Mountain Empire Football Hall of fame
Inducted 2021
News Articles |
Leonard Coffman
Leonard Coffman is the first and the only person to enter the National Football Foundation Mountain Empire Hall of Fame as a player, coach, and football official. Coffman was a star offensive and defensive football player under the late Coach Ty Disney at Greeneville High School. In 1936 Coffman enrolled and played for the University of Tennessee and was known as being a fearless fullback on some of the best football teams that ever wore UT orange. Coach General Robert Neyland, who judged fullbacks by the fervor with which they undertook their blocking assignments, praised Coffman for his toughness. He was the fullback on 2 back-to-back storybook seasons for the Vols. In 1938 Tennessee was named national champion following an undefeated campaign capped by an Orange Bowl victory. A year later, the Volunteers pulled off the remarkable achievement of going through the season without surrendering a single point to the opposition, a feat that has remained unmatched. Coffman coached freshman football at UT after graduating, then coached at the University of Wyoming, where in 1947 his team won the first of 3 straight league crowns. Upon returning to Greeneville, Coffman coached the Greeneville High School Green Devils (1955-1959) and led them to 32-10-2 record. For 40 years Coffman was a football official and served as a supervisor of the TSSAA Region 1 Officials Association for many years. Coffman served in the US Army during World War II and rose to the rank of captain, and later recalled to the military in 1951 to serve in the Korean War. In 1973 his former players and the students at Greeneville High School honored Coffman by establishing the Leonard Coffman Trophy and Scholarship Fund. In 1977 he was honored by the East Tennessee Chapter of the National Football Foundation's annual Amateur Football Award. He has been credited for being the first player to use the now famous "over the top fullback plunge". |