Dr. William G. “Duke” Beattie’s roots in Maryland public school wrestling and interscholastic athletics run deep.  He played football and wrestled at Montgomery Blair then John F. Kennedy High School, where in 1974 he won the prestigious Montgomery County Richard Monisera Award for career achievement.  He returned to Kennedy in 1979 as an English Teacher and wrestling coach for 10 years, winning multiple championships, before assuming the position as athletic director at Rockville High School.                                               

From 1999-2017, Dr. Beattie served as Director of Systemwide Athletics for Montgomery County Public Schools, Maryland’s largest school system.  He also served a 2-year term as president of the Maryland Public Secondary Schools Athletic Association (MPSSAA).  Additionally, Dr. Beattie functioned as MPSSAA State Wrestling Committee Director and State Tournament Director for 13 years (2003-2016).                                                                                 

Dr. Beattie is a life member and former commissioner of the Washington Metropolitan Wrestling Officials Association.  He served five years on the National Federation of High Schools (NFHS) Wrestling Rules Committee, representing several mid-eastern states, including Pennsylvania, Ohio, Virginia, and Maryland.                             

Dr. Beattie was an innovator, instrumental in his tenure as MPSSAA Committee Director in creating a full double elimination state tournament format; shifting the site of the state tournament to premier facilities (including Cole Field House and Show Place Arena); creating the annual “Parade of Champions”; devising the state weight certification procedures; enhancing the regional tournament qualification process; and was the original architect of the plan to expand the state dual meet tournament to four classifications.                                 

Dr. Beattie has been the recipient of numerous honors and awards over his distinguished 39-year career, and is a member of the MPSSAA Wrestling Hall-of-Fame and the Maryland State Athletic Directors’ Hall-of-Fame.   He retired from public education in 2017.  He and his wife of 42 years, Mary Beth, reside in Ashton, MD, and have 2 children, Rhett and Jess.