Edgar Allen Diddle (March 12, 1895 – January 2, 1970) was an American

college A college (Latin: ''collegium'') may be a tertiary educational institution (sometimes awarding degrees), part of a collegiate university, an institution offering vocational education, a further education institution, or a secondary sc ...

men's

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...

coach, who also coached college

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and

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teams. He is known for coaching at

Western Kentucky University Western Kentucky University (WKU) is a public university in Bowling Green, Kentucky, United States. It was founded by the Commonwealth of Kentucky in 1906, though its roots reach back a few decades earlier. It operates regional campuses in Glas ...

Bowling Green, Kentucky Bowling Green is a city in Warren County, Kentucky, United States, and its county seat. Its population was 72,294 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the List of cities in Kentucky, third-most populous city in the stat ...

from 1922 to 1964. Diddle became the first coach in history to coach 1,000 games at one school. Diddle was known as one of the early pioneers of the fast break and for waving a red towel around along the sidelines. During games he would wave, toss, and chew on this towel, and even cover his face in times of disappointment. His red towel is now part of WKU's official athletic logo. Diddle experienced only five losing seasons in 42 years.

Early life

He was born near Gradyville, Kentucky. Diddle played basketball and football for

Centre College Centre College, formally Centre College of Kentucky, is a Private college, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Danville, Kentucky, United States. Chartered by the Kentucky General Assembly in 1819, the col ...

and was a member of their 1919 undefeated basketball team and 1919 undefeated football team. He was a halfback on the football team. After college, he coached basketball at

Monticello Monticello ( ) was the primary residence and plantation of Thomas Jefferson, a Founding Father, author of the Declaration of Independence, and the third president of the United States. Jefferson began designing Monticello after inheriting l ...

High School, where he guided the team to the Kentucky State Tournament semi-finals, and then Greenville High School, which played in a regional tournament at Bowling Green. During the tournament, he came to the attention of officials at Western Kentucky who offered him the coaching position at the college.

Career at Western Kentucky

He became

Western Kentucky Hilltoppers basketball The Western Kentucky Hilltoppers men's basketball team is the men's basketball team that represents Western Kentucky University (WKU) in Bowling Green, Kentucky. The Hilltoppers currently compete in Conference USA. The team's most recent appea ...

coach in 1922. Diddle's Western Kentucky teams claimed 32 conference championships; played in 13 national postseason tournaments (an impressive total considering that there was no national tournament for the first 15 years of his tenure); won 20+ games eighteen different times (including 10 consecutive); became the first team from the South to participate in the Olympic Trials; the first Kentucky team to play in the NCAA tournament and

National Invitation Tournament The National Invitation Tournament (NIT) is an annual men's college basketball tournament operated by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). Since 2023, all rounds of the tournament are played at various sites across the country whi ...

; and were nationally ranked numerous times. In 1942 he led the Hilltoppers to the national championship game. His 1948 team finished 3rd nationally and the 1954 team finished 4th. Diddle's teams led the

NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates College athletics in the United States, student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, and Simon Fraser University, 1 in Canada. ...

in victories six seasons and had the highest winning percentage in 1948. When he retired in 1964, he had won a then record 759 games. While Diddle was best known for coaching men's basketball, he also coached

(1922–1928),

(1923–1957) and

women's basketball Women's basketball is the team sport of basketball played by women. It was first played in 1892, one year after men's basketball, at Smith College in Massachusetts. It spread across the United States, in large parts via women's college compet ...

at Western.

Legacy

Diddle was responsible for breaking a color barrier at the college when he recruited the first African American basketball players, Clem Haskins and Dwight Smith, in the early 1960s. E. A. Diddle Arena, the basketball venue at WKU, built in 1963, is named for him. For the last six years of his life, Diddle was a fixture at the arena, even leading cheers. During a 1968 game against

Dayton Dayton () is a city in Montgomery County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of cities in Ohio, sixth-most populous city in Ohio, with a population of 137,644 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. The Dayton metro ...

, he jumped on top of a press table to lead the students in cheers. When a Dayton sportswriter told him to get down, Diddle snapped, "What do you mean I can't get on top of this table? This is ''my'' damn gym!".

Hall of Fame

Coach Diddle has been inducted into the Kentucky Sports Hall of Fame, The Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, the Western Kentucky University Athletic Hall of Fame, the Centre College Athletic Hall of Fame, and

National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame The National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame, located in Kansas City, Missouri, is a hall of fame and museum dedicated to men's college basketball. The museum is an integral portion of the College Basketball Experience created by the Nation ...

Head coaching record

Men's basketball

Lead the NCAA in wins 1933–34, 1934–35, 1935–36, 1937–38, and 1941–42 seasons

Baseball

Football

Women's basketball

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Diddle, Edgar 1895 births 1970 deaths American football halfbacks American men's basketball coaches American men's basketball players American women's basketball coaches Baseball coaches from Kentucky Basketball coaches from Kentucky Basketball players from Kentucky Centre Colonels football players Centre Colonels men's basketball players College men's basketball head coaches in the United States High school basketball coaches in the United States Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame inductees National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame inductees People from Adair County, Kentucky Players of American football from Kentucky Sportspeople from Bowling Green, Kentucky Western Kentucky Hilltoppers and Lady Toppers athletic directors Western Kentucky Hilltoppers baseball coaches Western Kentucky Hilltoppers basketball coaches Western Kentucky Hilltoppers football coaches Western Kentucky Lady Toppers basketball coaches