Happy Birthday to those who have passed on and to those great wrestlers still with us:
In Memoriam:
Red Roberts 1913
Ray Mendoza 1929
Cocoa Samoa 1944
Happy Birthday:
Chick Donovan (79)
Sgt. Craig Pittman (67)
Bruce Prichard (63)
Tylene Buck\Major Gunns (54)
Cody Deaner (44)
Jacob Fatu (34)
Tyler Bate (29)
RIP Memorial: We stop & remember those who have passed on this day and gave themselves to the business for us, the fans. We salute you and thank you.
Billy Wolfe 3-7-1963 at the age of 66
Paul Boesch 3-7-1989 at the age of 76
Troy Graham 3-7-2002 at the age of 52
Ron Bass 3-7-2017 at the age of 68
Dick Beyer\The Destroyer 3-7-2019 at the age of 88
Sonny Boy Hayes 3-7-2022 at the age of 71
The Life & Career of Don Joyce
He stood 6-foot-3 and 253 pounds, the Steubenville, Ohio native was a blue-collar powerhouse who helped define the golden era of NFL defense before supplementing his modest football salary by wrestling as a fan-favorite “face” during the off-season. His story is one of toughness on the field, loyalty off it, and quiet resilience in later life.
Born to James and Frances Joyce in the hard-working mill town of Steubenville, Donald Gilbert Joyce starred for the Big Red high-school team, playing end as a junior and quarterback/punter as a senior. He continued his athletic career at Tulane University, lettering as a defensive end in 1949 and 1950 on the Green Wave’s last Southeastern Conference championship squad. His college exploits earned him All-America recognition and, decades later, induction into Tulane’s Athletic Hall of Fame in 1979.
The NFL came calling in 1951 when the Chicago Cardinals selected Joyce in the second round (18th overall). He spent three seasons in the Windy City as a defensive end and tackle, starting regularly by 1952 and quickly earning a reputation for physicality. In one memorable 1952 opener, he was ejected alongside future Hall of Famer Sammy Baugh after a fight; later that season he sacked Philadelphia’s Bobby Thomason in the end zone for a safety. Before the 1954 season the Cardinals traded him to the Baltimore Colts, where his career truly blossomed.
In Baltimore, Joyce anchored the right defensive end spot alongside legends Gino Marchetti, Art Donovan, and “Big Daddy” Gene Lipscomb. Their unit—sometimes called the prototype for the later “Fearsome Foursome”—led the league in defensive metrics and powered the Colts to back-to-back NFL championships in 1958 and 1959. Joyce started in both title games, most famously recovering a fumble by New York Giants running back Frank Gifford in the 1958 “Greatest Game Ever Played,” setting up a touchdown in the sudden-death overtime classic that launched the NFL into the television era. He earned Pro Bowl honors in 1958 (replacing an injured Marchetti) and appeared in 81 regular-season games for the Colts alone. Teammates revered him: wide receiver Raymond Berry called Joyce “one of our toughest guys” and “the backbone” of a defense that consistently gave the offense second chances.
After the Colts released him, Joyce was selected by the expansion Minnesota Vikings in 1961 and started seven games before finishing his playing days with the AFL’s Denver Broncos in 1962 (six games). Over 12 professional seasons he recorded one interception and five fumble recoveries, but his true value lay in the intangibles—size, strength, and an unrelenting motor that opponents simply could not block straight on.
Football salaries in the 1950s were modest—Joyce never earned more than about $12,000 a year—so in 1956 he began wrestling during the NFL off-season to support his growing family. Working primarily in the Baltimore–Washington territory for promoter Vincent J. McMahon (father of WWE’s Vince McMahon), he debuted as a clean-cut “face” because his NFL contract forbade him from playing a villainous “heel.” Nicknamed “the Champ,” Joyce won the NWA United States Television Championship once and occasionally tagged with his Colts teammate Big Daddy Lipscomb. Their real-life friendship translated to the ring; in 1960 the pair even applied for California wrestling licenses together. Joyce’s daughter Carrin later recalled seeing the championship belt that “wouldn’t fit around his waist” because of his massive frame. He wrestled only as long as football allowed; injuries and the travel demands after moving to Minnesota ended his grappling days.
Retirement from the ring and field did not mean retirement from football. Joyce coached and taught physical education at Minneapolis’s DeLaSalle High School for several years before embarking on a three-decade scouting career. He began with the Vikings, spent nearly 20 years as a regional and national scout with the BLESTO combine, and served seven seasons as head area scout for the Indianapolis Colts until 1995. Colleagues praised his thorough evaluations and calm demeanor; former Colts executive Bill Tobin called him “a real giant in the NFL” with “a knack for scouting.” In 1988 he was ranked the eighth-best scout in the league by a panel of general managers.
Off the field Joyce was the antithesis of his on-field reputation. Teammates described him as laid-back, introverted, and immensely popular—a gentleman who fostered team camaraderie. His legendary appetite became team lore: he once defeated Gino Marchetti in a fried-chicken-eating contest by downing 38 pieces to Marchetti’s 26, then polished off the entire side-dish spread while still “watching his weight.” He loved alligator and frog legs, even buying his son a pet alligator on a leash. Yet beneath the gentle giant exterior lay extraordinary toughness. In 1983, while scouting the Senior Bowl in Mobile, Alabama, Joyce and his wife Sharon were held up at gunpoint in a Missouri motel. With his hands bound and the intruder attempting to assault Sharon, the 53-year-old former lineman broke free, charged the gunman, and was shot twice—once through the back and once in the chest—before subduing the attacker. Both he and Sharon survived.
Joyce was married to Sharon and raised four children: Cathy, Don Jr., Carrin, and Bobby. He is survived by his wife, three children, eight grandchildren, and two great-grandchildren.
Don Joyce passed away peacefully on February 26, 2012, in Mahtomedi, Minnesota, at age 82. His funeral was held at St. Andrew’s Lutheran Church.
One Thing I Learned About Ron Bass
After retiring from full-time wrestling in the early 1990s due to nagging injuries from years on the road, he went back to school and earned a bachelor’s degree in science from Arkansas State University.
He used that degree to become a successful sales rep for a major construction supply company in Tampa, Florida. He also sold Amway products, took up golf, found religion, and built a stable “normal” life—something he proudly contrasted with wrestlers who struggled to move on, saying things like “There was life after wrestling for me.”
Thank You for Reading
I’m Tony Richards, Pro Wrestling Historian, Author and Storyteller. I share pro wrestling historical items in each issue of the Time Tunnel Pro Wrestling History Newsletter. Thanks for reading! If you enjoy my information on select events, matches and insights, please share it with folks you think might like to be a subscriber!
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