LONGTIME UTAH JAZZ
USHER LEAVES A
LASTING IMPRESSION
WINNING SPIRIT IN ACTION: WALLY PRICE
In 1991, Wally Price
sent a letter to Larry
H. Miller seeking a
job as an usher at the
new arena being built
in
downtown
Salt
Lake City. With eight
years of experience
as a ticket-taker at the
Salt Palace, he landed
a
position
which
blossomed into a 30year love affair with the
Utah Jazz before his passing
in January at the age of 99.
Price was a fixture at Jazz
games, greeting players
from Thurl Bailey to Gordon Hayward, and was known for
warm smiles, friendly greetings, and his enduring service and
dedication. “When you talk about genuine
people,
I
just
don’t
think they get any more
genuine than Wally was,”
said Bailey, now a Jazz
broadcaster. “He just had
a pure love for people.”
Price worked nearly 1,400
games over three decades,
but he rarely watched the
action as his job positioned
him along the Arena
walkways and concourses.
However, he made one very
memorable
appearance
on court in 2014 when he
danced at EnergySolutions
Arena. Escorted on each
side by a Jazz dancer, Price pushed his walker to center court
and joined his fellow ushers in a dance routine to the pop song
“Happy.” The crowd roared when he took his hands off the walker
and shimmied to the music as public address announcer Dan
Roberts exclaimed “Wally, by golly!”
“Through that job most knew Wally as the old man who gave
hugs, danced with the Jazz dancers, and single handedly made
sure that every couple in Utah held hands,”
said the Price family in his obituary.
“Thank you to the Miller family for allowing
him to continue that work right up to the
end. Wally was loved and will be missed
by all who knew him.”
In tribute, an empty chair at “Wally’s Wall”
usher station was set up at a Jazz game
with players from both teams writing condolence messages in a
book. Throughout the arena, the guest services staff wore white
boutonnieres with Jazz-colored ribbons. More than 40 members
of his family attended the game and witnessed a musical
photo montage remembrance of Price, who was survived by
19 grandchildren, 22 great-grandchildren, eight great-greatgrandchildren, and one great-great-great grandchild.
Born in 1915 in Salt Lake City, Price
was married for 60 years to his
wife Marian. He was a veteran
who served in Germany on the
railroads, helping to get supplies
to troops during World War II.
Defined by his hard work, he had
a 32-year career with the U.S.
Postal Service, and often had a
second job. He was admired for
his beautifully kept yard, from
the green grass to the colorful
array of flowers. His birthday
parties were infamous as he
marveled at the gathering of six
generations.
Price was definitely a people
person and became friends with everyone he
welcomed. Players often sought him out to shake hands before
a game. “They never, ever missed saying hi to Wally. He made
them say hello, you know what I mean?” Roberts said. “He was
so full of love, they couldn’t walk by him without checking up on
him and seeing how he was doing. He was pure gold.”
Although he will be greatly missed, the spirit of Wally Price lives
on in the building and the Jazz family.
TOP: Jazz legends, Karl Malone and John Stockton,
were welcomed to the court for the entirety of their
long careers by usher Wally Price.
CENTER: The note that would blossom into a
30-year love affair with the Utah Jazz.
LEFT: An empty chair and condolence book pay
homage to the place affectionately referred to as
“Wally Wall” at EnergySolutions Arena.