JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Being the "first" to do something is special.
For the NFL's first black full-time punter, Greg Coleman; it's about remembering the ones who helped lead you there.
"Born and raised. I went to Raines high school on the Northside."
Coleman was a young boy in the late 1960s, early 1970s.
"Being a part of maybe 32 young black kids who integrated Ribault junior high school, that was a difficult piece. In the heart of integration. Bussing and all of those things, desegregation. It was a difficult time," said Coleman.
A difficult time, but not when it came to football.
He said Raines football taught him how to dream of the future.
"And even in my high school yearbook, I wrote my name, ambitions, all those things. I said, 'I want to be a professional kicking specialist in the NFL' and some would say, 'you crazy man, ain't no brothers kicking in the NFL' and I said, 'well that ain't my problem,'" he added.
His high school football career was impressive enough to get attention from schools like the University of Florida.
However, it was still a different time for black athletes.
"Head coaches would tell me 'Greg, we're just getting our alumni in a place and position to accept the fact that we're going to accept a black quarterback and we can't have a black quarterback and kicker'". Disappointed? Absoultely. But Florida A&M comes knocking on my door. Coach Bobby Lane," said Coleman.
His time at Florida A&M University got him noticed by the NFL. He was drafted by the Cincinnati Bengals in 1976. Then he was traded to the Cleveland Browns. But he was suddenly cut. He came back to Jacksonville to teach, but his dream of playing in the NFL never went away.
He almost lost hope and his faith.
"I said you lied to me. You said if I prayed and do all these things, you would give me the desires of my heart. Where are you? I just want to play football. I said 'I'll even play for the Minnesota Vikings' and I closed the window. The next day, I got a call from Minnesota. I spent the next 10 years punting for the Minnesota Vikings," he added.
His success wasn't achieved alone.
"And I stand on the shoulders of so many people. If you see a turtle in the woods, sitting on a pole and he says 'I got here by myself' he's lying through his teeth. We all need help and we all need support," said Coleman.
Coleman was inducted into the Florida Sports Hall of Fame and will always be part of a legacy.