For Scrabble Champ, Port Jeff is H-O-M-E

Joe Edley's search for meaning in life led him to becoming the first to win the Scrabble National Championship three times but his search for a good school district led him to Port Jefferson.

Since turning his passions toward the game of Scrabble, Edley has written books on Scrabble and served as Director of National Clubs and Tournaments for the National Scrabble Association. He's even spent time as a Scrabble teacher.

So what drew Edley – a man whose uncanny ability in Scrabble has taken him across the globe – to the village of Port Jefferson?

"One of the reasons that we came [to Port Jefferson] is that we heard great things about the school district and it's true," Edley said in a recent interview with Patch. "We like it here, it's a great place."

Edley is a man who has received a great deal of acclaim for his skill in the board game, including a feature role in the 2004 Scrabble documentary Word Wars.

Earlier this month, Edley traveled to the National Scrabble Championship, a yearly tournament that was held in Dallas, Texas. The scene at the event is an intense one, according to Edley.

"Once the games start, all you hear is the clickety-clack of tiles moving," he said.

Depending on the year there are anywhere from 350 to 800 people spread out through several divisions of players seperated by skill.

"Even if you're a novice, and you've only played in a couple of tournaments, you'll be among others who are relatively close to you in strength so you have a shot at winning," he said.

Edley noted that after each day of the tournament, players spend time getting to know one another and discussing their games.

"There's a lot of camaraderie from experts down to novices," he said. "Scrabble is great - you don't have to be at any skill level; you can enjoy it at every level."

Joe Edley's path in life wasn't a direct one to the game of Scrabble.  Early in life, he explored a variety of interests and talents, each of which provided a hint as to what was to come.

When he began college, his interests led him to major in Math and Philosophy. Eventually, he decided to move out to San Francisco and making an effort to find out meaning in his life, he "spent a lot of time reading and soul-searching while I was there."

One of the constants in his life was that he enjoyed playing games.

"I figured out that I could do what I want, and if that was to play games, I could make myself happy, and the world would be a better place if I helped other people in the way that I wanted," he said.

During this period in his life, Edley had studied areas of philosophy, much of which was centered around the idea that through the power of thinking towards a goal, you can turn an ambition into a reality.

In 1978, when the Scrabble dictionary was published, Edley "kind of knew that was it for me."

He took a job as a nightwatchman, where he spent 4-5 hours each day working to memorize the new dictionary, all the while holding onto the ultimate goal of entering and winning the next year's National Scrabble Championship.

"The rest was history," Edley said.

He went on to win the National Championship in 1980, fulfilling his goal.

"It proved to me what I had been studying for ten years," he said. "That you can manifest your own destiny. If it's possible in the world, it's possible for you to make it happen. If you want it badly enough, you can make it happen."

In subsequent years, Edley began to explore his involvement with Scrabble in other ways. He took on a full-time role as the Director of National Clubs and Tournaments for the National Scrabble Association, publishing books on the game, and working as a Scrabble teacher.

Along the way he captured two more championships, one in 1992 and the last in 2000.

His outside interests have also been cultivated, focusing on such passions as yoga and meditation (something which helps him even during his gameplay, as a means to relax and remain calm during matches).

When asked what he saw as the best word he had ever put down to a board, it was hard for him to say with certainty. However, he did recall one favorite move in particular, when his opponent left a lone "s" in between two triple word blocks.

"It was a real favorite of mine, using a blank tile as a 'j,' and putting down 'jiujitsu,' for 248 points," he said. "That was pretty cool."

You can see Joe Edley's results from his last Scrabble tournament here.