Slingshot!

The Joan Joyce Movie

She is a multi-sport superstar and the greatest female athlete of all time, but no one knows her name because she’s a woman.

About The Film

Slingshot is a timely biopic movie about the greatest female athlete of all time, Joan Joyce. Against all odds, she set national and world records in a multitude of sports, including softball, golf, basketball and bowling. She also earned a countless number of lifetime achievements (such as being inducted into 21 Halls of Fame and starting the Women’s Professional Softball Association with Billie Jean King). 

At a young age, she was told she wasn’t allowed to play little league, because she was a girl. She wasn’t allowed to play professional team sports, because she was a girl. However, these hurdles didn’t stop Joyce, and she went on to excel in softball, basketball, golf, bowling, volleyball, tennis, rowing and more. Joan was ahead of her time. She found a way to excel in women’s sports before Title IX was enacted in 1972. 

“She wasn’t the product of Title IX. She was the inspiration for it. Along with names like Babe Didrikson Zaharias, Althea Gibson, Bertha Tickey, and Billie Jean King, her excellence demanded equality.” Graham Hays.

This is film is an uplifting and heartfelt story about women empowerment . This film celebrates the life of Joan Joyce, tells the story a one-of-a-kind legendary sports figure who is an inspiration for all. Her life story encourages young women to follow their dreams, never give up, and work hard to become all they can be. There will always be athletes who excel in a particular sport, such as Serena Williams or Mia Hamm, but there will never be another Joan Joyce who excelled in multiple sports. Enjoy this true to life story of a young woman who struck out baseball greats Ted Williams and Hank Aaron! 

If she was a man, she would undoubtedly be a household name. No one knows her name because she was a woman.

The world needs to know her name.

Joan Joyce’s Achievements:

to name of few…

  1. 21 Halls of Fame inductions, starring at a very high level in fast-pitch Softball,
Basketball, “power” Volleyball, Golf, Bowling, etc.
  2. 753-42 win-loss record
  3. 150 no-hitters
  4. lifetime Earned Run Average (ERA) of 0.09
  5. 50 perfect games
  6. An incredible Lifetime earned run average of 0.09
  7. Struck out Ted Williams (on several occasions), home run king Hank Aaron, and other
MLB stars (at a young age).
  8. Her pitches were extremely fast—equivalent to a 119-mph baseball, in terms of reaction
time, with an unhittable drop ball and rise ball.
9. Two no-hitters in her first two National Championship games (quarter final 1958 game)
and National Championship game (1958).
  9. Struck out an incredible 67 batters in a Triple Header – all in one day!
  10. Most no-hitters in a World Tournament (3)—(a World Tournament record)
  11. Most perfect games in a World Tournament (2)—(a World Tournament record)
  12. Set an LPGA (women’s) and PGA (men’s) record, needing only 17 putts in one round of golf—a record that still stands after 40 years!
  13. Highly regarded basketball Referee – 34 years
  14. University Golf Coach – 18 years
  15. Florida Atlantic University (FAU) Head Softball Coach – 28 years, Eight-time College
Coach of the Year while at FAU with over 1,000 wins.
  16. A long and distinguished coaching career – over 60 years!
  17. Six-time Brakettes team batting champion—(1960, 1962, 1967, 1968, 1969, 1973), with
a Lifetime batting average of .367. Single-season batting average was .406 in 1973
(ironically tying Ted Williams .406 batting average in 1941).
  18. Co-Founder of the Women’s Professional Softball League, along with Billie Jean King
and Dennis Murphy
  19. Co-Owner, Player, Coach of the Connecticut Falcons professional softball team
  20. Behind Joan’s brilliant pitching, Connecticut Falcons won the Championship in ALL 4
years of the league’s existence.
  21. Set a National Tournament Basketball single-game scoring record of 67 points in 1964
(long before the 3-point shot was established). Played on the 1965 U.S. National Team.
  22. Set a National AAU Basketball record by scoring 44 points in the Eastern Seaboard AAU
Championship (at age 17)
  23. Averaged 30 points per game
  24. At the time, the only woman to make both the Basketball and Softball All-Star teams.
  25. Set an LPGA (women’s) and PGA (men’s) record, needing only 17 putts in one round of
golf—a record that still stands after 40 years!
  26. In front of an overflow crowd of 45,000 in Lanzhou (Lanchow) China, Joan pitched a no-
hitter, barely missing a perfect game. The only batter to reach base for the Chinese team
was by a walk in the third inning.
  27. The “Joan Joyce – Outstanding Pitcher Award” is presented on an annual basis
  28. Softball field was renamed Joan Joyce Field. The field is part of Municipal Stadium
where Joan struck out Ted Williams on several occasions. Also, FAU renamed their
softball field the “Joan Joyce Field”
  29. Joan Joyce league formed in Joan’s honor. One of the very few (if any) athletes to have
both a field and a league named after her.
  30. Only female in the top 3 ranking of Athletes of the Millennium in Connecticut.
  31. No. 2 ranked athlete in Women’s Sports National Magazine’s Athlete of the Year (1976).
Dorothy Hamill was ranked No. 1.
  32. Led the Orange (CA) Lionettes to the 1965 National Championship
  33. Won the bowling competition (181 average) in the nationally ABC televised Superstars
Competition.
  34. The “Joan Joyce–Outstanding Pitcher Award” is presented on an annual basis at the
Women’s Major Softball National Championship tournament to the outstanding pitcher
in the Women’s Major Softball tournament.
  35. “Joan Joyce Day” proclaimed on August 15, 2015 AND September 27, 2022 in
Waterbury, Connecticut.

This is just the tip of the iceberg…

 

Contact

Keely Baisden Knudsen

Co-Writer of Joan Joyce! The Musical, Joan Joyce: The Wonder Girl and Slingshot! The Joan Joyce Movie

Tony Renzoni

Author of Connecticut Softball Legend: Joan Joyce

Co-Writer of Joan Joyce: The Wonder Girl and Slingshot! The Joan Joyce Movie

P.O. Box 2204, Branford, CT 06405

Lauren Salatto-Rosenay

Co-Writer of Joan Joyce! The Musical, Joan Joyce: The Wonder Girl and Slingshot! The Joan Joyce Movie