University of San Francisco Athletics

Richard "Dick" Stanfel was born on July 20, 1927 in San Francisco and attended Commerce High School where he played football as a blocking back. He enrolled in San Francisco Junior College in 1946 and played guard for them. After a year of college, he served in the United States Army as a Signal Corpsman. After the military, he attended USF and played for the Dons from 1948 to 1950 on both offense and defense under Head Coach Joe Kuharich. He was listed at 6’ 3” and 236 lbs., and was a teammate to Ollie Matson, Gino Marchetti, and Bob St. Clair. In 1950, he was chosen by the Associated Press as an All-Coast defensive lineman, and played for the West in the East-West Shrine Game. In interviews with the media, Kuharich often singled out Stanfel for his defensive play. The team’s 7-4 record in 1950 did not reflect the strength of the Dons offensive and defensive front. Following a 35-13 win over Detroit, Stanfel was considered one of the best on the west coast.
 
He was selected by the Detroit Lions in the second round (19^th pick overall) in the 1951 NFL draft, but in August of 1951 he was hit from the side during a scrimmage and suffered a left knee injury that forced him to miss the first season. Stanfel underwent surgery and spent a year rehabilitating. He joined the Lions the following season, and they won the NFL Championship in 1952. After the win, the Detroit Free Press published an article crediting Stanfel as the chief contributor to the Lions running game. Lions coach George Wilson added: “We feel that Stanfel is one of the best, if not the best offensive guard in pro football today. He’s fast, rangy, and can block extremely well. He not only holds the players out there (on the line), he knocks them down and then goes hunting for more (Detroit Free Press).”
 
In 1953, the Detroit Lions again won the NFL Championship, and Stanfel was voted MVP. He said that it was “the biggest thrill I’ve ever received in football (Detroit Free Press).” The Associated Press and the United Press both voted him as an All-NFL Player, and he was selected for the All-Pro Bowl Team. After a strong start to the 1954 season, he missed five games due to a back injury. Upon his return, the Lions finished with a 9-2-1 record and won the NFL Western Conference Title before losing to the Browns. For the second time, Stanfel was selected as an All-NFL Player by the AP and UP. Stanfel received two more injuries, and was out for three weeks. 
 
In 1956, Joe Kuharich, who had coached Stanfel at USF, arranged to acquire him for the Washington Redskins, and he played three seasons with them, earning AP and UP honors each season. His NFL career honors included the NFL 1950’s All-Decade Team, the Detroit Lions All-Time Team, five Pro Bowls, and All-NFL status in five of his seven NFL seasons.
 
When he retired in 1958 from playing football, he began coaching as an Assistant Line Coach at Notre Dame from 1959 to 1962 under Kuharich, followed by serving as Offensive Line Coach at University of California in 1963 under Marv Levy. Levy later said of Stanfel: “When it came to teaching fundamental techniques, Dick Stanfel had no peer (Marv Levy, Skyhorse Publishing).” In 1964, Kuharich, now with the Philadelphia Eagles, hired Stanfel as his Offensive Line Coach and he coached there from 1964 to 1970. In 1969, Stanfel was named as an offensive guard to the NFL's 1950s All-Decade Team. 
 
In 1971, Stanfel returned to his home town to serve as Assistant Coach to the San Francisco 49ers, and later held positions as Offensive Coordinator and Offensive Line Coach to Head Coach Dick Nolan. In 1976, Dick Nolan, now with the New Orleans Saints, recruited Stanfel and he coached for them as Offensive Line Coach and later Head Coach until 1980. Lastly, he was hired by the Chicago Bears from 1981-1982, with Mike Ditka who later called Stanfel “the best offensive line coach in football (St. Louis Post-Dispatch).” In 2016, he was elected to the NFL Hall of Fame.