Skip Stahley

Early years

Born in Lebanon, Pennsylvania, Stahley was an outstanding athlete at Lebanon High School and graduated in 1926. He attended Penn State in State College, where he majored in English and played football, earning honorable mention All-American honors. A three-sport letterman, Stahley also captained the basketball and lacrosse teams for the Nittany Lions. He graduated in 1931 and later earned a master's degree from Columbia University.

Early coaching career

Stahley began his coaching career in 1931 as an assistant at Western Maryland College in Westminster under head coach Dick Harlow. In 1934, he became the head coach at the University of Delaware, and compiled a 4–3–1 record in Newark, then moved north to the Boston area and was an assistant coach at Harvard University, also under Harlow. From 1941 to 1943, Stahley was the head coach at Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island, with a 14–11 () record.

Stahley served in the U.S. Navy in San Diego during World War II, and then coached in Washington, D.C. at George Washington University, with a 5–10–1 record in 1946 and 1947. He briefly returned to the West Coast in March 1948 as the backfield coach at the University of Washington in Seattle under new head coach Howie Odell. After two months, Stahley left for the Midwest to become the head coach at Toledo, and compiled an 11–10 record in two seasons.

Stahley returned to Seattle in 1950 as backfield coach at Washington for three seasons under Odell, where he mentored notable Huskies Hugh McElhenny and Don Heinrich. Odell was pressured to resign by the athletic director after a 7–3 season in 1952 and was replaced by John Cherberg, the coach of the freshman team.

NFL

Stahley left the Huskies to coach in the National Football League (NFL) as the backfield coach with the Chicago Cardinals under head coach Joe Stydahar. The Cardinals ended 1953 with a win in the final game to finish at 1–10–1 (), the worst record in the twelve-team league.

Idaho

Stahley quickly returned to college football in February 1954 as the head coach at Idaho at an annual salary of $9,000. The Vandals had finished the 1953 season at 1–8 under third-year head coach Babe Curfman.

Stahley compiled a record in eight seasons in Moscow. It was Idaho's first victory in football over the Cougars in 29 years, and the subsequent 8 mi march by WSC students from Pullman to Moscow was featured in Life magazine: The win started a four-game winning streak, Idaho's longest in 31 years, to finish at 4–5 for the 1954 season. That win at Rogers Field in his first attempt turned out to be Stahley's only triumph over the Cougars; the Vandals waited a full decade before the next.

When Idaho athletic director Bob Gibb left in 1960, Stahley took over those duties in July for four years. He handled both jobs for a year and a half, then stepped down under pressure as football coach in January 1962. The following month, he hired Dee Andros, an assistant coach at Illinois and a former guard under Bud Wilkinson at Oklahoma. As AD, Stahley was a driving force in the creation of the Big Sky Conference, which was formed in February 1963.

After a decade in Moscow, Stahley resigned as Idaho's athletic director in 1964 to become the first full-time director of athletics at Portland State College (now PSU), where he served until late 1971. Following the 1964 football season, Andros left after three years for Oregon State in Corvallis to succeed Tommy Prothro, who left the Rose Bowl team for UCLA.

Stahley's eight consecutive seasons as head coach of Idaho football was the most in program history until 2021; as a result, he led the Vandals in losses with 51 until October 2019, when passed by seventh-year head coach Paul Petrino.

U.S. patent

Prior to his last season as head coach, Stahley was granted a for an early defensive reaction machine, issued on January 10, 1961. The "Athletic Training Apparatus" was conceived to improve the reactions of defensive linemen at the line of scrimmage.

Halls of fame

Stahley is a member of the Idaho Sports Hall of Fame, the Western Pennsylvania Hall of Fame, and the National Association of Collegiate athletic directors Hall of Fame.

Personal

Stahley married Mrs. Shirley Sherman Kime (c.1910–1993) in Toledo on July 1, 1950. They had two daughters, and she had two sons from a previous marriage.{{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=CdlOAAAAIBAJ&pg=1544%2C1897058

Crime fighter

While an assistant coach in 1938, The Harvard Crimson newspaper reported that Stahley knocked out a suspected burglar with a single punch.

Head coaching record

References

References

1. ''The University of Idaho Magazine'', Oct 1992, Vol.10, No.4, p.20.
2. (July 2, 1992). "Former Idaho coach dies". Moscow-Pullman Daily News.
3. Stahley, Jacob N.. (January 10, 1961). "Athletic Training Apparatus #2,967,709". United States Patent and Trademark Office.
4. link. (2007-09-30 - Skip Stahley - accessed 2009-10-03)
5. "J. Neil (Skip) Stahley, 83, UI athletic director". Lewiston Morning Tribune.
6. Worden, Al. (December 21, 1962). "J. Neil (Skip) Slahley has fine career in college sports events". Ogden Standard-Examiner.
7. (February 2, 1954). "Stahley chosen Idaho grid pilot". Spokesman-Review.
8. (February 13, 1941). "Skip Stahley named head coach at Brown; was at Harvard". Lewiston Daily Sun.
9. (May 5, 1948). "Stahley to coach at Toledo". Meriden Record.
10. Rothman, Seymour. (August 5, 1948). "TU's new kicking device". Toledo Blade.
11. Missildine, Harry. (May 24, 1964). "Stahley's departure conjures memories". Spokesman-Review.
12. "1953 Chicago Cardinals". pro-football-reference.com.
13. (February 12, 1954). "Skip Stahley named Idaho grid mentor". Ellensburg Daily Record.
14. (February 12, 1954). "Stahley seeking three assistants; new Idaho coach to get free hand". Spokane Daily Chronicle.
15. (February 23, 1954). "O.K. Stahley's $9,000 salary". Ellensburg Daily Record.
16. (November 23, 1953). "Idaho regents meet in January; Babe Curfman position unsettled". Spokane Daily Chronicle.
17. (December 21, 1953). "Curfman and three aides resign posts at Idaho". Spokane Daily Chronicle.
18. (December 22, 1953). "'Circumstances' force Curfman's resignation". Spokesman-Review.
19. (December 22, 1953). "Idaho plans thorough search for coach; Curfman out". Spokane Daily Chronicle.
20. Boni, Bill. (October 24, 1954). "Idaho thumps WSC, 10-0". Spokesman-Review.
21. (October 25, 1954). ""Win made us ballclub," says Skip Stahley". Spokane Daily Chronicle.
22. (November 15, 1954). "The March on Moscow".
23. (November 21, 1954). "Vandals win fourth in a row". Spokesman-Review.
24. (November 22, 1954). "Stahley is satisfied with Vandals' season". Spokane Daily Chronicle.
25. Missildine, Harry. (October 25, 1964). "Thunder Ray leads Idaho's charge". Spokesman-Review.
26. (March 22, 1960). "Stahley new Idaho "A.D." in addition to grid post". Spokesman-Review.
27. (January 15, 1962). "Idaho regents drop Stahley from grid post". Spokesman-Review.
28. (January 15, 1962). "Idaho fires grid coach Skip Stahley". Eugene Register-Guard.
29. Carter, Jack. (February 18, 1962). "Illinois aide Dee Andros named Idaho football coach". Lewiston Morning Tribune.
30. Missildine, Harry. (February 18, 1962). "Former Sooner guard new Idaho coach". Spokesman-Review.
31. (February 19, 1962). "New Vandal coach". Spokane Daily Chronicle.
32. Missildine, Harry. (February 26, 1963). "Six western schools create Big Sky athletic conference". Spokesman-Review.
33. (February 26, 1963). "Big Sky is ready for league action". Spokane Daily Chronicle.
34. (May 20, 1964). "Portland State names Stahley athletic director". Eugene Register-Guard.
35. (May 21, 1964). "Stahley quits Idaho post for job at Portland State". Lewiston Morning Tribune.
36. (November 18, 1971). "Skip Stahley steps down as Vik AD". Eugene Register-Guard.
37. (September 15, 1993). "Shirley Sherman Stahley". Toledo Blade.
38. (February 2, 1938). "Skip Stahley fells burglar with his powerhouse punch". Harvard Crimson.