Spotlight - Joyce Hardy

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Posted by: Content Administrator	2/25/2007
It would be nearly impossible to write a spotlight on Joyce Hardy. In that vein, we have decided to “spotlight” Joyce by reprinting things that have been written about her and anecdotes and stories told by her closest Rice friends, her son Larry, and RUBPA members. Please enjoy the text and pictures and be sure to give Joyce a great big hug the next time you see her at the Reck. From the May 8, 2003 Rice News: Hardy-McDonald, Walters awarded Gold Medals ........................................................................... BY DANA BENSON Special to the Rice News Joyce Pounds Hardy-McDonald She’s known as “the bubblegum lady” and “the air-conditioning lady.” And now, Joyce Pounds Hardy-McDonald is known as a Gold Medal winner. Hardy-McDonald ’45 was awarded this highest honor bestowed to alumni by the Association of Rice Alumni for her commitment to Rice, particularly its athletic programs. Rice Board of Trustees member Karen Ostrum George ’77, who nominated Hardy-McDonald for the Gold Medal, commented, “[Joyce’s] dedication to Rice’s student-athletes is amazing.” But Hardy-McDonald thinks it’s the student-athletes themselves who are amazing. “These students aren’t going for basket-weaving degrees,” she said. “They’re majoring in fields like biochemistry, and it’s very tough.” She knows that firsthand because her youngest son, Larry, was a Rice student-athlete. When Larry was on the Rice baseball team in the 1970s, Hardy-McDonald’s interest in that sport grew. In 1975, she started bringing bubblegum to the ballplayers — a treat she continues to deliver today — because she and her husband didn’t want to see their son and his teammates chewing tobacco. While baseball is her favorite sport, Hardy-McDonald holds women’s athletics at Rice dear to her heart. She began to take a special interest in women’s varsity athletics at Rice after she was elected to the board of the Association of Rice Alumni (ARA) and served as chairman of the ARA’s Athletic Committee. “I began to get upset because women’s athletics at Rice suffered from a lack of organization,” said Hardy-McDonald, who became the first woman president of the ARA in 1978. “I scrapped and kicked shins to get something done about it, and today women’s varsity athletics at Rice has come a long way.” Hardy-McDonald still is a member of the Rice Women’s Athletic Advisory Board, which raises money for women’s athletics, and in 1974 her husband established the Joyce Pounds Hardy Award, which honors the outstanding female athlete each year. Self-described as “always one to stir up trouble,” she took on the issue of the lack of air conditioning at the Rice gymnasium in 1989, when she was serving on the Rice Board of Trustees, of which she was a member from 1986 to 1990. The administration didn’t pay much attention to her, so she took the challenge on by herself, forming a fund-raising committee with the goal of raising $1 million and ultimately getting the gym air-conditioned in 1992. Athletics is certainly not Hardy-McDonald’s only interest. An author of three books, she loves writing, especially poetry, and endowed a poetry prize awarded annually to a Rice student. In addition to the Gold Medal, Hardy-McDonald also received the ARA’s Meritorious Service Award in 1998. She was the first woman elected as an honorary member of the “R” Association and the first woman to receive the Distinguished “R” Award and the Distinguished Owl Club Award, the highest honor given by the Rice Athletic Department. Editor’s note from the Rice football web letter for which Joyce writes a weekly editorial: Joyce Pounds Hardy-McDonald graduated from the Institute in its football glory days. She sent a whole generation of Hardy children to Rice, as both students and student- athletes -- that familiarly named classmate of yours was almost surely one of them. Joyce has been among Rice's most omnipresent, loyal, never-say-die fans since before most of you were born -- and you'd better believe she's managed to develop an opinion or two about Rice athletics over the years. From Larry Hardy, Joyce’s son and former Rice baseball player: My mother’s contributions to the baseball program at Rice date back to the early seventies and have continued, without a break, to this day. As some of you may know, Joyce almost single-handedly got the original Cameron Field funded in the eighties. She kicked some shins at the Cameron Steel Foundation and with their generosity, the first steps were taken in upgrading facilities at Rice. But her earlier efforts, during the mid-seventies, came at a time when the baseball program was teetering on the edge. There was no revenue; games were free to the public. She, along with some player’s mothers, wives and girlfriends passed around coffee cans painted blue at some of the games to raise enough money to buy the basics needed to fund the team. She was instrumental in the push to enclose the field to allow the team to, finally, collect ticket revenue…one of the first steps in establishing an enduring baseball program at Rice. From Bob Reinhold, long-time Rice fan and one of Joyce’s closest Rice friends: Of course Joyce is one of my favorite all-time people. We've been together at Rice games (football, men's and women’s basketball and baseball) for many years. A lot of fans don't know it, but Joyce spearheaded the raising of one million dollars to air condition Autry Court. When Cameron Field was opened they were selling tickets off a card table outside the stadium. Joyce said, "We need a ticket booth" so they asked her for the funds. So she had Hardy's Hut built to sell tickets. Then Joyce said, "How can we have a baseball field without a flagpole? She got the same answer; so guess who paid for the flagpole. She then thought of a few other things that were needed, but thought she better keep her mouth shut or she'd go broke. One story that she told was of one of the board of trustees walking around while Cameron was being built. We had overspent, and he asked why we needed a fence. "Can't we just draw a line out in the field" he asked. Luckily we're past those days. Hopefully we can get Joyce off the disabled list pretty quickly. It's just not the same at any game when she's not there. It takes her forever to get to her seat, as she has to hug everyone she sees as she comes in. Joyce loves Rice as much as anyone could. She loves each and every player in every sport, male and female, and nothing thrills her more than seeing a big student turnout at the games. If you don't know Joyce, just go by and say hello. She'll be glad to meet you and give you a big hug. From Steven Herce, former Rice baseball player and fellow redhead: I reckon Joyce took a particular shine to me on account of our both being redheads. Four years of bubblegum and one great big hug after walking across the stage, diploma in hand, and I reckon I took a particular shine to her as well. To be honest though, Joyce hadn’t crossed my mind in two years until a meeting with Julie Griswold following my “retirement” from baseball. I’d always enjoyed writing, whether papers for classes or the occasional letter to the Thresher or Chronicle so, in an attempt to stave off the boredom of pro ball, I took to writing a novel. I’d found during many batting practices that guys liked to hear my stories – some true and some fabricated. I drafted a loosely unified compilation of these stories during my first year of pro ball with the goal of finalizing my story during season two. Well, season two never came and I was back in Houston in search of a career. I sat down with the aforementioned Julie Griswold to talk through what I may want to do with my life and mentioned my love of and interest in writing. She suggested I sit down with Joyce, who as most of you know, is an accomplished poet and novelist. Like so many of her endeavors, Joyce dove right in and filled my manuscript with notes. She offered suggestions on how to go about getting published. While I have to admit, Joyce, the hustle of career, wife and kids has gotten the better of me and put my novel on the extreme back burner, it’s still there on my dresser, your red ink clearly visible. It means the world to me that you took the time to read my modest effort and offer so much constructive criticism. One day, I will get published and you can rest assured that you will be thanked right there on the first page. Joyce is shocked to see the crowd gathered at Fox Gymnasium for her surprise birthday party. Joyce getting and giving hugs at her birthday party. Joyce and Rice University photographer Tommy Lavergne with whom she authored and published Roads to a Forgotten Texas. Joyce stands in for Mrs. Gillespie with former Rice catcher Jon Gillespie on Mother's Day.

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Comments (3)

Re: Joyce Hardy

By Salter on 2/26/2007

When I was a freshman, I would see the bubble gum lady hand off a bag to one of our players and then I would dig in. As the season progressed and the gum arrived without fail, I started to get pieces of the Joyce Hardy-McDonald story. Pretty soon I was timing my warm-up and pre-game preparation so that I would get to hug Joyce when she handed the gum over the dugout rail. You see, the gum is great, but it's more of a symbol of what Joyce stands for and of what to expect from Rice University - sustained love and support. Thanks for everything, Joyce.
-- Jon Skaggs

Re: Joyce Hardy	By pghutz11 on 2/26/2007
What would Rice Baseball be without Joyce Hardy-McDonald??? Joyce, you personify the spirit within each Rice player, the friendly, nurturing atmosphere that Reckling Park now provides, and the class of our distinguished university. I hope you understand how important your dedication to our program is to all of us and how much we appreciate your continued support. -- Phillip Ghutzman

Re: Joyce Hardy	By rdeleeuw on 3/4/2007
A tremendous person who has the best "can do" attitude of anybody I have ever met. A true friend who served as absentee mother for a lot of Rice players. Who else could have produced a son like Larry?