Joseph Price, 42; he 'gave back more than he got'
Managing Northeast High sports teams was a highlight of Mr. Price's life. A longtime Northeast Philadelphia resident, he died June 11 in Central Florida.
Joseph J. Price weighed just under 3 pounds at birth, in 1975, and he spent the first six months of his life in the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia. He was 6 months old — and still only 5 pounds — when doctors sent him home to die.
Mr. Price, who was born premature, had contracted osteomyelitis, a serious bone infection that affected his left side, permanently limiting growth. But a remarkable thing happened: Mr. Price survived, not just through infancy but into adulthood, leading a rich life centered on friends, family, work, and the sports teams that brought him so much joy.
Despite learning difficulties, Mr. Price graduated from Northeast High School in 1994. And he was a manager of the school's football and baseball teams, handling equipment, bolstering spirits, and rooting with everything he had for the Vikings.
"Joe was just a special person," said Scott Hunter, now the director of scouting for the Seattle Mariners, a friend Mr. Price first encountered when the two were classmates at Northeast High. "His difficulties put things in perspective. He didn't have it easy, but I never heard him complain — he just had a bright way about him."
John Creighton, another teammate, called Mr. Price "the glue" that held Northeast teams together during his years there.
Mr. Price endured multiple surgeries as a child, said his mother, Diane Price. But he was happy and close to his parents, especially his father, Joseph Howard Price, who had played baseball professionally in the Los Angeles Dodgers organization for a time. When Mr. Price's father got off the bus at the end of his workday, his son was waiting at the corner of Longshore Avenue with a baseball. The two would toss the ball all the way home.
"We tried to give him as normal a life as possible," said Diane Price. "Joe always amazed me."
When Mr. Price was 13, his father died after suffering a heart attack and two strokes. Mr. Price told his father he would always take care of his mother, a promise he took seriously.
He graduated from Solis-Cohen Elementary School, Woodrow Wilson Middle School, and, in 1990, entered Northeast High, where his knowledge of sports and eagerness to help made him invaluable to the school's football and baseball teams. He would haul equipment, make sure players were well-hydrated, or just sit on the bench with them. His physical limitations meant that Mr. Price could not play, but no one doubted his contributions.
"He was the guy who kept things loose," said Hunter, who played both sports. "He was like our motivational speaker. He was such a part of the team — he'd get a glove on and shag balls when we were doing batting practice."
Tony Pisoni taught Mr. Price physical education both in elementary school and high school, and marveled from the beginning at Mr. Price's gumption. Mr. Price looked different, with an unusual gait, short stature, and limbs of different lengths. But that was perhaps the least interesting thing about him.
"Joey tried everything, did everything," Pisoni said. "And kids respected him, didn't make fun of him. He coped with what he had, and he enjoyed life."
Diane Price said that serving as a manager to Northeast teams was a highlight of Mr. Price's life.
"No doubt — Joe gave back more than he got," Pisoni said.
After Mr. Price left Northeast, he and his mother moved to The Villages, a community in central Florida. It was a tough transition for him at first, but Mr. Price grew to love it — and remained an ardent follower of the Phillies, Eagles, Flyers, and Notre Dame football.
Soon after his move to Florida, Mr. Price got a job as a ticket-taker at a movie theater in The Villages. He worked there for almost 20 years, making lifelong friends of customers and coworkers. He also kept in touch with many of his Northeast classmates.
He and his mother had a good life; they took a beach vacation earlier this year, when Mr. Price insisted on paying for dinners as a treat. He cared for his mother when, six years ago, she battled cancer.
In 2013, he was diagnosed with cirrhosis of the liver, a surprise to Mr. Price, who hardly drank alcohol. He managed the condition fairly well until May, when complications eventually put him in the hospital, and eventually in a coma.
Since Mr. Price's death, emails, letters, and phone calls have been pouring in. They all contain similar messages.
"He was just a joy," Diane Price said. "There's so many people that cared for him."
His mother is his only survivor. A memorial service will be July 25 in Florida.
Memorial donations may be made to the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, 34th and Civic Center Blvd., Philadelphia, Pa. 19104.