Ed Stull enters the Oxford High School Athletic Hall of Fame as one of the best student-athletes of the 1970s.
‘I was surprised and it is a tremendously nice gesture,? Stull said. ‘That is really humbling . . . I really do feel honored they did that.?
The three-sport athlete earned eight total varsity letters throughout his career – three in football, two in basketball and three in baseball ? during a period where freshman were part of the middle school campus and were ineligible for varsity competition.
Upon entering high school in tenth grade, Stull earned a starting quarterback job for the Wildcats, a position he kept for the next three seasons. He also handled the punting duties and even played as a backup linebacker under head coaches Al Armstrong and Tom Danna.
‘The most challenging part as sophomore was learning the system’I really just had one year of tackle football as a freshman in Oxford, and one season later I was starting on varsity,? Stull said.
The Wildcats would improve over the next two years offensively against more experienced Oakland A opponents.
Stull played junior varsity basketball as a sophomore, but quickly became an important part of the Wildcat basketball program under Walt Studinger. Stull would earn all Oakland A first team honors as a senior. In just over two full seasons, Stull would rack up 629 points, good for seventh all time in Oxford basketball.
In 2004, his son Ryan surpassed him on the all time scoring list with 636 points.
‘I thought that was a lot of fun and I am glad it worked out that way,? Stull said
‘It saved me from having to listen to it because he got really sick and missed his last couple weeks of his senior season, so if he would have fallen a little bit short, I’d still be hearing it,? he joked. ‘But there is no better feeling than having my so do that.?
Stull admitted he didn’t realize he was on the all-time scoring record until years later, so it was a thrill for him to watch his son pass him.
However, most of his accomplishments would come on the baseball diamond. With very few organized youth sports opportunities in Oxford, he would often compete with older college players during the heyday of the Pontiac Class A baseball league.
‘When I got to a point where I didn’t have the competitive programs available in the summertime here, which back then was baseball, then I had the freedom and support to go find it other places and I was picked up by the American Legion team in Lake Orion and then I was picked up by the class A league there in Pontiac,? Stull said.
‘I think for me, I had more of an opportunity to kind of refine my skills and get better at baseball because that it was I had the most opportunities to play,? he added.
As a prep, Stull starred as a pitcher and third baseman for Art Marcell and the Wildcats. Ed twice earned all-Oakland A first team honors as a sophomore and junior. As a senior in 1976, he pitched five consecutive shutouts in league play, once again earning all Oakland A honors, as well as all-county and all-region accolades.
Stull would be named ‘Ideal Senior? by his peers and won the Oxford Cup upon graduation in 1976. While in this classroom, Stull would be a National Honor Society member and a two-year member of the student council.
Despite being recruited by several universities to play baseball, Stull would attend Michigan State University to fulfill his dream of becoming an engineer.
‘Math and science came easy to me, and I knew I wanted to be an engineer coming out of high school and that is what I wanted to go to college for,? he said.
‘I looked at schools that had shown interest in me as a junior and senior, but I wanted to go to a school that had an engineering program and I knew as an engineer and professional, the opportunity to find the job that was right for me would require me to go outside of Michigan’and I was concerned about being an (aerospace) engineer and having a degree from a school that might not have that national recognition.?
Stull would join the Spartan baseball team his sophomore year was a member of the team that won the Big Ten title in 1979, a feat that would not be accomplished at MSU for another 32 years.
Stull earned a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering in 1981 from MSU, where he met his future wife, Judy (Duncan). He worked as an engineer for several companies and currently is self-employed and is responsible for over 17 US patents.
‘The main thrust of them involves an automatic gate operator,? he said. ‘I have patents in everything associated with the logic and controls for those gate operators and the mechanical and function of the gate operators.?
Stull has patents in the United States, Europe, Mexico, Japan and Australia.
Ed and Judy currently reside in Oxford.
‘I traveled the world two or three times, and I always felt that being from Oxford was an advantage over anyone I met,? he said. ‘You don’t always feel it when you are here, but when you get away, you realize you maybe had a start in life other people didn’t have.?
After moving away for college and relocating for jobs, Stull chose to come back to Oxford.
‘As an adult with free will, I’m back here in this area because this is exactly where I want to be. There is no coincidence my son went to school here; I wanted him to have the same leg up in life that I felt that I got, and I knew that was the best I could do for him was Oxford.?