Casey
My father left me a message on my cell this morning about Casey Coleman.
Coleman, the Browns sideline reporter who has been a part of every Cleveland sports fan's life, died of pancreatic cancer. With that, a connection between several generations of Cleveland fans is gone.
Coleman worked at Channel 8 in Cleveland when I was growing up. My grandmother watched him every night.
"The Indians are going to trade Joe Carter to Boston for Wade Boggs," I remember her saying once, attributing the remark to Coleman. If Coleman said it, my grandmother believed it. Of course, the trade didn't happen, and for all I know, my grandmother was just trying to get a rise out of her sports-obsessed, eight-year old grandson.
Maybe she was just wanting to talk baseball, and assigning Coleman's name to the rumor would validate it. That's what Coleman meant to her, and in many ways, to me at the time.
My grandmother died almost 17 years ago. But when I think of Coleman, I almost always think of her.
My father remembers Coleman's father, Ken, as a great announcer for the Browns. It's a job his son would hold, but only briefly. Coleman was the Browns play-by-play announcer for two seasons -- the last two seasons of the old Browns. Coleman's job was difficult for a number of reasons. The first was he took over because of the death of Nev Chandler (who died of colon cancer in 1994). Chandler was the voice of the Browns during the mid-to-late 1980s, when Bernie Kosar was quarterback and the team was so popular that everything associated with it was gold. In my opinion, Chandler was the best announcer the Browns have had in my lifetime. He was popular and lovable, and his death seemed to forever close the door on that era.
I was often critical of Coleman as a play-by-play man. Looking back, I'm not sure if those were fair criticisms. Coleman came after a beloved figure, and came in when the Browns were led by an unpopular coach and an owner whose word wasn't really worth much.
Coleman also called games in 1995, the year the Browns announced their move. Casey's job couldn't have been easy. He had to watch a team that had seemingly quit, in front of fans who were angry and beaten.
Coleman stayed in Cleveland after the Browns left, and when they came back, became the sideline reporter, a position he held until his death. Even in recent weeks, Browns' announcer Jim Donovan has referred to Coleman's replacement --Andre Knott -- as "filling in" for the stricken broadcaster. It gave hope that Coleman would return.
Coleman could have spent his final year on a beach somewhere. He could have traveled the world. But instead, he kept working. In March, he was on a draft day radio show, and was infuriated that the Browns were pursuing quarterback Joey Harrington.
He also sat in for a few innings on an Indians' telecast this past summer, doing play-by-play (and doing a better job than just about any of the normal announcers). Coleman, when I heard him, never talked about his illness. He did sports as if he would keep on doing it forever.
I didn't know Casey personally. But like Chandler before him, I felt like I did. I have yet to hear anyone say a bad word about him. He battled his disease with amazing courage, something evident to anyone who saw or heard him in the final year of his life.
God bless you, Casey. Rest in peace.
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Erik shares his thoughts.