Season Recap

The Connecticut Falcons were the clear-cut favorite at the start of the 1976 season to win the first IWPSA’s World Series. The reason? Her name was Joan Joyce and she’s probably the greatest softball player who ever lived. And the Falcons did not disappoint. They finished the regular season with a league best 85-33 record. They swept through the Eastern Division playoffs eliminating the Chicago Ravens in 3 straight and captured the World Series by defeating the San Jose Sunbirds in 4 straight.

Joyce, the 17-time first team ASA All-American as an amateur, did nothing to disprove her superiority in her first pro season as she won 39 games and ranked first in earned run average, strikeouts and percentage. As a part-time batter, Joyce, the manager of the Falcons, was second in the league in runs batted in.

The reason Joyce was only a part-time batter is because of the dominance of good hitters throughout the Falcons lineup. Four players – second basewoman Willie Roze, shortstop Sharon Backus, outfield Kathy Krygier and first basewoman Joyce Compton were starters on the East All-Star team. When you add a pair of .300 hitters to that group, Donna Terry and Irene Shea, it’s easy to see why the Falcons swept to the East crown with the best record in the league.

Joyce hurled four no hitters during the season and two perfect games and Kathy Neal, also an All-Star selection, added another to the Falcons’ totals. Joyce also led the league in wins (39 – tied with Nancy Welborn of San Diego), ERA (0.13) and strikeouts (494). Kathy Krygier led the league in hits (139) and doubles (24) and Joyce Compton led the league in RBIs (67).