Lehigh University Athletics
Whritenour left stage to Lehigh athletes
1/5/2005 12:00:00 AM | Athletics
Joe Whritenour, who oversaw the 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 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 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 Story by Corky Blake, appearing in the Express-Times on Wednesday, January 5, 2005. Used with permission.
