BOCA RATON, Fla. — Florida Atlantic softball coach Joan Joyce, the only coach in the program’s 28-year history and whose numerous claims to fame consisted of once punching Ted Williams, has died, the school announced Sunday .
Joyce died Saturday, the school said, without disclosing the cause. She was 81.
“Joan was a true sports legend and we are grateful for the 28 years she spent here exemplifying the best personal and professional behavior for our student-athletes,” said FAU President John Kelly. “Joan’s legacy will live on at university and across the country through the generations of young women she inspired to play softball and golf – and excel at them.”
Joyce was inducted into the International Women’s Sports Hall of Fame in 1989. She was a member of the LPGA Tour for 19 years – she only needed 17 putts to get through a round in 1982 – and was also the women’s golf coach at FAU from 1996 until 2014.
But undoubtedly the thing she was most asked about in her life was the 1961 exhibition in Waterbury, Connecticut, where she defeated Williams, the last MLB player to bat .400 in a season.
“No matter where I go in this world, I always have people come up to me and say, ‘You beat Ted Williams,'” Joyce said in 2009. “It always happens.”
Joyce officially turned 1,000 earlier this season. Credited for softball win at FAU, despite not having been with the Owls since preseason. Joyce was not on the team this spring after undergoing medical treatment, the school said. Assistant head coach Chan Walker acted as coach.
Joyce’s career record at FAU was 1,002-674-1. She led the Owls to 11 NCAA postseason tournaments and was named Conference Coach of the Year eight times.