One of the most influential figures in Husson University sports history will take his rightful place in the Husson Sports Hall of Fame on November 1.

Longtime football coach and administrator, Gabby Price will forever be enshrined in Husson history as part of the hall of fame class of 2024. 

“I put in the eighth-grade yearbook at Garland Street, it's called Cohen now, middle school. It was junior high when I went over on the east side of Bangor,” said Price. “They put down what's your future, what you want to do, and I put football, or coach. I don't think it was football coach, but it was coach. I wanted to be a coach at a very young age. There was a barn that you could shoot around in the Winter, which was great, I seemed to love it. So, all those things, but primarily, I just loved the interaction, even as a small child, or a young child, I don't know, small, but just loved everything about it. I loved Little League, loved Peabody at the YMCA and loved youth football.” 

A true icon in Husson football history, Price was selected to the Maine Sports Hall of Fame earlier this fall and roamed the sideline for the Eagles from 2003-08 and again from 2013-18. During his 12 seasons with the Eagles, Price recorded 72 wins in 117 career games and won five-consecutive Eastern Collegiate Football Conference titles from 2014-18. 

Price was named ECFC coach of the year four times and guided the Eagles to their first-ever NCAA playoff victory, beating Springfield College 23-21 in the first round of the NCAA playoffs. 

Additionally, Price served as director of athletics from 2003-08 and played a pivotal factor in Husson adding football to its list of sponsored sports and helped lay the foundation for what the department and football program have become today. 

“I think of that first time when they laid the field down,” stated Price. “Obviously, that was a great thrill. We could see it coming that we were going to play. As a football coach, when we played that first game, the field went kind of kitty corner, not up and down like it should. We measured it from one corner to the other, way down in the right field corner. It was fun. It was a lot of work. So many people helped, the administration, the maintenance staff, the teachers. I'd be very negligent if I didn't mention the teachers. We had teachers who would meet with our players. I'm sure they still do on Saturday mornings, just to make sure they would catch up. But primarily, that would be the memory, would be that first game, that whole season, there's a lot of ups and downs. I've used that a lot, because there were. But primarily, that game, I mean, it was a very emotional game. The length of the game, for us who coached, none of us were college coaches. We all had coached in high school, the length of the game, I think we all wanted to go home at halftime, because it's a much longer game. The clock stops on first downs, and it's just a longer game.”

When Price arrived at Husson, the John W. Winkin Sports Complex and Bob & Fran O’Keefe Field didn’t exist. He had a vision for what Husson could become and under his guidance and leadership the athletic department began to grow and shape into one of the top programs in the region. 

“It gets very emotional, actually, very teary-eyed,” noted Price. “We really didn't have much. We just had the sport the president wanted, Pam Hennessey, who was the AD and Warren Caruso was just tremendous to us and Kissy Walker. Certainly, dollars were at a premium at that time, and not that it isn’t now, but particularly then, it was at a premium. To add another sport, an expensive sport, in their view, in everybody's view it was exciting. There were no facilities, there were just plans. I remember saying to Nat Clark, Coach Clark, who's been just phenomenal as a friend and as a football coach, ‘can you see it?’ We were outside, one day, by the Winkin Complex and he goes, ‘no, I can't’, but it really came to fruition pretty quick and it was just exciting.”

Furthermore, Price has brought a winning mentality to everything in his path, winning two football state championships with Bangor High School in 1979 and 1981 and owning many successful businesses in the Bangor area. 

His impact on those around him goes beyond the gridiron, shaping many athletes, coaches and community members into the successful adults they are today. 

“I certainly love all people, but certainly student-athletes, I just really respect them,” acknowledged Price. “It's a great amount of time from all sports and I just really respect them, the time they give. So, it's easy when you respect and like them. I like that kind of personality that, maybe in return, that they know I like them, appreciate them and respect them a great deal and I’m very thankful for all the student-athletes at Husson.” 

“That might have been it,” continued Price. “It's being a good person and caring about other people and if you see a need, fulfilling that need, whatever it may be. Most of the time, it’s just saying, good morning, have a great day, good luck, knowing something about them. I think the thing about Husson, in most places in the world, everybody has a story. I think if we just take a minute and I mean that in a very positive manner, if you just take a second and hear their story, you have an even greater respect. You don't get to this college, any college, without somebody loving you. Somebody back home loves these student-athletes, whether it's their parents, a relative, a grandmother, grandfather, they love them. It's something we have to help them with and understand.”

On the gridiron, Price brought football back to Husson, coaching in his first stint from 2003-08 before stepping away from the program before returning in 2013. One year after Price returned to the sideline, Husson captured its first conference title and went on to win five-straight before Price stepped away from coaching. 

“There was a need there, and I thought we had some good players and good things,” noted Price. “I didn't think I was the answer, but I certainly believed in it very much. I believed in the potential, believed in how good we had been, in terms of giving opportunity to young people. The mindset was just to settle things down, the numbers were way down, to get the numbers back up and the players back up and I thought they'd follow. There's a lot of good players, every time we lose players in recruiting, everybody sometimes gets down, but, there's a lot of good players. You just have to find the right fit and I thought Husson was the right fit for successful players and students and just for the school.”

When Price stepped away from Husson following the 2018 season he had coached 15 All-Americans, three conference offensive player of the year selections, five defensive player of the year recipients, three conference offensive lineman of the year winners and one special teams player of the year honoree, in addition to 74 all-conference selections and 72 all-academic team recipients. 

Additionally, Price had three players finish as finalists for the Cliff Harris Award — given to the small college national defensive player of the year — and one Gagliardi Trophy semifinalist, which recognizes the DIII player in the nation. 

The 2017 New England Football Writers DII/DIII Coach of the Year mentored 15 All-New England selections and one New England DII/DIII player of the year. 

However, Price's impact on the Eagles and the Bangor Community can still be seen today, whether it’s helping youth quarterbacks learn to properly throw a football, to working with high school and college quarterbacks, in the offseason. Price continues to serve as a positive leader and influence in the greater Bangor area.

“None of us were perfect, the coaches or players,” concluded Price. “But boy, they were appreciative. I think that the one common denominator and this is about Nat as well, that we don't think anybody owes us anything. I think that's something I'm proud of. We either earn it or we don't get what we get. But people don't owe us anything. I felt like that with our players. They were appreciative.”