But, it is the less-well-recorded history of his playing career that has given Joseph status as one of the toughest players of his era.
Some will remember, for instance, the occasion when a punch was thrown in the direction of Otago captain Mike Brewer.
Joseph: "In those days, you had an All Black trial and afterwards they'd pick a team and I don't know how it sort of came about but he was a number six and I was a number six and there's only one number six [position]".
Joseph laughs.
"I don't know. It's such a long time ago. But I'm competitive and so was 'Bruiser' so that's the way it was."
Joseph acknowledges the way he played at times is "out of date" now.
"But the mentality or the mindset around how I played is even more needed [today] I think.
"Every rugby player, if they are going to [succeed], needs to be hard mentally and if they are they tend to follow that up physically.
"They need to be hard because the game's hard. They do more training; they've got to get up and keep on performing and perform to a certain level otherwise they don't get picked. And if they don't get picked they don't get paid.
"So I think it's harder."
Joseph's best memories of his Otago playing days are of being part of the exciting young side that beat the Lions, the Springboks and Auckland.
It was a side, he believes, that was also responsible for naming Carisbrook "the house of pain".
No doubt, there are opposing players from that era who still remember who it was who delivered a fair amount of that pain.
