For those of you who never had the chance to meet Joel, we want to share some background about this talented and special young man. Joel was born and raised in Tioga, Pennsylvania, a small town about fifteen minutes north of Mansfield.
His parents are Ron and Joyce Stephens. He has two brothers, Aaron (wife, Nicole, and daughters Gabriella, Gracie and Joelanna) and David (wife, Sonia), and a sister, Lindsay.
Joel was involved with sports at an early age with his exposure to wrestling in the second grade at R.B. Walter Elementary School. He became competitive in a relatively short period of time, winning many local and state tournament titles as a young boy and into junior high school. His final record was 423 wins and 29 losses over a five-year period. Some of his wrestling accomplishments included three Junior State Championship, a Junior Olympic Championship, and two Silver Medals at Nationals. During his younger years, he also played little league baseball in Tioga, PA, and Small Fry football in Corning, NY. Once again, Joel paired his God-given talent with hard work, self-discipline, and determination to become highly competitive and successful in these new sports as well.
In his junior high years, his interest focused more towards baseball and football. The school he was attending did not offer these sports at that time, so he transferred to Elmira Notre Dame High School. It was also during this time that Joel seemed to grow by leaps and bounds — academically, athletically, and spiritually. During his freshman year, he played basketball, football, and baseball. That summer, he participated in wrestling and baseball at the Keystone State Games. The next football season at Notre Dame he began to emerge as one of the premiere running backs in the entire area when he rushed for over one thousand yards as a sophomore. He also had a very successful basketball and baseball season. The following summer, he played legion baseball in Corning, NY, and again competed in the Keystone State Games in baseball and basketball. His junior football season was even more exciting with over 1400 yards rushing and exceptional play at the safety position on defense. That summer he played legion baseball with Corning and had the special privilege of being chosen to play for the Eastern USA Junior Olympic Baseball Team at Bush Stadium in St. Louis, MO., where he batted .333 against some of the best pitchers in America. That summer he again qualified to play baseball and basketball in the Keystone State Games.
Many Division I colleges began recruiting Joel for baseball and football after his junior year, and interest intensified during the summer and fall of his senior year.
After his senior football season in which he gained over 1700 yards and set several local and state records, it was time to choose a college. He had narrowed it down to Clemson for baseball and Syracuse or Maryland for football. Each offered him a full scholarship with Maryland asking him to play both sports. In December, after much thought and prayer, he signed a letter of intent to play baseball for Clemson University. But that spring, major league baseball scouts started talking to Joel very seriously about signing to play professional ball.
Eight different teams expressed interest in drafting Joel, and his spring baseball season was a whirlwind of scouts following him throughout the season. Then the Baltimore Orioles drafted Joel in the ninth round of the 1995 June draft, which made for a major decision…college or professional ball. After one month of negotiations, he signed a contract and left for Florida. He played his first year in the Florida Instructional League.
The second year he moved up to short A Bluefield, where they won the league championship. The third year he moved up another step to the next A team in Delmarva, MD. Again his team took the league championship. But at the end of his third season, the stomach pain he had experienced off and on during the summer became more severe.
Two months later, following the removal of a large tumor, he was diagnosed with colon cancer. He was given less than six months to live. During the following months, Joel’s family, friends, acquaintances, and the Baltimore Orioles organization were there to offer tremendous encouragement and unparalleled support. Then, after a very difficult and courageous battle, Joel’s Heavenly Father took him home on September 30, 1998.
Although Joel is no longer with us physically, he is here in spirit, and his legacy continues to live on in the lives of every talented young athlete who is driven by a true love of the game, who has outstanding sportsmanship, excellence of character, who cares for others on and off the field, who possesses courage in the face of adversity and the strength and total commitment to follow God’s plan for his life. Knowing that others will follow in his footsteps ensures us that Joel’s life and untimely death were not in vain, but instead opportunities to be a positive role model and to share his faith with others.
