Laurie Barth '72

Women's Basketball, 1968-72

Class of 2015

Laurie Barth entered St. Joseph’s in 1968 after graduating from Christ the King High School in Middle Village, where she played on the varsity basketball team for two seasons. She was fortunate to attend SJC thanks to a New York State Regents Scholarship and an award from the New York State Governor’s Committee on Scholastic Achievement.

Over her illustrious career, which spanned from 1968 to 1972, Barth was a starter in all four seasons, named captain in her junior and senior years, and helped lead St. Joseph’s to winning campaigns in each season. In February 1972, she scored her 1,000th career point at home against St. John’s University, becoming the first woman in the NYC metropolitan area to achieve that milestone.

Barth would finish her career averaging nearly 25 points per game and amassing 1,020 points, setting a city record that stood for more than three seasons. Barth’s teammates were quick to praise her talent, as evidenced by this statement from Marilyn Jaeckel: “If women’s sports at the time Laurie played were given the same recognition as they are today, she definitely would have played at a Division I school and possibly even the WNBA.”

After graduating SJC with a B.A. in English and a minor in Secondary Education in 1972, Barth taught at St. Pascal’s, Stella Maris and St. Joseph’s High Schools, where she also coached the varsity basketball team for two seasons. She then made a career change, working 24 years in the communications industry. Starting at New York Telephone Company, she spent 18 years in information technology in various roles.

Barth’s work career has come full circle, currently working for the NYC Department of Education in the Office of Travel Training in District 75, working with special needs students, ages 16-21. Barth continued her athletic pursuits playing in team sports until the late 1990s and served as a board member for Woman Athletes of New York, which sponsored women’s sports leagues across the five boroughs. She has participated in several three-day fundraising bike rides, the 1995 Boston-to-New York AIDS ride and the 2005 Get Your Guts in Gear for Crohn’s/Colitis. Barth has run in the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure since its inception in 1991, and celebrates over 25 years as a breast cancer survivor.