Spangdahlem Air Base honors the "Big Man"

by Senior Airman Rusty Frank
52nd Fighter Wing Public Affairs

10/16/2014 - SPANGDAHLEM AIR BASE, Germany -  -- For some, it's a great honor to have a building, street or room named after you. For one Airman, known by as "big man" in the local German community and the base, this honor has become a reality.

The gymnasium inside the Eifel Power Haus was named after George Price, 52nd Force Support Squadron special events coordinator, Oct. 16, 2014.

"If I had to sum George Price up in one word it would be 'icon'," said Jude Sorg, 52nd FSS deputy commander. "I think that there is not a better honor that his community and this base could give to George other than to memorialize this particular gymnasium that will last forever in George's name. There is nobody that has given more time, energy, volunteerism and actually more work to fitness and sports in the Spangdahlem area."

U.S. Air Force Maj. Elizabeth Johnston, 52nd FSS commander, said George is an Airman's Airman. Price has served the Air Force and the local community for over 40 years. According to his biography, he joined the Air Force in 1950 and retired at the rank of senior master sergeant in August of 1976. While he served, he was awarded a Bronze Star medal, Meritorious Service Medal, and Air Force Commendation Medal along with numerous campaign awards. Price served overseas tours in England, France, Germany, Korea  and Vietnam. While he was stationed at Bitburg Air Base, Germany, he won first sergeant of the year four years in a row from 1972-75 for the 36th Tactical Fighter Wing.

After he retired, Price became the athletic director for Bitburg Air Base, and also served as the head coach for the Bitburg Barons basketball team compiling an overall career record of 521 wins and only 48 losses, becoming the winningest head coach in U.S. Air Forces in Europe and Air Forces Africa history.

"The basketball team was constantly losing and I said 'I can do better than that,'" said Price. "I had a real good friend named Oda Phillips. He was a high school teacher and the smartest basketball man I ever knew, but he couldn't lead a goat to get a drink. But I could get the goat to drink. So I used his brains to teach and we took off and won time after time through his knowledge and my ability to scream and shout that's how we got by."

It was during this time his teams won a total of 11 continental sport conference championships along with six USAFE championship titles. He also was volunteer coach for the "All-Star" basketball team representing USAFE in the first two U.S. Air Forces Central Command tournaments, and his team won the first two "Basketball Tip-off Classic," tournaments in 1991 and 1992. While he coached, Price won the USAFE Outstanding Sports Director for the Year in 1982, 1984, 1987 and 1992. Finally in 1992 Price became the first civilian inducted into the USAFE Sports Hall of Fame.

Leadership decided to dedicate the court to Price during the final stages of the gymnasium construction.

"We had our previous wing commander out visiting the new facility," said Johnston. "As we were driving him back to the office he started asking what we are going to name the facility. Then we started talking about the individual rooms and he knew George's background and knew him very well, and he thought what a great match, to match up that court with that name."

Always the coach, Price has advice for the future competitors that will play on the court bearing his name.

"As the gym grows older and I'm gone, it's not always about winning. It's nice to win, but be kind, thoughtful and caring to each other," said Price.