Terrance Patrick Joyce (July 18, 1954 – June 17, 2011) was an

American football American football, referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada and also known as gridiron football, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular American football field, field with goalposts at e ...

player. A punter, he played two seasons professionally with the

NFL The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The N ...

St. Louis Cardinals The St. Louis Cardinals are an American professional baseball team based in St. Louis. The Cardinals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Centra ...

in the 1970s. Terry Joyce was the father of Brandon Joyce, an offensive tackle for the

Minnesota Vikings The Minnesota Vikings are a professional American football team based in Minneapolis. The Vikings compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. Founded in 1960 as ...

and

Toronto Argonauts The Toronto Argonauts (officially the Toronto Argonaut Football Club and colloquially known as the Argos) are a professional Canadian football team based in Toronto, Ontario. The Argonauts compete in the East Division (CFL), East Division of t ...

Early life and education

Terry Joyce was born in

Kirksville, Missouri Kirksville is the county seat of and most populous city in Adair County, Missouri, United States. Located in Benton Township, Adair County, Missouri, Benton Township, its population was 17,530 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Kirk ...

and grew up in

Edina, Missouri Edina is a city and county seat of Knox County, Missouri, United States, between the North and South Forks of the South Fabius River. As of the 2020 census, its population was 1,012. Geography Edina is located in central Knox County at the in ...

with his parents Pete and Eileen Joyce. Following graduation from Knox County high school in 1972 Joyce attended

Highland Community College (Kansas) Highland Community College (HCC) is a public community college in Highland, Kansas. History The college considers Highland University the precursor to Highland Community College, making it the first college in Kansas. Founding In Novembe ...

, Missouri Southern State and

Wichita State University Wichita State University (WSU) is a public research university in Wichita, Kansas, United States. It is governed by the Kansas Board of Regents. The university offers more than 60 undergraduate degree programs in more than 200 areas of study in ...

. He was a three-sport athlete at Highland, playing

quarterback The quarterback (QB) is a position in gridiron football who are members of the offensive side of the ball and mostly line up directly behind the Lineman (football), offensive line. In modern American football, the quarterback is usually consider ...

tight end The tight end (TE) is an offense (sports), offensive position in American football, arena football, and Canadian football. It is a hybrid that combines the characteristics and roles of both an offensive lineman and a receiver (football), receiv ...

and punter during football season. Additionally, he was a

forward Forward is a relative direction, the opposite of backward. Forward may also refer to: People *Forward (surname) Sports * Forward (association football) * Forward (basketball), including: ** Point forward ** Power forward (basketball) ** Smal ...

and

center Center or centre may refer to: Mathematics *Center (geometry), the middle of an object * Center (algebra), used in various contexts ** Center (group theory) ** Center (ring theory) * Graph center, the set of all vertices of minimum eccentrici ...

on the basketball team and was

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("Pitch (baseball), pitches") the Baseball (ball), baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of out (baseball), retiring a batter (baseball), batter, ...

third baseman A third baseman, abbreviated 3B, is the player in baseball or softball whose responsibility is to defend the area nearest to third base — the third of four bases a baserunner must touch in succession to score a run. In the Baseball scorekeep ...

and

first baseman A first baseman, abbreviated 1B, is the player on a baseball or softball team who fields the area nearest first base, the first of four bases a baserunner must touch in succession to score a run. The first baseman is responsible for the majori ...

on the "Scotties" baseball team. Terry Joyce would finish his college education at

and

Missouri Southern State College Missouri Southern State University (Missouri Southern, MSSU, or MoSo) is a public university in Joplin, Missouri. It was established in 1937 as Joplin Junior College. The university enrolled 4,087 students in Fall 2023. History Missouri Souther ...

. While at Missouri Southern he was voted a football

All-American The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed on outstanding athletes in the United States who are considered to be among the best athletes in their respective sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an Al ...

at tight end and punter, leading the nation in punting average. His football jersey number was retired posthumously at Knox County High School, and it remains Knox County High School's only retired number.

Professional career

Terry Joyce was an

undrafted free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player or manager who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under a contract at present ...

when signed by the Cardinals in 1976. He played in eighteen games over two seasons for St. Louis before being released. Over the next few years Joyce attended training camps with the

Detroit Lions The Detroit Lions are a professional American football team based in Detroit. The Lions compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. The team plays their home game ...

, L.A. Rams and

San Francisco 49ers The San Francisco 49ers (also written as the San Francisco Forty-Niners and nicknamed the Niners) are a professional American football team based in the San Francisco Bay Area. The 49ers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member ...

, but never made the final team rosters. Terry Joyce finished with a career average of 37 yards per punt, with his longest being 58 yards. He had three blocked punts on 86 attempts. In a 2008 interview with the ''

St. Louis Post-Dispatch The ''St. Louis Post-Dispatch'' is a regional newspaper based in St. Louis, Missouri, serving the St. Louis metropolitan area. It is the largest daily newspaper in the metropolitan area by circulation, surpassing the '' Belleville News-Democra ...

'' Joyce said the biggest thrill of his playing days was being a teammate of three NFL Hall of Famers

Dan Dierdorf Daniel Lee Dierdorf (born June 29, 1949) is an American sportscaster and former professional football player. He played 13 seasons (1971–1983) as an offensive tackle for the St. Louis Cardinals of the National Football League (NFL). Dierdor ...

Roger Wehrli Roger Russell Wehrli (; born November 26, 1947) is an American former professional football player who spent his entire 14-year career as a cornerback for the St. Louis Cardinals of the National Football League (NFL) from 1969 until 1982. He wa ...

, and

Jackie Smith Jackie Larue Smith (born February 23, 1940) is an American former professional football player who was a tight end in the National Football League (NFL) for the St. Louis Cardinals and the Dallas Cowboys. He played college football for the No ...

. ''Not too many guys can say that in a short career'' said Joyce.

Death

Terry Joyce died of brain cancer on June 17, 2011. He was one of at least 345 NFL players to be diagnosed after death with chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), which is caused by repeated hits to the head. His death came less than a year after the murder of son Brandon Joyce, who was shot during a robbery on Christmas Eve, 2010 and died four days later. Terry Joyce is survived by wife Linda and daughter, Doctor Lindsay Joyce, MD.

Honors

College football All-American The College Football All-America Team is an honor given annually to the best college football players in the United States at their respective positions. The original use of the term ''All-America'' seems to have been to the 1889 College Football ...

*Member, Highland Community College Hall of Fame. Inducted August 1999.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Joyce, Terry 1954 births 2011 deaths Deaths from brain cancer in the United States People from Kirksville, Missouri American football tight ends American football punters Wichita State Shockers football players Missouri Southern Lions football players St. Louis Cardinals (football) players Players of American football from Missouri People from Edina, Missouri