In a ceremony steeped in recognition and respect, the legacy of one of Detroit’s most influential athletic figures received renewed emphasis this week. The offices of the Michigan House of Representatives issued a formal legislative tribute to David L. Holmes for his transformative career as athletic director and track coach at Wayne State University (WSU), while the school’s press strengthened its commitment to one of his most lasting legacies – a newly released biography chronicling his work.
State Rep. Joe Tate presented the tribute to Wayne State University Press Director Stephanie Williams in recognition of the press’s publication of the book Coach of Champions: D.L. Holmes and the Making of Detroit’s Track Stars, authored by Keith D. Wunderlich and David L. Holmes Jr. The book, which came out in April 2025, weaves archived interviews of Holmes’s athletes with historically informed narratives of the Wayne State teams.
Holmes, recruited in 1917 to launch the athletic program at Detroit Junior College (which would become Wayne State University), served as athletic director and coach from 1917 to 1958. Under his leadership, the institution saw multiple sports flourish, including track & field, cross-country, football, and basketball. According to the Michigan Sports Hall of Fame, Holmes coached football 1918-28, basketball 1918-28, and served as athletic director for 41 years.
Among his many achievements: three Olympians, nine All-Americans (and several national and world record-holders) emerged from his programs. A Wayne State catalog describes how Holmes guided thousands of athletes — Black, Jewish, Eastern European, and others — at a time when racial and religious discrimination was part of the fabric of society. Notably, Holmes made history in 1929 by appointing the university’s first Black team captain, and one of his athletes would go on to become Michigan’s first Black athletic director.
In the legislative tribute, the State of Michigan commended Wayne State University Press “for its outstanding contribution in preserving and honoring the remarkable legacy of Coach David L. Holmes and the former Wayne State University Track & Field athletes he guided to greatness.” The tribute cited Holmes’s induction into the Michigan Sports Hall of Fame in 1975 and as a charter inductee in the Wayne State Sports Hall of Fame in 1976.
The authors of the book offer an intimate lens into Holmes’ campus era, chronicling this Detroit pivot point: from Detroit Junior College to Wayne State University, Holmes built an inclusive athletic program that welcomed athletes of diverse backgrounds long before diversity and inclusion became watchwords in collegiate sport. The media program The Metro sums it up: “In a time when segregation in sports was the norm, Holmes coached athletes of all races — a radical act.”
The significance of the publication and the legislative recognition is two-fold: it elevates Holmes’s story in Detroit’s sports heritage, and it reinforces the claim that sports within historically underserved communities can—and should—be about more than wins and losses.
As one example of his success, under Holmes’s direction, the track & field teams were crowned co-champions in 1936 and earned President’s Athletic Conference championships in 1956 and 1957. (Details of the football and basketball records show more variable team performance, but the broader legacy is in development, inclusion, and athlete advancement.) The initial press release noted the book’s highlight of “three Olympians, nine All-Americans, and various athletes that held national and world records.”
The Wayne State University Press catalog further describes the challenge Holmes faced: training facilities and equipment were outdated, yet his teams achieved greatness. “Throughout his forty-one years … he welcomed thousands of athletes — Black, Jewish, Eastern-European, and others … coaching many to become Olympians, world record holders, and national and AAU champions.”
Director Stephanie Williams accepted the tribute on behalf of the Press and emphasized its commitment to telling stories that matter for Detroit and beyond. Author Keith D. Wunderlich, Holmes’s grandson and himself a former sprinter, brings personal insight to the narrative. In a book talk held in April at the Detroit Historical Museum, the authors laid out Holmes’s career milestones and the personal stories of his athletes.
What stands out in Holmes’s story is the intersection of sport, social progress, and mentorship. He not only coached top-tier athletes—three Olympians and multiple record-holders—but also challenged the status quo of racial and religious exclusion. In 1929, his decision to appoint the first Black captain at Wayne was quietly groundbreaking, setting the stage for Black leadership in Michigan athletics. The Wayne State catalog even names one of his protégés, Leroy Dues, who became Michigan’s first Black athletic director.
In the broader Detroit sports landscape, the book Coach of Champions arrives at a moment when institutions are re-examining histories of inclusion and excellence. It offers Detroit readers, Wayne State alumni, and sports historians a long-overdue acknowledgement of Holmes’s role in shaping Detroit’s track stars.
For the athletes themselves, Holmes’s legacy remains personal. Former sprinter and book narrator Tom Adams (a former Wayne State Hall of Famer) appears in the interviews. The catalog states: “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.”
Beyond the statistics, the most enduring part of Holmes’s legacy is the example he set: that regardless of race, faith, or background, an athlete could find opportunity, mentorship, and belief. Holmes’s philosophical imprint extended to inventing and improving training equipment, designing tools for his athletes, and contributing to coaching literature and Olympic analysis. As one tribute noted, “His legacy endures as a symbol of excellence, equity, and ingenuity in athletics.”
As Michigan’s sports institutions face the challenge of preserving history—and contextualizing it—the collaborative recognition by the legislature and Wayne State University Press makes clear that Holmes’s story belongs not just to Wayne State or Detroit, but to the broader narrative of American athletics.
For those seeking the book, Coach of Champions: D.L. Holmes and the Making of Detroit’s Track Stars is available through Wayne State University Press and major outlets such as Amazon. The joint publication by the institution’s press and Holmes’s family ensures the authenticity of the story.
