At the time of his retirement Doyle's career tally of 18 goals and 176 points ranked him as Tipperary's all-time top scorer. It was a record which stood until 24 June 2007 when it was surpassed by Eoin Kelly.
Born in Thurles, County Tipperary, Doyle first excelled at hurling whilst at school in Thurles CBS. However, he had few academic leanings and virtually no interest in school. His mother would do his homework for him while Doyle practiced his hurling skills with his sheepdog Pal in the shadow of the famous Thurles Sportsfield, then as now was the “field of dreams” for all Munster hurlers.
Doyle arrived on the inter-county scene at the age of fourteen when he first linked up with the Tipperary minor team. As a member of Thurles Sarsfields he won ten County championship medals and is among the lauded hurlers to captain Tipperary from the Club.
Doyle is widely regarded as one of the greatest hurlers in the history of the game. During his playing days he won three Cú Chulainn awards, as well as being named Texaco Hurler of the Year in 1965. He has been repeatedly voted onto teams made up of the sport's greats, including at right corner-forward on the Hurling Team of the Century in 1984 and at left corner-forward on the Hurling Team of the Millennium in 2000.
Doyle holds the Liam MacCarthy Cup as he is held aloft by Tipperary supporters after his side’s vitory over Wexford in the 1965 All Ireland Senior Hurling Championship Final, Croke Park, Dublin.
In the 1971 Final versus Kilkenny Doyle came on as a substitute for Séamus Hogan for the last ten minutes as Tipperary emerged the victors on a score line of 5–17 to 5–14. It was his sixth All-Ireland medal, making him one of only a handful of players to have claimed winners' medals in three separate decades.
After his death in 2015 Doyle's biography was published with journalist Diarmuid O'Flynn.
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