Mo Wi
lliams was a member of the Utah Jazz on two separate occasions. He was initially drafted by the Jazz in the second round of the 2003 NBA Draft, and then signed a one-year deal there for the 2012-13 season.
He has his connections there obviously, and has been a fan favorite just about anywhere he goes. On Tuesday, Mo posted a photo to his Instagram of a very important person in the Jazz family that passed away.
His name was Wally Price, and if you ask anyone who’s ever been to a game at EnergySolutions Arena, they’ll know who you’re talking about.
But for those that don’t know, Mr. Price was an usher for the Jazz for a very, very long time. He passed away on Monday night at the age of 99 after ushering Jazz home games from 1983-2015, working nearly 1,400 total.
Here’s the photo of Wally that Williams posted to Instagram on Thursday.
“RIP Wally #youarejazz you will be truly missed”, Williams captioned under the photo.
He was born on August 10, 1915, so close to hitting the 100 mark.
Aaron Falk from The Salt Lake Tribune had more on Wally:
“The job is what’s kept me alive,” he told Fox 13 in an interview last spring. “Really, I’m sure of that. It’s kept me out of that rockin’ chair. You can take root in those things.”
Instead, a franchise and a fan base seemed to take root around him.
“You talk about being family, he’s definitely a true member of the Jazz family,” Bailey said. “You knew who Wally was if you came to a game.”
That Bailey in the quote was Thurl Bailey, a forward who played for the Jazz for 10 seasons and went on to form a long friendship with Price. “‘When you talk about genuine people, I just don’t think they get any more genuine than Wally was,’ said Bailey, now a television analyst for the team. ‘He just had a pure love for people.'”
Rest in Peace Wally, you will clearly be missed.