College Sports Information Directors of America

Joe Whritenour, who oversaw the Bethlehem, Pa.,
sports scene for more than 50 years, died Tuesday at
the age of 82.

Whritenour, a native of Little Falls, N.J., came to
the city in 1946 as a sports writer for The
Globe-Times. He didn't fully retire until 1997 after
32 years of service in the Lehigh University sports
information office.

His 51-year tenure included a stint from 1956 to 1965
as The Globe-Times sports editor, succeeding Fred
Nonnemacher.

In 1965, Whritenour became sports information director
at Lehigh and held that position until 1984 when he
accepted a part-time role in the department for
another 13 years.

"Joe was so good to work with," said Lehigh associate
athletic director Glenn Hofmann, who has directed the
sports information office since the early 1990s. "He
was by the book, and he had no ego. I learned so much
about the business from him. He had so much experience
in newspapers and sports information."

Bill McCoach, the Mountain Hawks' sports public
address announcer for the last 17 years, remembered
Whritenour from his days at The Globe-Times.

"I used to call in the games from Notre Dame (Green
Pond) High School) when I did their statistics,"
McCoach said. "He was good to deal with. Then, when I
came to Lehigh, he became a good friend."

Whritenour was rarely without his trademark pipe and a
smile.

"I remember his grandkids imitating him smoking his
pipe and scratching his back against the wall,"
McCoach said with a laugh.

No one knew Lehigh's sports history better than
Whritenour. He maintained impeccable records during an
era when everything was kept in hand-written form.

"I didn't think anyone was more into stats than I
was," said Lehigh baseball coach Sean Leary. "A couple
years ago I wanted to put together the career stats
for the program, and I met with Joe to ask him if he
could help me out. Joe handed me a folder that had
every game Lehigh ever played -- all the way back to
1884 -- typed up and documented.

"When you think about Lehigh sports you have to
mention Joe Whritenour's name."

Whritenour represented Lehigh at some of the Mountain
Hawks' greatest athletic achievements, including
winning the 1977 NCAA Division II football
championship under John Whitehead and the wrestling
program's national prominence in the 1960s and 1970s.

Whritenour always remained in the background, allowing
the players and coaches to take center stage while
quietly promoting the university.

"That was the beauty of Joe. I don't think he had a
favorite sport. He liked them all," Hofmann said.

Even after his retirement in 1997, Whritenour kept his
hand in Lehigh athletics. Hofmann asked Whritenour to
author a story on the school's five greatest football
teams. This came during a time when the Mountain Hawks
were annually qualifying for the NCAA Division I-AA
playoffs.

The project, obviously, was going to please some and
ruffle the feathers of others.

"He was a little nervous at first, but once he said
yes he went right at it," Hofmann said. "It was
well-thought out and well-researched. We put it in our
(football) program and media guide, and we received
more feedback on it than anything we ever did."

During his time at The Globe-Times, Whritenour covered
the Bethlehem Bulldogs when they won the American
Professional Football League championship in the late
1940s, the National Amateur Golf Championship at
Saucon Valley Country Club in the early 1950s and
championship basketball teams at Liberty, Bethlehem
Catholic and Fountain Hill high schools.

In 1991, the Lehigh Valley Chapter of the National
Football Foundation honored Whritenour for
"outstanding achievement and dedication to high school
and collegiate football in the greater Lehigh Valley."