The ISC is saddened by news this morning of the passing of Hall of Famer Jim Doyle.

Doyle, who was inducted into the ISC Hall of Fame in 2021, was the epitome of longevity in softball. Commencing his at age nine in 1943, the octogenarian displayed his pitching prowess at various levels of fastpitch competition primarily in and around his birthplace of Flint, MI for more than five decades.

Jim’s first league start was at age nine at the strong encouragement of his father Jim Doyle Sr. who inserted him into the lineup of an adult league team – McDonald’s Dairy Boys in Flushing, MI. It would be 36 more years when, in 1979 at age 45, Jim made his inaugural ISC appearance in Bakersfield CA. That was the first of six World Tournaments (others included Tempe AZ 1980, Saginaw MI 1981, Bakersfield CA 1983, Kimberly WI 1985 and Victoria BC 1990) spanning a dozen summers. All of the teams he competed with in the ISC were there only because Jimmy Doyle was pitching for them.

In his final ISC WT in Victoria, Jim established a record as the oldest pitcher, at age 56, to post a victory in an ISC WT game. Jim tossed a tidy five-hitter as his Ludington MI Schoenherr Investments team shut down the Shelbyville IN Sting 1-0 in eight innings. During Jim’s half-century of toeing the rubber, and competing in a variety of levels of fastpitch from local leagues to ASA Class “C” to the ISC and ASA national championships, Jim pitched in excess of 2,000 wins along with more than 200 no-hitters (his first one in 1956 in league play in Flint) and a very impressive 26 perfect games, including one in 1958 on the day that his son Jimmy was born. Losses totaled about 200, which resulted in a winning average hovering around .900!

At one time, Jim, the oldest of a family of ten athletic boys, played on the same Class AA team in Flint as his brothers Bill, Bob, Chuck, Ed and twins Joe and John. The team’s manager was their father Jim Doyle Sr. of course!

Jim also excelled in boxing, winning the middleweight championships of Flint and the state of Michigan in both 1955 and 1959. Another competitive outlet was driving stock cars on racetracks throughout Michigan.

We extend our condolences to the Doyle family at this time.