeth also is a Hall of Fame member.
He also praised assistant coaches Andy Sepsi and Bill Hepner, who went on to be Cal’s head coach after Nemeth in 1962. The coaching staff also had former standout players such as Mitch Bailey ‘53, and Fran Herron ’53, and Gary Kennedy ‘58.
“Ted Nemeth always had things well organized and Sepsi and Hepner were so intelligent,” said Coleman. “My brother used to joke that Hepner could not only pronounce big words but spell them. We had brilliant coaches.”
Bernadowski, a safety, believed familiarity between him and Coleman helped the Vulcans’ effective secondary.
“Bill was a great football player and him and I were really connected out there,” said Bernadowski. “ We just knew what each other was doing and worked well together. I knew what he was doing before he’d do it and he knew what I was going to do so that’s one reason why we were very successful.”
At California Coleman served as the freshman and sophomore class president and played intramural basketball. He earned his bachelor’s degree in elementary education in 1961. He recalls working while going to school to pay the $72 tuition.
“It was amazing and we had a great time,” Coleman said.
After graduation, Coleman taught for two years in South Connellsville schools before the county schools office hired him to work with visually handicapped children.
He earned certification in that specialty from the George Peabody College of Education and Human Development in Nashville, Tenn., and in 1965 he completed a master’s degree in administration at West Virginia University.
Coleman also returned to Cal U and attended workshops to earn certification as a school psychologist. He became a Pennsylvania-licensed psychologist in 1970 and served as a supervisor for the California Intermediate Unit from 1970 until his retirement in 1993.
Coleman still works part-time for Alliance Health Wraparound in Uniontown, where he supervises therapists who work with children with special needs.
Although he graduated from Cal U more than 50 years ago Coleman credits his education and time at Cal U for paving a path to a distinguished career.
“California did everything for me and my education there was the basis for my entire career,” he said. “I started teaching school and one of the supervisors saw me and asked me about working for the county schools and everything branched out from there. California has been so important to me and even influenced my children.”
A proud alumnus and a member of the basketball team’s Sixth Man Club, Coleman regularly returns to his alma mater to attend athletic events and participate in golf outings. His Vulcan pride is evident.
“The campus is an unbelievably beautiful place which is an attraction for students,” he said. “The football and basketball teams have done well and the women’s sports programs have just dominated. It’s great to see it and I try to see the teams play and participate in university events because it’s a lot of fun.”
A graduate of Ramsay High School in Mount Pleasant, Coleman was a three-year scholastic letter winner in football, basketball, and track and field.
On the football field he was the Ramsay’s starting quarterback. The team lost only one game during the 1954 and 1955 seasons and two games in 1956 — when Coleman was out with a broken hip.
Nevertheless, sports writers named Coleman to the WPIAL Class A all-star team in 1956, and he also was named an honorary captain of that season’s Westmoreland all-county team.
Despite playing quarterback since grade school, Coleman was quickly moved to the defensive backfield during training camp his freshman season. He also said a key reason for his success was the fine play of defensive end Milt “Dink” Diaz ’62.
“When I got down there the coaches said I looked like a halfback and after a couple days it was all defense for me,” he said. “That made a big difference because I got to play. We used a lot of eight-men fronts back then and Dink took out all of the interference and still jokes about deserving the credit for making me look good.”
Understandably Coleman is looking forward to receiving the university’s highest athletic honor and joining longtime friends and past Hall of Fame inductees Dick Majernik ’55 and Sibby LoNigro ’57.
“I’ve been thrilled ever since I knew I was even nominated,” he said. “Most of my family has returned to the area now and the banquet will be a great night. Your friends and family is what makes life wonderful.”
Coleman and his wife of 55 years, Susan ’62, now live in Connellsville, Pa. They are the parents of four grown children: William H. ’81, Mary Ann Bauer ’82, Nancy Moser and John. The couple also enjoys six grandchildren.
updated 10/10/13
