Deceased A farmer in the Palouse country, Joe was involved in wrestling for over 40 years starting in 1953 with the first Washington State Wrestling Championships in Pullman, Washington until his death in 1997. Joe was the pioneer of State Tournament Directors as the man behind the scenes who made all those tournaments go. At the early state tournaments Joe was the head man overseeing the weigh-ins and the pairings process by hand before tournaments started using computers for pairings. Pullman may be home to Joe but come mid-February, home is where the state tournament is. He volunteered during all those years and any wrestling match in Pullman Joe was there to help make it run smoothly. Babbitt would travel to Spokane or the Big 9 to help with the Regional tournaments also. In 1989, at the first Mat Classic State Championships, Joe took on the role as assistant to Hall of Fame Announcer Ed Aliverti as his spotter tracking matches at the head table and feeding information to the announcing crew. Babbitt has been a leader in developing coaching and officiating associations in Eastern Washington. He was active in his local association assisting wherever he could. In 1985 Joe was the first recipient of the Washington State Wrestling Coaches Association Contributors Award, which is now named the "Joe Babbitt Contributors Award" and is presented in his honor. Babbitt was presented the Dr. William Tomaras Award in 1996 and inducted into the Washington State Wrestling Coaches Association Hall of Fame in 1998 and has been honored by the Washington Interscholastic Activities Association for his "Service to Youth."