Edgar Diddle

Edgar Diddle
Sport(s)	Basketball, Baseball, Football
Biographical details
Born	(1895-03-12)March 12, 1895 Gradyville, Kentucky
Died	January 2, 1970(1970-01-02) (aged 74)
Alma mater	Centre College
Coaching career (HC unless noted)
Basketball 1922–1964	Western Kentucky
Head coaching record
Overall	759–302(.715)
Tournaments	NCAA: 3–4(.429) NIT: 7–9(.438)
Basketball Hall of Fame Inducted in 1972 (profile)
College Basketball Hall of Fame Inducted in 2006

Edgar Allen Diddle (March 12, 1895 – January 2, 1970) was an American college men's basketball coach. He is known for coaching at Western Kentucky University in Bowling Green, Kentucky from 1922 to 1964. Diddle became the first coach in history to coach 1,000 games at one school. Diddle was known for waving a red towel around along the sidelines during his games. He was known to 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 and overall, averaged 25 wins per year. He was born in Gradyville, Kentucky.

Diddle's teams claimed 32 conference championships, played in 11 postseason tournaments; won 20+ games eighteen different times, (including one stretch of ten years in a row); became the first team from the South to participate in the Olympic Trials; and won an amazing 759 games. When he stepped down in 1964 Diddle had won more games than any coach in NCAA history and today he still ranks in the top ten on the all-time list.

While Diddle was best known for coaching men's basketball, he also coached football, baseball, and women's basketball at WKU, although men's basketball was his only coaching job for the vast majority of his tenure at the school.[1]

Prior to coming to Western Kentucky, Diddle played basketball and football for Centre College and was a member of their 1919 undefeated basketball team. After college he coached basketball at Monticello 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.

E. A. Diddle Arena, the basketball venue at WKU, built in 1963, is named for him.

Head coaching record

Season	Team	Overall	Conference	Standing	Postseason
Western Kentucky Hilltoppers (Independent) (1922–1948)
1922–1923	Western Kentucky	12–2
1923–1924	Western Kentucky	9–9
1924–1925	Western Kentucky	8–6
1925–1926	Western Kentucky	10–4
1926–1927	Western Kentucky	12–7
1927–1928	Western Kentucky	10–7
1928–1929	Western Kentucky	8–10
1929–1930	Western Kentucky	4–12
1930–1931	Western Kentucky	11–3
1931–1932	Western Kentucky	15–8		1st KIAC
1932–1933	Western Kentucky	16–6		1st KIAC
1933–1934	Western Kentucky	28–8		1st KIAC 1st SIAA
1934–1935	Western Kentucky	24–3		1st KIAC
1935–1936	Western Kentucky	26–4		1st KIAC	National Olympics
1936–1937	Western Kentucky	21–2		1st KIAC 1st SIAA
1937–1938	Western Kentucky	30–3		1st KIAC 1st SIAA	NAIA (Forfeit)
1938–1939	Western Kentucky	22–3		1st KIAC 1st SIAA
1939–1940	Western Kentucky	24–6		1st KIAC 1st SIAA	NCAA Elite Eight
1940–1941	Western Kentucky	22–4		1st SIAA
1941–1942	Western Kentucky	29–5		1st KIAC 1st SIAA	NIT Runner-up
1942–1943	Western Kentucky	24–3		1st KIAC	NIT Quarterfinals
1943–1944	Western Kentucky	13–9
1944–1945	Western Kentucky	17–10
1945–1946	Western Kentucky	15–19
1946–1947	Western Kentucky	25–4		1st KIAC 1st SIAA
1947–1948	Western Kentucky	28–2		1st KIAC	NIT 3rd Place
Western Kentucky Hilltoppers (Ohio Valley Conference) (1948–1964)
1948–1949	Western Kentucky	25–4	8–2	1st	NIT Quarterfinals
1949–1950	Western Kentucky	25–6	8–0	1st	NIT Quarterfinals
1950–1951	Western Kentucky	19–10	4–4	4th	NCT 1st Round
1951–1952	Western Kentucky	26–5	11–1	1st	NIT Quarterfinals
1952–1953	Western Kentucky	25–6	8–2	2nd	NIT Quarterfinals
1953–1954	Western Kentucky	29–3	9–1	1st	NIT 4th Place
1954–1955	Western Kentucky	18–10	8–2	1st
1955–1956	Western Kentucky	16–12	7–3	T-1st
1956–1957	Western Kentucky	17–9	9–1	T-1st
1957–1958	Western Kentucky	14–11	5–5	3rd
1958–1959	Western Kentucky	16–10	8–4	2nd
1959–1960	Western Kentucky	21–7	10–2	1st	NCAA Second Round
1960–1961	Western Kentucky	18–8	9–3	T-1st
1961–1962	Western Kentucky	17–10	11–1	1st	NCAA Second Round
1962–1963	Western Kentucky	5–16	3–9	7th
1963–1964	Western Kentucky	5–16	3–11	8th
Western Kentucky:		759–302	121–51
Total:		759-302
National champion         Conference regular season champion         Conference tournament champion       Conference regular season and conference tournament champion       Conference division champion

See also

• List of college men's basketball coaches with 600 wins

External links

• Basketball Hall of Fame profile
• Profile on HilltopperHaven