Coleman was born in Kettering, Northamptonshire and first played for local non-league clubs, Kettering Town and then Northampton Town in 1901. He was signed by Second Division Woolwich Arsenal in the summer of 1902, and immediately became a regular goalscorer for the club. Coleman made his debut against Preston North End on 6 September 1902, and in his first season was top scorer with 17 goals in 30 matches, as Arsenal finished third. The following season he broke his own record and scored 23 goals in 28 games, which along with strike partner Tommy Shanks' 25 goals, helped Arsenal to second spot and thus promotion to the First Division. Coleman found 1905–06, his first season at the top, tough going, but the following season he scored 15 in 34 matches. Coleman's season was topped with Arsenal reaching the FA Cup semi-finals, and his one and only cap for England, against Ireland on 16 February 1907. Despite their success on the pitch, Woolwich Arsenal were suffering from financial difficulties, and willingly accepted a bid of £700 for Coleman from Everton in February 1908, near the end of the 1907–08 season. In total, Coleman had played 196 games for Arsenal, scoring 84 goals. Coleman was a regular during the two and a half seasons he spent at Goodison Park, helping the Toffees to runners-up spot in 1908–09, and scoring 30 goals in 71 league appearances. While at Everton, he was notable for being one of the few players, along with most of the Manchester United squad, to maintain their membership of the Players' Union, in defiance of Football Association rules. After a standoff, the FA backed down. Coleman later had spells at Sunderland,. Fulham, and Nottingham Forest. With the outbreak of the First World War and the suspension of first-class football, Coleman retired from the professional game, although he still played in non-league football, most notably for Tunbridge Wells Rangers, finally retiring in 1921. He subsequently served as player-manager of the reserve team at Maidstone United. Coleman later moved to the Netherlands, where he managed a number of the clubs to promotion. He died at St Mary Abbot's Hospital in November 1940, at the age of 59, when he fell through the roof of a generating station in South Kensington.
