Camden High baseball honors slain former player, retires his No. 12 for season

CAMDEN – With a purple No. 12 jersey hanging in the dugout and several players with the number drawn on their wristbands as reminders, the Camden High School baseball team is playing out this season with heavy hearts. Joshwa Boston, a senior on last year’s club, was murdered in the Kensington section of Philadelphia in the early morning hours on May 4, according to head coach Greg Gasparovic.

The Panthers dedicated the remainder of the season to their former teammate, retiring his No. 12 until the final out of the spring. “It was tragic and these kids are dealing with unthinkable adversity,” said Gasparovic, who is in his fourth season as Camden’s head coach.

“We met as a team and decided to retire his number. The player who was wearing it understood the situation and gave the number up. We’ve been hanging it in the dugout and have been thinking about him.

It's brought us good luck lately. ” While Boston didn't play a ton of innings during his career with Camden, he was a popular player on the team. He also came back in recent weeks to talk to his former teammates and catch a few games, keeping in constant contact with the program.