Eldridge Wayne Coleman had a short CFL career, but he was destined for bigger things after football. The bigger things were certainly in keeping with Coleman's size of six foot four and 275 pounds. After kicking around the NFL fora few seasons and not playing in any regular season games, Coleman joined the Calgary Stampeders in 1968, but ended up in Montreal late in July before the season started. Coleman was with Montreal for two days before being cut. Coleman was the last import released by the Alouettes as they elected to go with veterans John Baker and Jim Long at defensive end. That, however, was not the end of Coleman in Montreal as he was placed on the taxi squad. In early August, Long was released and Coleman installed at defensive end. Coleman went off and on the roster again before finally being released late in September. In all, Coleman played five games for Montreal. The Alouettes saw promise in Coleman and hoped t hat with some more seasoning in the Continental Football League, that he could return the following year. Coleman had other plans. There was a brief stop where Colmean worked as a collection agent for some Los Vegas casinos, but then a professional wrestling career beckoned. Coleman was not just big, he was very strong, bench pressing 500 pounds. With his good looks and outgoing personality, Coleman was a natural to become a professional wrestler and that is where his career took him. Coleman wrestled under the name, "Superstar Billy Graham" in the WWF and at one time held the World Heavyweight Championship.
Note: There is a discrepancy in the sources on Coleman's DOB. Some sources list June 7, 1943 and others list September 10, 1943.
Coleman One of Five New Faces For Als - July 29, 1968
Coleman Released By Als - July 30, 1968
Wayne Coleman To Start At Defensive End - August 6, 1968
Coleman Reactivated by Als - September 28, 1968
EX-Footballer Coleman, A Man of Many Talents - October 22, 1968
Wayne Coleman (Bilyl Graham) in Wikipedia
| Year | Team | GP |
|---|---|---|
| 1968 | MON | 5 |
Note: No defensive tackle or sack stats were kept in 1968.
