by Aaron Grayagray@digitalsports.comSome young, unknown kid from Shippensburg State Teachers College named Fred Stauffer came to
Annapolis High School in 1963 to become the school's newest math teacher and he didn't quite know what to expect.
Fast forward 45 years.
Stauffer, a former athletic director, valued coach and of course, cherished math teacher, is now considered an icon at the storied school in
Anne Arundel County (Md.).
Since he officially retired from teaching in 1999, Stauffer has remained heavily involved in the athletics program and can be seen at every Panthers' sports event. He still portrays the persistence of an athletic director and the attention to detail of a track & field coach. But his ever-expanding role outside the classroom, which has been building each year since his teaching retirement, is purely voluntary and comes out of the kindest of his heart.
"He's an icon to me," said Annapolis graduate John Brown, the school's assistant football coach. "Fred has always been in Annapolis. We always see his face and he always has something encouraging to say. If people are down, he's always there to help you out."
At the 34th annual Fred Stauffer Capital City Classic basketball tournament this past weekend, Stauffer was in his element and was the point man for assistant athletic director Dustin McConnaughhay.
"This was my first Cap City Classic where I was in charge," said the 28-year-old McConnaughhay, who was filling in for athletic director Dave Gehrdes. "So if someone asks me a question and I have no idea what the answer is, which happens a lot, I go right to him. Fred gives me the right answer. He's been doing this tournament every year for 34 years ... this is his baby."
Stauffer, who was honored with the prestigious County Executive's Award for Service at the Anne Arundel County Hall of Fame banquet in 2007, has also been relied upon for the "behind the scenes" work for the Annapolis athletic department.
"He does more work behind the scenes than anyone realizes," said McConnaughhay, a 1998 graduate and the school's boys lacrosse coach. "Fred's the type of guy who doesn't want recognition -- he does this stuff because he loves it.
"When I was a student-athlete here, I knew who he was but I didn't really understand the amount work he did for our school and the county. If he wasn't here now, Dave (Gehrdes) and I would have a million more things to worry about."
Stauffer was the athletic director at Annapolis for 30 years so he has a great understanding of what people want when they attend a high school sports event and that's what led him to his well-known program production. For the last 25+ years, Stauffer has personally taken team pictures of every Annapolis squad and that practice evolved into the printing of programs for home games.
"Photography has always been one of my hobbies," said Stauffer, a Hanover, Pa. native and Annapolis resident. "The field has changed a little bit over the years but I still enjoy it."
In each program, Stauffer personally collects information on each player -- name, jersey number, year -- and it's not just for the Panthers. Of course, he gets the information for the visiting teams and usually accompanies it with a team photo. The programs are handed out at the gate and fans across the gymnasium, football field and around the track routinely fall back on them for the facts.
Because of the success of the project, Stauffer got a 'promotion' six years ago when he took charge of the county championship programs for each sport. The seasonal championships are usually held at a neutral site and occur within a week of each other so before Stauffer stepped in, program distribution would fall by the wayside.
"I think a lot of people are surprised when they see the programs for the first time," Stauffer said. "I started it because I would go to all the championships in years past and we never had a program."
Stauffer pitched the county championship program idea to former County Coordinator of Athletics Marlene Kelly and she gave the green light. Greg LeGrand, the current coordinator, has kept the tradition going.
His turnaround on photos is nothing short of professional. During the two-day Cap City tourney, he roamed the end lines and meandered through scores of cheerleaders to capture the action on the court. Monday's pictures were included in Tuesday's programs.
The transition from teacher to photographer took place well before an emerging musical career slowed down. Stauffer played the clarinet in his high school band, the saxophone in two dance bands and had a stint with the viola in his high school and college orchestras.
"I almost paid my way through college with the money I made in the dance bands," said Stauffer, who received a Master's degree from the George Washington University. "Every Friday and Saturday night, we were making five bucks a night. That sounds ridiculous now but it was a dollar and a quarter an hour and I was making a $1.10 an hour at the canning factory at the time."
An inspirational ninth-grade Algebra teacher from Pennsylvania turned Stauffer onto to teaching.
"It was his first teaching job and I thought he was the greatest in the world," Stauffer said. "After that, I said to myself, 'You know, I think I want to teach math' and from that point on, that's what I wanted to do.
"I had a great (teaching) career here and some wonderful, wonderful students."
Stauffer, a high school sprinter, spent nine years as the Panthers' head track & field coach and is still very involved in that scene as well. He is a chairman of the track & field County Relays, a highly-attended event he started in 1970, and is also responsible for bringing the Doc Jones Invitational -- an annual cross-country meet -- from Arundel to Annapolis in 1979.
There's a void when a visit to Annapolis concludes without seeing Stauffer on the sideline or in the crowd. One of the streets in front of the school is named in his honor so it's almost impossible not to feel his presence.
"I've had kids here at Annapolis for the past seven years and Fred has always been here," said Larry Schwartz, a long-time Annapolis supporter. "When my wife and I started coming to events, we'd see Fred with the programs and taking pictures and we just figured he was part of the staff. But he's just one of those people that volunteers his time and helps out in any way he can.
"That's the great thing about Fred: he's always here to pitch in. There's a lot that would not happen if Fred wasn't here."
Stauffer is happily married to his wife, Colleen, who has been a student adviser at
Severna Park High School for quite some time and is the public announcer for the Falcons' basketball teams. It was Mrs. Stauffer who was hired in Anne Arundel County when the pair graduated college together and she is the reason he ended up in the county.
"If it wasn't for my wife, I probably would have never set foot inside Annapolis High School," Stauffer said while perched under the basket at the
Annapolis-Mount Carmel game Tuesday night. "She has meant so much to me over the years."
And there's no question how much Fred Stauffer, a local icon, means to the Annapolis community and Anne Arundel County.
