Coach of Champions

D.L. Holmes and the Making of Detroit's Track Stars

by Keith D. Wunderlich and David L. Holmes Jr.

Series edited by Thomas A. Klug

242 Pages, 33 b&w photos

Paperback
9780814352137
Publication Date: April 2025

$26.99

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Praise

An advocate of diversity, initiator of self-confidence, and driving force behind winners.

In an era rife with racism and antisemitism, Wayne State University athletic director and track coach D.L. Holmes emerged as a first-rate coach and mentor dedicated to supporting athletes of all races. Throughout his forty-one years at the public university in Detroit (1917–58), he welcomed thousands of athletes—Black, Jewish, Eastern-European, and others—coaching many to become Olympians, world record holders, and national and AAU champions. D.L.'s character, beliefs, and attention to detail allowed members of his teams to achieve more than they ever imagined, despite the challenges of outdated training equipment and the prejudice they faced.

This uplifting account captures D.L.'s uncanny ability to discover and nurture hidden talent and the motivation he inspired in scores of athletes, including several inductees of Wayne State's Hall of Fame like Tom Adams and Leroy Dues. Author Keith D. Wunderlich weaves team member interviews together with historically informed narratives of Coach Holmes and his runners. Through these stories of athletic greatness and resilience learned through defeat, D.L.'s legacy reveals the enduring power of believing in others.

Keith D. Wunderlich is the grandson of Coach D.L. Holmes and was himself a sprinter in high school. He is the author of Vernor's Ginger Ale and is a retired public-school administrator. He earned his doctorate at Wayne State University. David L. Holmes Jr. (1932–2023) is the son of Coach D.L. Holmes. He retired as professor emeritus from the College of William and Mary and authored A Brief History of the Episcopal Church. He earned his doctorate at Princeton University.

In the crowded field of Detroit sports legends, D.L. Holmes doesn't always get his proper due. But as the longtime track coach at the college that grew into today's Wayne State University, he demonstrated a knack for turning the athletes under his care into champions and, more importantly, into finer human beings. In this brisk and solid account by Coach Holmes's son and grandson, and featuring the reminiscences of many of the people he touched, readers are introduced to a humble, considerate, and inventive man who was a success on and away from the cinder track.

~Richard Bak, author of Joe Louis: The Great Black Hope and When Lions Were Kings: The Detroit Lions and the Fabulous Fifties (Wayne State University Press)

David L. Holmes was a great coach and an even greater man—he was my second father.

~John Telford, NCAA All-American, 440-yard dash, Wayne State University, 1957

In 1958 I was privileged to be a member of my uncle's final track team at Wayne State University. Coach of Champions captures the spirit of a young university, a great coach, and many talented athletes. Their struggles and victories along the way make for an exciting story and capture the feeling of an era and journey that began more than one hundred years ago.

~Bob Holmes, WSU Track and Field, 1958–61