Joseph F. Lyles Papers
Collection Scope and Content
The Joseph F. Lyles Papers collection contains materials and information from events during the life of Joseph F. Lyles, including his involvement with the 1952 Harlem Globetrotters World Tour. Materials include website printouts, copies of yearbook pages and newspaper articles, a taped radio interview, pamphlets and brochures, photographs, postcards and two scrapbooks containing photographs, newspaper articles, correspondence, contracts and various memorabilia.
Documents within the collection include materials from Joe’s high school, South Side Catholic High School (now St. Mary’s High School), including a speech given at his induction to its hall of fame by Claude Lyles III; documents from Saint Louis University, including a a copy of Missouri House Resolution No. 52 congratulating the St. Louis University Basketball team of 1949; photographs from his Springfield College graduation, ca.1959 for his Masters of Physical Education; and materials from his time as coach and professor at Washington and Lee University, including a copy of an interview that took place on the Washington and Lee University Radio Station, 91.5 WLUR, radio program “Headsets” with host, Doug Chase. The majority of the collection consists of materials from the 1952 Harlem Globetrotters World Tour, including English and foreign language newspaper articles and photographs. The photographs are mostly contained in a photo album with pictures of the Globetrotters and the New York Celtics, places visited and people met. Just some of the places shown are: London, Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, Eiffel Tower, Arc de Triumph, the grave of General Patton, St. Peter’s in Rome, Egypt, Hong Kong, Athens, Singapore, Tokyo and Osaka. Finally there is a scrapbook that includes materials collected from around1943 through 1957. Consisting of newspaper clippings, correspondence, photographs, pamphlets and many other materials, the scrapbook mainly documents Joe’s time as a college student at St. Louis University and his stints as a professional Baseball and Basketball player, as well as additional information on the 1952 Harlem Globetrotters World Tour.
Dates
- Creation: ca. 1940-2011
- Creation: Majority of material found within 1947-1959
Creator
- Lyles, Joseph F. ('58) (Person)
Terms of Access and Use
Unrestricted
Conditions Governing Use
Rights status not fully evaluated.
Read our full copyright statement.
Biographical Note
Joseph (Joe) F. Lyles was born on Oct. 28, 1929. He died on November 13, 2012 at the age of 83. Joe coached and taught at Washington and Lee University for 50 years. He was also a minor league baseball player and professional basketball player who toured with the Harlem Globetrotters on their 1952 World Tour. In 1958, Joe earned a Bachelor’s Degree from Springfield College and a Master’s Degree in 1959.
Joseph (Joe) F. Lyles, class of 1947, was inducted to the Athletic High School Hall of Fame at St. Mary’s High School (then South Side Catholic High School) in St. Louis, Missouri, on January 27, 1996. Joe was recognized for his outstanding achievements in basketball and baseball. Claude Lyles III introduced Joe and in doing so, told the story of Joe’s life. At the time of his induction, Joe was an Associate Professor of Physical Education and Coordinator of Club Sports at Washington and Lee University in Lexington, Virginia. Joe had served as school’s head coach of baseball for 20 years, head soccer coach for 17 years, and assistant basketball coach for 9 years.
Recognized as a high school standout, Joe earned a basketball scholarship at St. Louis University for the 1947-48 year. At St. Louis, he played both basketball and baseball and was a member of the N.I.T. Championship Basketball Team in his sophomore year. In 1949, Joe left the University to play professional baseball with the St. Louis Browns and professional basketball with the St. Louis, Washington, and Chicago organizations. Joe played with or against Earl Weaver (who was later the manager of the Baltimore Orioles) and Mickey Mantle. Joe also played in the St. Louis Cardinals and New York Giants organizations as pitcher and outfielder until he was sidelined with a back injury.
In 1952, Joe embarked on a world tour as a member of the U.S. All Stars New York Celtics, the first professional team to tour the globe. The Harlem Globetrotters were celebrating their 25th anniversary by touring the World. The teams played in 44 countries in 168 days covering 58,849 miles, playing in such venues as Wembley Stadium in England, the Olympic Stadium in Berlin, and a bull fighting arena in Spain. A highlight of the trip was an audience with Pope Pius XII with time to show the Pope a few drills.
In 1958, Joe earned a Bachelor’s Degree from Springfield College and a Master’s Degree in 1959. As a graduate student at Springfield College, he served as Assistant Baseball Coach and head trainer. In 1959, he accepted a faculty position at Washington and Lee University and as stated above, Joe coached three sports. During his time at Washington and Lee, Joe served on the NCAA Post-Season Selection Committee for baseball and soccer for 12 years, served as National Chairman of NCAA, Division III Collegiate Baseball Committee and he was a member of the Baseball Rules Committee. In fact, he rewrote the College Baseball Rulebook with four other coaches.
Written by Dr. Betty L. Mann, January 2015
- Revisions and suggestions by Jeffrey Monseau, February 2015
Resources used:
Joe Lyles, Legendary W&L Coach, Dies at 83 by Julie Campbell
Washington and Lee University Radio Station, 91.5 WLUR, radio program “Headsets” with host, Doug Chase, Sept. 21, 2011
Induction of Joseph Lyles into St. Mary’s High School sports Hall of Fame, by Claude Lyles III
Extent
2 Linear Feet (3 Boxes)
Language of Materials
English
Abstract
The Joseph (Joe) F. Lyles Papers collection contains materials and information from events during the life of Joseph F. Lyles, including his involvement with the 1952 Harlem Globetrotters World Tour. Joseph Lyles was born on Oct. 28, 1929. He died on November 13, 2012 at the age of 83. Joe coached and taught at Washington and Lee University for 50 years. He was also a minor league baseball player and professional basketball player who toured with the Harlem Globetrotters on their 1952 World Tour. In 1958, Joe earned a Bachelor’s Degree from Springfield College and a Master’s Degree in 1959.
Materials in the collection include copies of yearbook pages and photographs from Joe’s high school, South Side Catholic High School, a copy of Missouri House Resolution No. 52 congratulating the St. Louis University Basketball team of 1949, photographs from his Springfield College graduation, ca.1959, and materials from his time as a coach and professor at Washington and Lee University. The majority of the collection consists of materials from the 1952 Harlem Globetrotters World Tour, including a photo album with pictures of the Globetrotters and the New York Celtics, places visited, and people met. Finally there is a scrapbook that includes materials collected from 1943 through 1957 consisting of materials from his time as a professional Baseball and Basketball player, as well as additional information on the 1952 Harlem Globetrotters World Tour
Arrangement
Materials had no original arrangement. All materials have been digitized. In the process of digitizing the materials, all materials have been numbered. In order to maintain continuity between digital and physical materials, present order should be maintained.
The collection is organized into two series: series 1: Miscellaneous Materials & series 2: Harlem Globetrotters 1952 World Tour scrapbook and papers.
Custodial History
Materials were donated by Claude Lyles, executor of the Estate of Joseph Lyles, on April 22, 2013: Acquisition No. - ACQ-006-2013
Digitized Materials
Browse digitized materials from this collection. This collection is partially digitized.
Note: all documents in the collection except the pages from “Around the World with the Harlem Globetrotters” by David Zinkoff and “Foreign Newspapers from around the world” have been digitized.
Digital Objects Searches
Subject
- Lyles, Joseph F. ('58) (Person)
- Springfield College (Organization)
Cultural context
Topical
Uniform Title
- Chamberlain, Wilt, 1936-1999
- Chase, Doug
- Hickey, Edgar (Ed), 1902-1980
- KOM League (Baseball league)
- Pan American Airways Corporation -- Pan American Airways Corporation -- Clipper Club
- Pan American Airways Corporation -- Pan American Airways Corporation -- Clipper Club
- Pius XII, Pope, 1876-1958
- Posnanski, Joe
- Saperstein, Abe
- South Side Catholic High School
- Springfield College -- 210 Alden Street
- St. Louis University
- St. Mary's High School (Westfield, Mass.)
- Tatum, Reese (Goose)
- WLUR ( Radio Station : Lexington, VA )
- Washington and Lee University
- Zinkoff, Dave, 1910-1985
- Title
- Joseph F. Lyles Papers
- Status
- Completed
- Author
- Jeffrey Monseau & Dr. Betty L. Mann
- Date
- 2015-03
- Description rules
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
- Language of description
- English
- Script of description
- Latin
Revision Statements
- 2022-12: Transferring information from the original Word document to ArchivesSpace.
Repository Details
Part of the Springfield College Archives and Special Collections Repository
Springfield College
Judd Gymnasia
263 Alden Street
Springfield Massachusetts 01109 U.S.A. US
413-748-3309
jmonseau@springfieldcollege.edu