Joseph Edward Prince

Last updated
Joseph Edward Prince
BornJoseph Edward Prince
(1954-06-25) June 25, 1954 (age 69)
San Rafael, California, U.S.
Subject Athlete, Author, athletic culture

Joseph Edward ("Joe") Prince (born June 25, 1954) is a former American athlete born in San Rafael, California, and raised in East Palo Alto, California. He ran track for the Cal Poly San Luis Obispo Mustangs. He was the 1974 CCAA Conference 220 yard sprint champion and earned NCAA College Division All-America honors. He is the subject of the 2008 documentary Liberation Saturday, which is based on his autobiography.

Contents

Education and athletic career

Prince was raised by his grandparents in East Palo Alto, California; he did not meet his mother until 1971. [1] He was diagnosed with Autism as a child; he titled his autobiography for the Saturday Liberation schools established by the Black Panthers, where he learned to read in fifth grade. [2] [3] He was in special education classes at Ravenswood High School when he was encouraged to become a sprinter by his track coach, 1968 Olympic 200 meter champion Tommie Smith. [2] [4] He attended Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, where he was on the Mustangs' All-American 440-yard relay team and was the 1974 California Collegiate Athletic Association champion in the 220-yard dash, and after transferring in 1974, graduated from Fresno Pacific College, now Fresno Pacific University, in 1977. [1] [2]

While at Fresno Pacific, Prince was diagnosed with testicular cancer. While still in treatment, he set 400- and 1600-meter relay records with Athletes in Action, a branch of Campus Crusade for Christ, trained with Maxie Parks and competed on the US national team in Czechoslovakia in 1978 in preparation for the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow, but was unable to go to the Olympics because of the US boycott. [1] [2] [4]

Later career

Prince later became a bank teller and then in the mid-1990s to present day, a special education teacher and coach of track and cross country at Sahuarita High School near Tucson, Arizona. [2] [4] He published his autobiography, Liberation Saturday, in 2003. [3] It was made into a documentary by Richard Knapp and Dave Verwys, which was shown at the San Diego Black Film Festival in 2008; Prince created the music for the film with former Harlem Globetrotter Nate Branch. [4]

In 2012 he was honored by Brooks athletic wear as one of America's 25 most inspirational coaches. [5]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">California Polytechnic State University football team plane crash</span> 1960 accident at Toledo, Ohio, United States

On October 29, 1960, a Curtiss C-46 passenger aircraft crashed shortly after take-off near Toledo, Ohio. The aircraft, a veteran of World War II, was carrying the Cal Poly Mustangs team of college football to a game against Bowling Green State University. Of the 48 on board, 22 were killed, including both pilots, 16 players, a student manager, and a Cal Poly football booster.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cal Poly Mustangs football</span> University football team

The Cal Poly Mustangs are the football team representing California Polytechnic State University located in San Luis Obispo, California.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cal Poly Mustangs</span> Sports teams of California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo

The Cal Poly Mustangs are the athletic teams representing California Polytechnic State University in San Luis Obispo, California. The university fields twenty-two teams and compete in NCAA Division I; they are primarily members of the Big West Conference, but the football team plays in the Big Sky Conference, the wrestling team is an associate member of the Pac-12 Conference, and the swimming and diving program competes as an affiliate member in the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mohinder Singh Gill</span>

Mohinder Singh Gill is a retired Indian triple jumper who competed at the 1972 Munich Olympics.

The 1963 Cal Poly Mustangs football team represented California Polytechnic State College—now known as California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo—as a member of the California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) during the 1963 NCAA College Division football season. Led by second-year head coach Sheldon Harden, Cal Poly compiled an overall record of 2–8 with a mark of 1–4 in conference play, placing fifth in the CCAA. The Mustangs played home games at Mustang Stadium in San Luis Obispo, California.

The 1961 Cal Poly Mustangs football team represented California Polytechnic State College—now known as California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo—as a member of the California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) during the 1961 NCAA College Division football season. Led by LeRoy Hughes in his 12th and final season as head coach, Cal Poly compiled an overall record of 4–4 with a mark of 3–2 in conference play, placing second in the CCAA. The Mustangs played home games at Mustang Stadium in San Luis Obispo, California.

The 1959 Cal Poly Mustangs football team represented California Polytechnic State College—now known as California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo—as a member of the California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) during the 1959 NCAA College Division football season. Led by tenth-year head coach LeRoy Hughes, Cal Poly compiled an overall record of 6–3 with a mark of 3–2 in conference play, tying for second place in the CCAA. The Mustangs played home games at Mustang Stadium in San Luis Obispo, California.

The 1958 Cal Poly Mustangs football team represented California Polytechnic State College—now known as California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo—as a member of the California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) during the 1958 college football season. Led by ninth-year head coach LeRoy Hughes, Cal Poly compiled an overall record of 9–1 with a mark of 4–1 in conference play. The Mustangs tied with Fresno State for the best record in the CCAA, but Fresno State was awarded the championship because they defeated Cal Poly head-to-head. The team outscored its opponents 321 to 60 for the season. The Mustangs played home games at Mustang Stadium in San Luis Obispo, California.

The 1974 Cal Poly Mustangs football team represented California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo as a member of the California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) during the 1974 NCAA Division II football season. Led by seventh-year head coach Joe Harper, Cal Poly compiled an overall record of 5–4–1 with a mark of 2–1–1 in conference play, placing second in the CCAA. The Mustangs played home games at Mustang Stadium in San Luis Obispo, California.

The 1976 Cal Poly Mustangs football team represented California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo as a member of the California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) during the 1976 NCAA Division II football season. Led by ninth-year head coach Joe Harper, Cal Poly compiled an overall record of 7–1–1 with a mark of 2–0 in conference play, winning the CCAA title for the first of five consecutive seasons. The Mustangs played home games at Mustang Stadium in San Luis Obispo, California.

The 1982 Cal Poly Mustangs football team represented California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo as a member of the Western Football Conference (WFC) during the 1982 NCAA Division II football season. Led by first-year head coach Jim Sanderson, Cal Poly compiled an overall record of 6–5 with a mark of 4–0 in conference play, winning the WFC title. The Mustangs played home games at Mustang Stadium in San Luis Obispo, California.

The 1983 Cal Poly Mustangs football team represented California Polytechnic State University during the 1983 NCAA Division II football season.

The 1984 Cal Poly Mustangs football team represented California Polytechnic State University during the 1984 NCAA Division II football season.

The 1985 Cal Poly Mustangs football team represented California Polytechnic State University during the 1985 NCAA Division II football season.

The 1932 Cal Poly Mustangs football team represented California Polytechnic School—now known as California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo—as an independent during the 1932 college football season. Led by Al Agosti in his 11th and final season as head coach, Cal Poly compiled a record of 4–4. The team outscored its opponents 117 to 103 for the season. The Mustangs played home games in San Luis Obispo, California.

The 1933 Cal Poly Mustangs football team represented California Polytechnic School—now known as California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo—as an independent during the 1933 college football season. Led by first-year head coach Howie O'Daniels, Cal Poly compiled a record of 7–0. The team outscored its opponents 73 to 0 the season. The Mustangs played home games in San Luis Obispo, California.

The 1935 Cal Poly Mustangs football team represented California Polytechnic School—now known as California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo—as an independent during the 1935 college football season. Led by third-year head coach Howie O'Daniels, Cal Poly compiled a record of 5–2–1. The team outscored its opponents 92 to 35 for the season and had four shutout wins. The Mustangs played home games at Mustang Stadium in San Luis Obispo, California.

The 1936 Cal Poly Mustangs football team represented California Polytechnic School—now known as California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo—as an independent during the 1936 college football season. Led by fourth-year head coach Howie O'Daniels, Cal Poly compiled a record of 5–4. The team outscored its opponents 96 to 76 for the season. The Mustangs played home games at Mustang Stadium in San Luis Obispo, California.

The 1937 Cal Poly Mustangs football team represented California Polytechnic School—now known as California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo—as an independent during the 1937 college football season. Led by fifth-year head coach Howie O'Daniels, Cal Poly compiled a record of 4–2–2. The team outscored its opponents 82 to 34 for the season. The Mustangs played home games at Mustang Stadium in San Luis Obispo, California.

The 1945 Cal Poly Mustangs football team represented California Polytechnic School—now known as California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo—as an independent during the 1945 college football season. Led by Ronnie Henderson in his first and only season as head coach, Cal Poly compiled a record of 1–5–1. The team was outscored by its opponents 180 to 19 for the season and was shut out in four consecutive games. The Mustangs played home games at Mustang Stadium in San Luis Obispo, California.

References

  1. 1 2 3 Wayne Steffen, "FPU Provided Somewhere to Run To", Pacific 17.3 (November 2004), archived September 4, 2012, pp. 14–15.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 Tom Beal, "Olympian was a hero to local coach", Arizona Daily Star , February 21, 2004.
  3. 1 2 "East Palo Alto's own, author Joseph E. Prince, comes to town with new book, 'Liberation Saturday'", EPA.net (East Palo Alto, California) January 7, 2004, archived March 1, 2006.
  4. 1 2 3 4 Regina Ford, "Prince of a Story: Documentary features Sahuarita track coach", Green Valley News , January 29, 2008.
  5. ↑ "Joseph Prince", Inspiring coaches, Brooks, archived October 31, 2012.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.