1947
Born February 3, 1947
Boston, MA, USA
Joe Coleman Marquee
b. February 3, 1947 · Washington Senators 1965–1970, Detroit Tigers 1971–1976, Chicago Cubs 1976, Oakland Athletics 1977–1978, Toronto Blue Jays 1978, San Francisco Giants 1979, Pittsburgh Pirates 1979
There were three Joe Colemans who pitched in the major leagues: this one, his father, and his son. The middle one was the best, winning twenty games for Detroit in 1971 and twenty-three in 1973, and striking out fourteen Oakland hitters in the 1972 League Championship Series.
He had signed with the Washington Senators as the third overall pick in the first amateur draft in 1965 and pitched a complete-game win in his major league debut at eighteen. The trade to Detroit in 1970, which sent Denny McLain the other way, gave him the best years of his career.
Born in Boston in 1947, Coleman pitched fifteen seasons for seven clubs, throwing 94 complete games and finishing 142-135. He died on July 9, 2025, at seventy-eight.
Honors
| Award | Times | Years |
|---|---|---|
| All-Star selection | 1 | 1972 |
Batting, season by season
| Year | Team | G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | BB | SO | SB | AVG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1965 | WSA | 2 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 | .000 |
| 1966 | WSA | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | .000 |
| 1967 | WSA | 28 | 36 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 22 | 0 | .056 |
| 1968 | WSA | 34 | 70 | 2 | 9 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 22 | 0 | .129 |
| 1969 | WSA | 40 | 84 | 2 | 9 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 40 | 0 | .107 |
| 1970 | WSA | 39 | 67 | 5 | 8 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 12 | 28 | 0 | .119 |
| 1971 | DET | 39 | 96 | 1 | 9 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 6 | 39 | 0 | .094 |
| 1972 | DET | 40 | 82 | 5 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 5 | 30 | 0 | .110 |
| 1973 | DET | 40 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 1974 | DET | 41 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 1975 | DET | 31 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 1976 | CHC/DET | 51 | 13 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | .154 |
| 1977 | OAK | 43 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 1978 | OAK/TOR | 41 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 1979 | PIT/SFG | 15 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | .200 |
| Career | — | 485 | 462 | 18 | 49 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 23 | 32 | 195 | 0 | .106 |
Pitching, season by season
| Year | Team | W | L | G | GS | SV | IP | H | ER | BB | SO | ERA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1965 | WSA | 2 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 18.0 | 9 | 3 | 8 | 7 | 1.50 |
| 1966 | WSA | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 9.0 | 6 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 2.00 |
| 1967 | WSA | 8 | 9 | 28 | 22 | 0 | 134.0 | 154 | 69 | 47 | 77 | 4.63 |
| 1968 | WSA | 12 | 16 | 33 | 33 | 0 | 223.0 | 212 | 81 | 51 | 139 | 3.27 |
| 1969 | WSA | 12 | 13 | 40 | 36 | 1 | 247.2 | 222 | 90 | 100 | 182 | 3.27 |
| 1970 | WSA | 8 | 12 | 39 | 29 | 0 | 218.2 | 190 | 87 | 89 | 152 | 3.58 |
| 1971 | DET | 20 | 9 | 39 | 38 | 0 | 286.0 | 241 | 100 | 96 | 236 | 3.15 |
| 1972 | DET | 19 | 14 | 40 | 39 | 0 | 280.0 | 216 | 87 | 110 | 222 | 2.80 |
| 1973 | DET | 23 | 15 | 40 | 40 | 0 | 288.1 | 283 | 113 | 93 | 202 | 3.53 |
| 1974 | DET | 14 | 12 | 41 | 41 | 0 | 285.2 | 272 | 137 | 158 | 177 | 4.32 |
| 1975 | DET | 10 | 18 | 31 | 31 | 0 | 201.0 | 234 | 124 | 85 | 125 | 5.55 |
| 1976 | CHC/DET | 4 | 13 | 51 | 16 | 4 | 145.2 | 152 | 72 | 69 | 104 | 4.45 |
| 1977 | OAK | 4 | 4 | 43 | 12 | 2 | 127.2 | 114 | 42 | 49 | 55 | 2.96 |
| 1978 | OAK/TOR | 5 | 0 | 41 | 0 | 0 | 80.1 | 79 | 34 | 35 | 32 | 3.81 |
| 1979 | PIT/SFG | 0 | 0 | 15 | 0 | 0 | 24.1 | 32 | 14 | 11 | 14 | 5.18 |
| Career | — | 142 | 135 | 484 | 340 | 7 | 2569.1 | 2416 | 1055 | 1003 | 1728 | 3.70 |
On this day & linked events
2025
Died July 9, 2025
1965
Major-league debut: Joe Coleman
Joe Coleman made a major-league debut on September 28, 1965.
1979
Final major-league game: Joe Coleman
Joe Coleman played a final major-league game on September 24, 1979.
Image: Hoosier1820, CC BY-SA 3.0