NEWS
Detroit handicapper Coffman dead at 85
Posted: Tuesday, November 27, 2007 2:17 PM
Longtime Detroit newspaper handicapper Al Coffman died in a Michigan hospice on November 21, his 85th birthday.
Coffman wrote for the Detroit Free Press from 1940-’78 and the Detroit News for another 11 years, according to his obituary in the Free Press. Coffman was probably best known by his handicapping moniker—Al Speed.
Coffman’s real name was kept secret until the Free Press started promoting him to highlight his record vs. other public selectors. Regarded as the best public handicapper in Detroit, Coffman was chosen as No. 1 in the country by Turf and Sport Digest in 1967.
“I’m his wife, so I’m a little prejudiced, but he left a wonderful legacy,” Ilene Coffman told the Free Press. “He was a workhorse. He wrote about a lot of the big names, but he was just as familiar with the little guys, whether it was an owner or a trainer with one horse or a jockey that wasn’t a household name. He got a lot of accolades.”
