Former Lansdale resident and retired LaSalle men’s basketball coach and local sports legend is being remembered for his groundbreaking and impactful career. Joseph W. Heyer, Jr., passed away at the age of 84, as reported by Gary Miles at The Philadelphia Inquirer.

Heyer may be gone, but his memory is imbued in the many institutions to which he brought his expertise.

In addition to hitting the courts at LaSalle University, he was a boys’ basketball coach at North Penn High School and Cardinal Dougherty High School, where he taught social studies.

The success of his team at North Penn High School earned him the title of “one of the Philadelphia area’s most successful basketball coaches.” Players of his considered him “ahead of his time.”

As a youngster, Heyer was a basketball star at LaSalle College High School and LaSalle University, even dabbling in baseball.

As an assistant coach at LaSalle College, he became known as the youngest college Division I head basketball coach in the country. He was only 27 years old.

Heyer’s groundbreaking career won him many accolades — lifetime achievement awards form Markward Memorial Basketball Club and Philadelphia Oldtimers Basketball Association — and membership in multiple Pennsylvania Hall of Fames.

Heyer was married to his wife, Sandra, for 53 years. The family had various residences over the years, including those in North Wales, Lansdale, Boothwyn, and West Chester.

Read more about local basketball legend Joseph Heyer in The Philadelphia Inquirer.

_____

Senior basketball is a national trend; here’s a New Haven, Conn. report on a match-up featuring 70- and 80-year-olds.