Is Joan Joyce Still Alive?

Joan Joyce died on March 27, 2022 at the age of 81.

As the school stated on Sunday, Joan Joyce, the only Florida Atlantic softball coach in the program’s 28-year history who could lay claim to striking out Ted Williams, has passed away.

The cause of Joyce’s death has not been revealed, according to the school.

In 1989, the International Women’s Sports Hall of Fame honored Joyce with a star on its wall. She played on the LPGA Tour for 19 years and needed only 17 putts to finish a round in 1982.

From 1996 to 2014, she was the head coach of Florida Atlantic University’s women’s golf team.

Coach Joan Joyce Records

During her career, she set numerous records in the sport that have yet to be broken:

Coach Joan Joyce still retains the Guinness World Record for the fewest putts in a single round with 17, according to the Guinness Book of World Records.

Joan had also earned records as a golfer on the LPGA Tour and as a member of the USA women’s national basketball team.

  • Most consecutive all-star team selections (18)
  • Eight-time MVP in the National Tournament (1961, 1963, 1968, 1971 (co-MVP), 1973, 1974, and 1975)
  • Most victories in a season (42) (in 1974)
  • Two no-hit, no-run games in National Tournament (four times)
  • Shutouts in a season (38 in 1974)
  • Most innings pitched in a game (29 in 1968 against Perkasie)
  • Career doubles (153)
  • Doubles in a season (22 in 1968)
  • Career triples (67)
  • Brakettes team batting champion (1960, 1962, 1967–69, 1973)
  • Highest batting average (.467 in 1971)

Coach Joan Joyce Awards and Achievements

1957 Selected as an Amateur Softball Association All-American, the first of 18 consecutive years
1974 First woman honored with a Gold Key from the Connecticut Sports Writers Alliance
1975 Named Bill Lee Male Athlete of the Year
1983 Inducted into the National Softball Hall of Fame
1989 Inducted into the International Women’s Sports Hall of Fame
1991 Inducted into the Hank O’Donnell Sports Hall of Fame
1995 Named Atlantic Sun Conference Softball Coach of the Year, the first of five times
1995 Named Palm Beach County (Florida) Coach of the Year
1996 Inducted into the Palm Beach County (Florida) Sports Hall of Fame
1997 Inducted into the Waterbury (Connecticut) Hall of Fame
1997 Inducted into the Connecticut Sports Museum Hall of Fame
1998 Inducted into the Connecticut High School Coaches Association Hall of Fame
1999 Inducted into the New England Women’s Sports Hall of Fame
1999 Inducted into the International Softball Federation Hall of Fame