D.C. Memorial Service Set for Langston Coleman, 71

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Kristin Carter, daughter of Langston "Trey" Coleman, Nebraska’s first out-of-state, modern-day football walk-on, announced Sunday that a memorial celebration brunch will honor her late father on Saturday, April 25, in Washington D.C.  Coleman grew up in Phillips Alley in the shadow of the White House.  A memorial service will be held at New Smyrna Missionary Baptist Church at 4417 Douglas Street NE in Washington, D.C.  Among the first Huskers to wear fabled Blackshirts under Bob Devaney at practice, Coleman died March 7 at Carter’s home in Chicago, from liver cancer. He was 71 and is survived by daughters Kristin and Cameron Coleman, who lives in Los Angeles. Two grandsons – Justin Walker, 24, and Trey Carter, 11 – also survive Coleman. Both live in Chicago.

A nurse, Carter said her father moved to Chicago two years ago after retiring from Florida Memorial University in Miami. He moved near his daughter and last October was diagnosed with primary liver cancer. He kept the news private with a few exceptions. Dr. L. Trey Coleman, pictured below in an academic setting, left his dream job as Director of Grants and Sponsored Research at Florida Memorial University. Having earned his Ph.D. at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee in 1975, he worked for more than two decades at the 135-year-old university, the nation’s only historically black university in south Florida. Coleman’s doctorate of philosophy degree in urban education included an emphasis in higher education administration.

JFK Speechwriter Motivated Coleman to Become a Husker

Before becoming a college administrator, Coleman was chief of staff for a Florida congressman and chief of staff for a prominent politician who ran for mayor of D.C. Ironically, politics in the Nation’s Capital played a role in building Coleman’s dream to become a Husker. His mom, Audrey, was a domestic worker for Nebraska native Ted Sorensen, a former special counsel and advisor to President John F. Kennedy. Sorensen graduated from the University of Nebraska’s College of Law in 1951 at the age of 23 before moving to Washington, D.C.

Growing up, Coleman mowed the Sorensens’ lawn while his mom worked inside the family home. He vividly remembers being invited inside the house for a cold glass of lemonade on a hot day. “They had all sorts of Nebraska memorabilia inside their house, and it all just fascinated me,” said Coleman, who eventually hitch-hiked from Washington D.C. to Lincoln for a tryout as an unrecruited walk-on. He started for Bob Devaney-coached teams that won 28 of 33 games in 1964, ’65 and ’66. Coleman’s circuitous journey to Lincoln is chronicled in this N-Sider Column published six years ago. His desire to earn a doctorate degree was rooted in watching Tom Osborne coach football in the early 1960s at the same time he was pursuing his own Ph.D. at Nebraska.

Coleman: Osborne Taught Him about Character, Values

Coleman said Osborne taught him about character, dedication, endurance, maturity, goal-setting and sacrifice. “He epitomized competitive spirit and showed us all that life was about so much more than just football,” Coleman said of Osborne, who recalled this month how Coleman embraced his academic counselors and professors, who, in turn, encouraged him to push harder and go beyond whatever he thought was possible academically. “I hope my story inspires others to walk on at Nebraska,” Coleman told me when he returned to Nebraska to watch his first Nebraska home football game in a quarter-century. “I know one thing. If other walk-ons make the same decision I did, they will never, ever regret going to a place like Nebraska.”

Kristin Carter, Coleman’s daughter, said she was not fully aware of her father’s unique legacy as Nebraska’s first out-of-state, modern-day walk-on. “I’m a daddy’s girl and my father was just everything to me,” she said. “I really didn’t know until the days and weeks after his passing how far and how wide his net was cast, in terms of touching people, motivating people, and nurturing people. I only knew how much he touched, motivated and nurtured our own family. He was a great man, an amazing man, and a beautiful man because of all the characteristics we hold so dear. I think my father was a man’s man. He was real. He was down-to-earth. He was a guy who wanted better not just for himself, but for everyone around him. He led by example. When he saw an opportunity to help someone, he did. He had a big heart, and that’s what we'll celebrate.”

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Voices from Husker Nation

Dr. Coleman played during the dawn of what we know as Husker football. As a junior high kid in Lincoln who would jump over the fence at Memorial Stadium on Saturday to see the Big Red play football, I remember loving to watch Langston Coleman play defensive end. When the defense was on the field, he was always my focus. What truly great days those were as a youngster in Lincoln. Just so sad to see these guys leave us early, but the memories will be everlasting. Patrick Sullivan, Eureka Springs, Arkansas

I was at NU during the latter half of the 1960s. What I recall about Langston is that he was one of the first players to combine weightlifting with football. Before, people believed weightlifting was a detriment to other sports. Later in life, I lived 19 years in Corvallis, Oregon (what a coincidence with Riley now the coach!). I knew Rich Koeper, an All-American player from the early 1960s. He was a Beaver player in their early glory years and reflected the old school ideas about weightlifting and football, believing that only less gifted players lifted weights to gain an edge and rise on the depth chart. It's a small memory of Langston, but another example of his desire to better himself and his willingness to explore other thinking. In this case, the now proven advantages of weightlifting is pivotal for football. I hope to see the Huskers again here in Boulder with the upcoming schedules. Jim Traut, Boulder, Colorado

Trey was in school to learn and to graduate. He was not there to party and raise hell. He was a positive influence on his teammates and dormmates. I also noticed during the pre-game warmup drills that he was a better pass catcher than most of the receivers. I would have liked to see him play on offense, too, but he was happy on defense. Rich Hentzen, NU Class of 1962, Idaho Falls, Idaho