Joyce Barnes cCoy(October 18, 1925 – July 22, 2017) was a former

All-American Girls Professional Baseball League The All-American Girls Professional Baseball League (AAGPBL) was a professional women's baseball league founded by Philip K. Wrigley, which existed from 1943 to 1954. The AAGPBL is the forerunner of women's professional league sports in the Uni ...

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, ...

. Listed at 5' 8", 125 lb., she batted and threw right-handed.All-American Girls Professional Baseball League – Joyce McCoy
Retrieved 2019-03-26. Born in

Hutchinson, Kansas Hutchinson is the largest city in and the county seat of Reno County, Kansas, Reno County, Kansas, United States. The city is located on the Arkansas River. It has been home to salt mines since 1887 (thus its nickname of "Salt City") but locals ...

, Barnes attended Buhler High School in

Reno County, Kansas Reno County is a County (United States), county located in the U.S. state of Kansas. Its county seat and largest city is Hutchinson, Kansas, Hutchinson. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 61,898. The county ...

. All-American girl loves her baseball
''The Hutchinson News''. Retrieved on March 29, 2017. She was one of the sixty founding members of the AAGPBL for its inaugural season in 1943.Joyce Barnes McCoy – Interview transcript and video, 2009
''Digital Collections''. Retrieved 2019-03-26. Barnes joined the

Kenosha Comets The Kenosha Comets were a women's professional baseball team based in Kenosha, Wisconsin that played from through in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League. The team played their home games at Kenosha's Lake Front Stadium, but l ...

club when she was only 17 years old, which is why she spent only a brief time in the league. She then returned to high school in 1944, where she showed off her athleticism in basketball, softball, volleyball and track and field. After baseball, Barnes pursued a career as an

optician An optician is an individual who fits glasses or contact lenses by filling a refractive prescription from an optometrist or ophthalmologist. They are able to translate and adapt ophthalmic prescriptions, dispense products, and work with acces ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. She then married William Gilbert McCoy, and they had a girl, Susan. She continued to play softball and also took up golf after retiring, while attending AAGPBL Players Association reunions in different parts of the country. Joyce Barnes is part of the AAGPBL permanent display at the

Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum The National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum is a history museum and hall of fame in Cooperstown, New York, operated by a private foundation. It serves as the central collection and gathering space for the history of baseball in the United S ...

Cooperstown, New York Cooperstown is a village in and the county seat of Otsego County, New York, United States. Most of the village lies within the town of Otsego, but some of the eastern part is in the town of Middlefield. Located at the foot of Otsego Lake in ...

, opened in 1988, which is dedicated to the entire league rather than any individual figure. Banes died July 22, 2017, in

Sources

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Barnes, Joyce 1925 births 2017 deaths All-American Girls Professional Baseball League players Kenosha Comets players Baseball players from Kansas Sportspeople from Hutchinson, Kansas 21st-century American women