Dick Joyce (baseball)

Richard Edward Joyce (November 18, 1943 – January 23, 2007) was a pitcher who played in Major League Baseball during the 1965 season. Listed at 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m), 225 pounds (102 kg), Joyce batted and threw left-handed. He was signed by the Kansas City Athletics out of the College of the Holy Cross.

A native of Portland, Maine, Joyce was a basketball and baseball star at Cheverus High School. In 1961, after his graduation, the Boston Red Sox offered him a $100,000 signing bonus – an astounding figure at the time – but he rejected it down to attend Holy Cross. He appeared in the 1962 and 1963 College World Series, alongside future entrepreneur John Peterman, and also was a member of the baseball team that played in the 1964 Olympics.

In December 1964, Joyce signed with the Athletics for a reported $40,000. He started his professional career in 1965 with the Double-A Birmingham Barons and joined the big team late in the season. He posted a 0–1 record with a 2.77 ERA in five games, including three starts, seven strikeouts and four walks in 13.0 innings pitched.

After that, Joyce developed arm troubles and never pitched again. Following his playing retirement, he developed a long career as an IBM executive.

Joyce died in Raleigh, North Carolina at age 63, shortly after undergoing a pair of heart surgeries.^[1]

Achievements

• At Cheverus, won three straight Telegram League titles, including the 1961 baseball team that went 16–0 in the era before state playoffs. In the three-year span he went 22–8, and his American Legion record was 38–5.
• Also started on Cheverus' 1961 state title basketball team.
• Is a member of the Cheverus and Holy Cross Halls of Fame.
• In 1977 was inducted in the Maine Baseball Hall of Fame, joining his father, Jabber Joyce, who also was a pitching legend.

Sources

• Baseball Reference
• BR Bullpen
• Historic Baseball
• Retrosheet
• Maine Today Obituary

References