Jim Birge, the man who created a school Jeopardy! tournament and visited the set of the game show, has died at the age of 78. He battled pancreatic cancer for almost nine months.
According to ABC7, the retired teacher died on Friday, June 5, from the disease. Birge died just hours before Long Beach, California’s Jeopardy!‘s Tournament of Champions concluded its 25th season.
The annual middle school tournament brought together three finalists on Saturday. Organizers framed the event not only around the tournament but as a tribute to Birge and his legacy. Throughout its quarter of a century run, the tournament had students answering rapid-fire clues in the style of the game show.
“To the hundreds and hundreds of students who have been able to play and feel good about learning and honor the legacy of the Jim and the continued success of the greatest school show ever made, Jeopardy!” a speaker said.
In February, Birge caught the attention of Jeopardy! after his classroom tournament went viral. He got to come visit the set of the game show, stand behind a podium to take a photo, and meet host Ken Jennings.
“I love to hear about classroom Jeopardy! What Jim’s been doing, we’re honored. That’s the next generation of Jeopardy! contestants. That’s where our next players are going to come from, programs like that,” Jennings told the outlet in February.
The superfan’s love of the show began when his sister-in-law was a contestant on it. His brother also played the trumpet in the theme song.
Watching Jeopardy! “made him feel numb” and he wanted to be smarter, so that was the driving force for creating the competition. However, the one thing that truly connected him to the show was watching former host Alex Trebek battle through pancreatic cancer. Trebek died from the disease at the age of 80 on November 8, 2020.
Birge was diagnosed with the same disease in October 2025 and continued to work through getting treatments. “Don’t know if I would have done that if Alex had not continued to work. Definitely an inspiration,” he told ABC7 at the time.
“His energy is still in the building, his spirit is still here, all of his loved ones are here, and we want to make sure that we’re still carrying on his legacy,” Jordan McGuffie, who became the first middle school champion in 2002, told the outlet.
Birge leaves behind his wife, Donna Bergeron, their children, grandchildren, and many loved ones.
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