Benjamin Waddle was raised in the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains, in a community called Horse Creek. He attended a two-room school from the first through eighth grades, and graduated from Chuckey High School in May 1945. He volunteered and spent thirteen months in the U.S. Navy. He went to East Tennessee State University and majored in Mathematics and Physical Education. He taught and coached in Green County, Tennessee for four years. From 1953 to 1956, he was principal/teacher at Russellville School. From 1956 to 1959, he taught and coached Mathematics and Physical Education in Jacksonville, Florida. From 1959 to 1961, he coached and taught at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. From 1961 to 1965, he coached and taught at Greensboro Public Schools.

William Carey University as Professor of Health and Physical Education, and Chairman of the Department of Health, Physical Education, and Recreation.
He married Julia Crisp in 1959. He has three sons, six grandchildren, and two great-grandsons.

B.S. in Physical Education, East Tennessee State University
B.S. in Physical Education, East Tennessee State University
M.A. in Physical Education, George Peabody College
Ed. S. in Physical Education, George Peabody College
ED.D. in Physical Education, Florida State University