Remembering Johnny Price IV
December 4th marks the anniversary of the saddest day in Blizzard history – the death of our own Johnny Price. Our beloved teammate is greatly missed; his smile, his laugh, and his incredible outlook on life.
As a tribute to Johnny, The JP4 Foundation created the Johnny Price Memorial College Scholarship to honor Johnny and his contribution to the Blizzard program. Our vision is to see his legacy and memory live on through this scholarship and work of The JP4 Foundation.
You are invited to join us in contributing to the Johnny Price Memorial College Scholarship Fund and The JP4 Foundation. Between now and December 15th 100% of the donations received will be used to fund the Johnny Price IV Memorial College Scholarship.
We continue to keep Johnny’s family and friends in our prayers.
#BlueLove
Johnny’s Lasting Impact
” JP was our captain, heart, and many times the hero of our team. I’m proud to have known him as a teammate and as a friend. The kid had magic in his bat and an unworldly amount of talent and charisma. The young men who wear the Blizzard unis of today must know that Johnny is within that blue threading and he may be gone but he is not lost. He is our Blizzard blue angel.”
– Willem Aldrich
“Well, I’m lucky enough to have had Johnny on every single one of Blizzard teams so, if you know Johnny at all, there are too many stories to tell. It’s nearly impossible to describe john but he was just a class act. He did everything the right way. Too many memories to share…”
-Tyler Fredlund
“I remember Johnny as the guy that always had a smile on his face. And no matter what he always brought an attitude that was unmatched everywhere he went.”
-Nick Juaire
“My best memory was his hitting performance at the Scout Stop tournament. I know Barta has the actual stats but that was the best hitting performance I’ve seen.”
-Cole Albers
Something I got to see more than most was how truly special of a hitter he was. When you spend 7 hours a day in a cage you see a lot of swings – both good and bad. You develop a numbness to the every day sound of the bat and baseball flying up, down, and around your head. Every once in awhile guys will come in who just shake your cage a little. That was Johnny. I think he would have swung a 40/40 if he had the chance.
Johnny price carried around with him a special energy. It was something that you can’t really put your finger on. Regardless of your day, your mood, your schedule Johnny would instantly change the day. A constant smile, and a constant late arrival, players would get excited to be in the same group as him. His animated, care free spirit would allow for others to let their guard down and show their true self.
After he would hit Johnny would head to the “weight room” at MASH. This consisted of a mezzanine area where you could not drop any type of weight so we put our deadlift platform underneath a set of stairs on the first level. That’s where the cages were.
“How much can you deadlift, Steve?” Johnny would always ask. When i told him 500 plus pounds he responded with “Ok, I’m at about 315 right now, what are you gonna do when I reach 500?” My answer, “Unlimited hitting lessons whenever you want because you aren’t gonna sniff 500 until long after you are done playing.”
I knew what I was doing.
EVERY TIME he would deadlift after that he would yell “GET THAT ARM READY CAUSE I’M COMING FOR 500!”
This was beautifully done by a high school aged kid. Today we try to get our athletes to understand the importance of relating to others, treating others right, hand shakes, and character.
Johnny blew all those out of the water without any help. His response was 50/50 true belief to get to 500 and the other 50 knowing I would crack up every time he yelled at me. The world was a much better place – my world was a much better place with Johnny in it.
-Coach Steve McGuiggan, Minnesota MASH
Building a Legacy
Last year The JP4 Foundation awarded $1,000 scholarships to Cole Albers (Champlin Park) and Trent Fredenburg (Anoka). In the upcoming year,The JP4 Foundation is planning on expanding our reach and awarding up to 5 scholarships to senior baseball players looking to continue their education.
The scholarship application is available for all senior baseball players. The application process consists of prompts that are intended to highlight the applicant’s characteristics of Johnny Price IV. All scholarship submissions must be submitted by April 1st of 2018. To apply for the Johnny Price IV Memorial Scholarship visit The JP4 Foundation website at
https://www.jp4foundation.org/johnny-price-iv-memorial-college-scholarship/
