Joseph W. Heyer Jr., retired basketball coach, longtime teacher, and star athlete, has died at 84

Joseph W. Heyer Jr., 84, formerly of Lansdale, retired men’s basketball coach at La Salle University and boys’ coach at North Penn and Cardinal Dougherty High Schools, longtime social studies teacher, and star basketball player at both La Salle University and La Salle College High School, died Sunday, Dec. 18, of complications from COVID-19 and Parkinson’s disease at Paoli Hospital.

One of the Philadelphia area’s most successful basketball coaches in the 1970s and ‘80s, Mr. Heyer guided his North Penn High School teams to the 1975 Bux-Mont League overall championship, six half regular-season league titles, and 11 holiday tournament crowns. From 1969 to 1990, he won 291 games, lost 186, and, for the first time in school history, directed his 1976-77 team to 20 regular-season victories.

His 1971-72 team opened the season by winning a school-record 12 straight games, and former players said that he “tried to make everyone a better player” and that he was “a bit ahead of his time.” He told The Inquirer when he announced his retirement in 1990: “I wanted to go out on a nice season, and my son [Joe] was a senior, and I wanted to go out with him.”

“He was a man of integrity and fundamentals,” said his son, who spent three seasons as a player with Mr. Heyer at North Penn. “His three mottos were team spirit, sportsmanship, and humanitarian qualities. That’s what he looked for in players and people.”

Earlier, Mr. Heyer coached the Cardinal Dougherty High School boys’ basketball team to a record of 55-19 and appearances in three straight Philadelphia Catholic League championship games from 1960 to 1963. He left Dougherty to be an assistant coach at La Salle College, now La Salle University, and replaced the retiring Bob Walters as head coach in 1965.

He went 24-27 in two seasons at La Salle, and, at 27, was the youngest college Division I head basketball coach in the country. In 2004, Mr. Heyer told the Daily News that his biggest coaching achievement was La Salle’s 71-69 upset of nationally ranked Brigham Young at the Palestra on Dec. 27, 1965.

As a basketball player, Mr. Heyer set many scoring records, won numerous awards, and made all-star teams at both La Salle High School and La Salle College. Nicknamed “Jumpin’ Joe,” he led his high school team to back-to-back Catholic League championship games and his college teams to several top-20 rankings.

Asked in 2004 by the Daily News about his favorite memories on the court, Mr. Heyer didn’t mention his glory games at the Palestra or his big-scoring nights against Temple and Syracuse. “I’d want to be back playing in one of the old bandbox gyms at North, West, Roman, or Tommy More,” he said, referring to local Catholic high schools, “packed to the rafters on a Friday night or Sunday afternoon.”

He earned lifetime achievement awards from the Markward Memorial Basketball Club and Philadelphia Oldtimers Basketball Association and is a member of the Philadelphia All Star Chapter of the Pennsylvania sports hall of fame and North Penn High School Alumni Athletic Association hall of fame. He also played baseball in high school and college, and coached baseball at Cardinal Dougherty.

Mr. Heyer received a bachelor’s degree in education from La Salle in 1960, a master’s degree in education from St. Joseph’s University in 1966, and taught social studies at North Penn and Cardinal Dougherty for nearly 40 years. He was interested in and lectured often on the assassinations of Presidents Lincoln and Kennedy, and the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and Robert Kennedy.

“He had a keen interest in learning,” his son said, “and was always open to discussion.”

Born Oct. 18, 1938, in Philadelphia, Joseph William Heyer Jr. grew up in the Olney section of the city, met Sandra Jennings in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., and they married on his birthday in 1969. He welcomed her son, Stephen, and daughter, Robin, into the family, and the couple had sons Joe and Todd and lived in North Wales, Lansdale, Boothwyn, and West Chester.

He enjoyed tennis and backyard Wiffle ball games, was a big baseball fan, served as the public address announcer at North Penn football games for years, and tended exotic gardens that featured a wide variety of plants. “There was no vegetable he wouldn’t give a try,” his family said.

In a tribute, his nephew, Michael Leahy, said Mr. Heyer was “a man that I truly looked up to and was so very proud to call Uncle Joe.”

In addition to his wife and children, Mr. Heyer is survived by three grandchildren and other relatives. A sister died earlier.

Private services are to be later. A public celebration of his life is scheduled for noon, Saturday, Jan. 14, during the boys’ basketball game against Christopher Dock at North Penn High School, 1340 S. Valley Forge Rd., Lansdale, Pa. 19446. After the game, there will be a reception at Cannoneers Sportsmens Club, 501 W. Fifth St., Lansdale, Pa. 19446. Donations at Cannoneers will benefit the North Penn basketball program.

Donations in Mr. Heyer’s name may be made to Shriners Hospitals for Children, P.O. Box 947765, Atlanta, Ga. 30394.