Don Joyce (American football)
No. 11, 71, 76, 83 | |||||||
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Position: | Defensive end/Defensive tackle | ||||||
Personal information | |||||||
Born: | Steubenville, Ohio, U.S. | October 8, 1929||||||
Died: | February 26, 2012 | (aged 82)||||||
Career information | |||||||
College: | Tulane | ||||||
NFL draft: | 1951 / Round: 2 / Pick: 18 | ||||||
Career history | |||||||
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Career highlights and awards | |||||||
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Career NFL statistics | |||||||
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Player stats at NFL.com |
Don Joyce (October 8, 1929 – February 26, 2012) was an American football defensive end and professional wrestler.[1]
Early life
Joyce was born in
lettered in both 1949 and 1950 and was inducted into the Hall of Fame. He was a member of the Green Wave's last Southeastern Conference championship team in 1949 (Tulane withdrew from the SEC following the 1965 football season). [1]
American football career
In the
NFL championship in 1958 and 1959. Joyce was named to the Pro Bowl following the 1958 season. For the 1961 season, Joyce transferred to the Minnesota Vikings. The following year, Joyce played for the American Football League's Denver Broncos
. He played only six games for the Broncos, and retired after the 1962 season.
Professional wrestling career
Joyce was a
Vince McMahon, Sr. He wrestled exclusively as a face ("good guy") character, owing to his NFL contract which stated he could not work as a heel ("bad guy").[1] He sometime teamed with Gene Lipscomb.[3] During his professional wrestling career, Joyce became a one-time NWA United States Television Champion.[4]
Personal life
Joyce was married and had three children.pistol-whipped, but both made a full recovery.[6]
Joyce died on February 26, 2012, in Mahtomedi, Minnesota, and was buried on March 2.[1]
See also
Footnotes
- ^ )
- ^ Walter Taylor, "Baltimore Colts", in 1958 Pro Football. Los Angeles: Petersen Publishing Co., 1958; pg. 21.
- Washington Afro-American. March 8, 1960. Retrieved December 29, 2012.
- ^ "United States Television Title - Capitol Wrestling". Wrestling-Titles. Retrieved February 7, 2023.
- ^ Walters, Charlie (February 27, 2012). "Shooter Now II: Ex-Viking Don Joyce, once NFL's 'meanest player,' dies at 82". Pioneer Press. Retrieved December 29, 2012.
- Lakeland Ledger. January 16, 1983. Retrieved December 29, 2012.