Longtime Nashville sportswriter, columnist Joe Biddle dies at 78

Joe Biddle, whose Nashville sportswriting profession spanned 5 a long time, died early Wednesday. He was 78.

Born June 13, 1944, in Johnson Metropolis, Tennessee, the place he was a highschool classmate of Heisman Trophy winner and legendary coach Steve Spurrier, Biddle rose to prominence because the sports activities editor and columnist of the Nashville Banner, the town’s afternoon paper, from 1979 till it shuttered its doorways in 1998.

It was throughout his time on the Banner that the favored “I Beat Biddle” contest got here to be. Anybody who bested Biddle’s faculty soccer picks obtained a purple, white and blue “I Beat Biddle” bumper sticker. They could possibly be seen all through the Southeast.

Biddle, an East Tennessee State graduate and an Air Drive veteran of the Vietnam Conflict, moved over to The Tennessean, Nashville’s morning paper, as a sports activities columnist in 1998 and remained there till 2011.

Former Tennessean and Nashville Banner columnist Joe Biddle died Wednesday on the age of 78: https://t.co/t6Nq194D3m pic.twitter.com/duC6VKT7sQ

— Tennessean (@Tennessean) October 26, 2022

Biddle, an avid golfer, was a fixture on the Masters. He additionally lined 31 Tremendous Bowls and 31 Remaining Fours. He was a four-time Tennessee Sports activities Author of the 12 months by the Nationwide Sportscasters and Sports activities Writers Affiliation. He was inducted into the Tennessee Sports activities Writers Affiliation Corridor of Fame in 2013 and the Tennessee Sports activities Corridor of Fame in 2016.

Biddle is survived by his spouse, Sharon. They have been married 47 years.