Utah Jazz To Honor Jerry Sloan With 1223 Jersey Patch
Jul 21, 2020, 10:04 AM | Updated: Apr 26, 2021, 3:13 pm
Utah Jazz Head Coach Jerry Sloan during the game. The Utah Jazz defeated the Portland Trail Blazers 97-88 at the Energy Solutions Arena in Salt Lake City, Utah. (Photo by Boyd Ivey/Icon SMI/Icon Sport Media via Getty Images)
(Photo by Boyd Ivey/Icon SMI/Icon Sport Media via Getty Images)
SALT LAKE CITY, Utah – The Utah Jazz announced that they will wear a patch on their uniforms that will honor former team head coach Jerry Sloan. The Jazz will wear a patch with the number “1223” in honor of the career win total Sloan accrued with the franchise.
On May 22, Sloan passed away at age 78 after his four-year battle with Parkinson’s disease and Lewy body dementia.
“Coach Jerry Sloan will forever be in the hearts of the Utah Jazz organization and fans everywhere, and we feel it is only fitting to honor him in this way,” said Greg Miller, member of the NBA Board of Governors and Director of the Larry H. Miller Group of Companies in the press release. “His contributions to our Jazz family and communities are a defining part of our franchise history and we look forward to seeing 1,223 on the jerseys of our players in Orlando as a nod to his legacy.”
According to the team’s website, “fans can purchase a commemorative jersey patch for $12.23 with proceeds benefitting the Michael J. Fox Foundation, dedicated to finding a cure for Parkinson’s disease. Patches can be purchased both in-store and at www.jazzteamstore.com and can be affixed on a jersey. The Jazz have made a financial contribution in Sloan’s memory to the Michael J. Fox Foundation and direct donations are also encouraged at www.michaeljfox.org/donate.”
For Coach 💚
We will wear a commemorative 1223 patch in honor of Coach Jerry Sloan for the remainder of the season.
𝙼𝙾𝚁𝙴 𝙸𝙽𝙵𝙾: https://t.co/X1JqkdltWq pic.twitter.com/BMeiOByfPY
— utahjazz (@utahjazz) July 21, 2020
Sloan’s Legacy
Sloan was the longest-tenured head coach in American major league sports with the same franchise when he resigned as the head coach of the Jazz on February 10, 2011.
He got a call from Frank Layden to work as an assistant coach and did that from 1984 to 1988.
On December 12, 1988, Frank Layden abruptly resigned, and Jerry Sloan became the head coach of the Utah Jazz. It was the beginning of a Hall of Fame career.
The same qualities that defined him as a player were the same when he coached. He was a fiery competitor.
There were ups and downs – including early playoff exits – but the team, led by future Hall of Famers, John Stockton and Karl Malone, took on the personality of their coach.
The Jazz raise a banner honoring Jerry Sloan's time with the franchise: pic.twitter.com/7Jb2KMWAIU
— NBA on ESPN (@ESPNNBA) February 1, 2014
The Jazz won. A lot.
After years of playoff disappointment, John Stockton sent the Jazz to the NBA Finals for the first time in 1997. Jerry’s reaction will never be forgotten.
NBA Restart In Orlando
The first chance that Jazz fans will get to see the patch in a live game is when the 2019-20 NBA season resumes on Thursday, July 23 when the Jazz take on the Phoenix Suns in an exhibition scrimmage.
Utah and 21 other NBA teams will play eight regular season games in Orlando on ESPN’s Wide World of Sports Complex. The Jazz will face the Pelicans, Oklahoma City Thunder, Los Angeles Lakers, Memphis Grizzlies, Denver Nuggets, Dallas Mavericks and San Antonio Spurs twice. After the regular season concludes, the postseason will begin. The Jazz have already clinched a playoff berth but will look to move up the standings.
