The Waterbury Democrat., 1943-02-02
BY JACK CUDDY

(Untted Press Staff C0rEeSp0 New York, February ?. = (UPJ = When the towel is tossed in boxing 1t means defeat. But when Coach Ed A., Diddle of the Western Ken- lucky State Basketball Team losses the towel 1t means either victory or "get in there and fight" d.
 ;Diddle, Q muscular, middle sized, lnlddle-aged guy with iron gray hair, is the most famous 'towel- tosser in the history of American sports. He has been tossing the towel with great success for 2S years.
 Diddle, here with his unbeaten Western Kentucky State Hilltoppers, says, "Ill certainly be tossing that towel Wednesday night" That's the night - tomorrow night - when his widely publicized team risks its perfect record of IA straight victories against City Col- lege of New York at Madison Square Garden. MN < 'Ss sl.a Psychology 3" z Coach Diddle, former basketball captain and blocking back for the famous Praying Colonels" of Gen. Ire College in the days when Bo McMillin was quarterback, readily admits that the towel tossing ho- cuspocus is a silly-seeming but quite robust psychological assist to his coaching and to the success of his teams, year after year. Maybe there's something in 1t because he is the most successful basketball coach in the history of the state of Kentucky.
 Diddle, who has been coaching at the Bowling Green, Ky, institution for 21 years, has the enviable rec- ord of turning. out championship hoop teams in the Kentucky inter- collegiate Athletic Association in 10 of the past Il years. Moreover, his lads have won the title in the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Association, for seven of the past nine years. z
 Looking at his lads from the ila- tional angle, we find that the Hill- toppers were finalists last season in the Invitation Tournament at Madison Square Garden, where they knocked off CCNY and Creighton, but lost the title con- test to West Virginia in the last 4S secodns of play. His boys made mistakes in the final minute = errors that cost them the big game.
 'They were only country boys from Kentucky-just like the lads I've got here now," Diddle said. "They did their best. I hoped for the best, and tossed that towel, but we had tough luck in the last min- ute.''
 When Oiddle losses the towel 1t is something to see. He heaves a dampened towel straight up in the air, when his team scores or when he is urging fight. The towel usually attains an altitude of 25 feet, and the man with the iron-gray hair is so accurate with his throw, that about 75 per cent of the time the towel piumps back down and lands squarely upcn his own excited head. If the flying cloth makes three nap landing upon the nogging of Q squad member, he immediately passes tt back to Diddle, who is as lost without his towel as Connie Mack without his scorecard.
 Accident
 Dlddie started tossing towels quite by accident, way back in 1921 when he was coaching the Green. vile. Ky. high school team. They were playing Q tough game with Beaver Dam. Ky. Diddle was wor- rled. His face was hot. He swabbed lt with . towel. His team seemed tc Dc letting down. He threw his towel into the air and yellad. snap out Of it bOysl Snap out of itl" The towel settled back on his head. and his startled players stepped up the pace and pulled an apparent defeat right out Of the Gire. Excited pid- de l0ased the towel in the alF every time they made haaket. After. wards. one Of the players told him: We thought you'd gone nuts. go Wc had e Nln the game lo prevent sss sl.sm .sss,, sssn {. taking sou ea in . pad
 Ever since plddle has been heat lng the cloth Into khe niF. Ails flys lng TatFhlsh fetish has impressed the fans 0f hla area t0 Hneh an oxs ient allat almoNt eFNIN MAii bFinWi