Edgar A. "Ed" Diddle

As coach of Western Kentucky for 42 seasons, Edgar Diddle would wave, toss, and chew a red towel along the bench. Although Diddle often used the towel to cover his face in displeasure, because his career was enormously successful, that did not happen very often. From 1922 to 1964, the down-home, easy-going, and likeable Diddle won 759 of 1,061 games at Western Kentucky, which at the time of his retirement was the second highest number of victories since the game was invented. He was also the first coach in history to coach 1,000 games at one school. A pioneer of fast break offense, Diddle had only five losing seasons in 42 years, winning 20 or more games in 18 seasons. Diddle's teams won or shared 32 conference titles and competed in three NCAA and eight NIT tournaments. Few coaches in history showed or were shown the loyalty Edgar Diddle enjoyed at Western Kentucky.