Claude "Pop" Joyner

Induction:

2008

  • R.J. Reynolds’ First Baseball Coach

  • President, North Carolina High School Athletic Association (NCHSAA), 1946-47

  • NCHSAA Executive Committee, 1948-62

  • Member, NCHSAA Board of Control

  • Credited with writing NCHSAA original constitution and bylaws

  • Inductee, Winston-Salem/Forsyth County High School Sports Hall of Fame 1983

Raised in Yadkinville, NC on a farm, “Pop” was one of nine children. A 1920 UNC graduate (and later earning his Master’s in 1945), he came to the new Reynolds High School to coach baseball. Eventually, he headed the Math Department at RJR before becoming principal. He was known as a man with a kind heart and rough exterior. RJR achieved great academic heights during his tenure due, mostly, due to his selection of staff. Mr. Joyner was very accommodating to WWII veterans and Depression dropouts who returned to get their diplomas. Joyner owned the Southside Ballpark before Ernie Shore Feild was built. He retired and continued to live in his house with his wife, Lytle, on Hawthorne Road until his death in 1985.