Joe Albi

Joseph Aloysius Albi (October 5, 1892 – May 8, 1962) was an American attorney and civic leader in Spokane, Washington.

Early years Born in Spokane, he was the son of Garibaldi and Louise (Ottoboni) Albi, immigrants from Italy who arrived in the city several years earlier. He and three brothers (James, John, William) arrived in Spokane in 1887.

The eldest of seven children, Joe Albi was educated in Spokane schools and graduated from Gonzaga College in 1911 . He was accepted to the Georgetown University Law School in Washington, D.C., and graduated in 1915. He returned home to Spokane where he continuously practiced law until his illness, except for two years of military service in the U.S. Army flying corps during World War I. which led the effort to expand the presence of sports in the Spokane area. The fun-loving group was launched in 1920 (the start of Prohibition) and the fast-talking Albi was its continuing president for 42 years. The ART was best known for funding the construction of Memorial Stadium, and renamed Joe Albi Stadium by the city council in the spring of 1962, several weeks before his death.

In golf, the ART brought the PGA Championship to Spokane in 1944 at Manito Country Club and the Esmeralda Open, which debuted in 1943 at Downriver and was a PGA Tour event at Indian Canyon in 1945 and 1947. It also helped establish the U.S. Women's Open, the first edition was played at the Spokane Country Club in 1946, won by Patty Berg. The ART was also key to the construction of the Esmeralda Golf Course; it bought the land in east Spokane and deeded it back to the City of Spokane. In the three-man Republican primary in September, he was runner-up to Wenatchee fruit rancher Walt Horan,

Personal Albi married the former Mazie Lyons (1896–1967) of Washington, D.C., in 1918 in San Antonio, Texas, while he was in the Army. They had four children, Joseph A. Albi, Jr. (1920–1932), John Lionel Albi (1921–1923), Jaclyn Albi Flaherty (1923–2023) , and Jean Joseph (J.J) Albi (1927–2011). At the time of his death, Albi had eight grandchildren and his five surviving siblings all lived in Spokane. and was active in many local organizations including the American Legion, Kiwanis, Elks, and Knights of Columbus. Seated several rows above the field in the southwest corner bleachers , the slightly-larger-than-life Joe is often adorned in the school colors of competing teams.