Long-time sportswriter, ETSU Communications Department Hall of Fame member, and university alum Joe Biddle, 78, passed away on Oct. 26.

Biddle was a four-time Tennessee Sportswriter of the Year winner.

Biddle, a Johnson City native, graduated from Science Hill High School in 1962 before serving four years in the Air Force from 1966-70. Biddle would return to ETSU to finish his education in 1971 with a bachelor’s in journalism and begin his career with the Johnson City Press Chronicle.

Looking to find a fresh start, he and his college roommate would head south, to Daytona Beach, Florida, where Biddle would serve as a sportswriter for the Daytona Beach News-Journal from 1972-79. Biddle would make one more big move that would change his life and leave an impression on Middle Tennessee that will linger for many, many years.

A now-experienced writer, Biddle moved to the Nashville Banner in 1979 as a sports editor and columnist until the newspaper’s final press in 1998. It was during this time that Biddle became a common name in the area thanks to the weekly “I Beat Biddle” contest.

“I Beat Biddle” was a weekly contest where Biddle would give his weekly picks for that week in college football, and readers that participated in this contest would receive a prize if they picked more winners that week. The red, white and blue “I Beat Biddle” bumper stickers were rare to see, as he was pretty good at what he did, but those that beat Biddle were proud enough to slap the sticker on their car as a status symbol.

Biddle would move over to the The Tennessean following the purchase and closure of the Banner in 1998, by Gannett Co., Inc.

From 1998-2011, Biddle would continue as a columnist for the Tennessean. In his time with the paper, he would go on to become a four-time Tennessee Sportswriter of the Year. Biddle would cover a total of 31 Super Bowls, 31 NCAA Final Fours, 30 Masters tournaments, two Summer Olympic Games, and 12 World Series in his life.

Biddle was inducted into the ETSU Communication Department Hall of Fame in 2005. He would also be inducted into the Tennessee Sports Writers Association Hall of Fame (2013) and the Tennessee Sports Hall of Fame (2016).

No matter how far he went, he always remained humble to his beginnings in his own words, “who would have ever thought a kid from Johnson City would get to do all this?”

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