Eastern Washington University Athletics

A former standout at Lewis & Clark High School, Stanton rushed for school records of 1,238 yards and 21 touchdowns in 1965 to earn first team NAIA All-America and Associated Press Little All-America honors. His season total and average of 137.6 yards per game stood as school records for more than 30 years before they were broken by Rex Prescott in 1997. Stanton had 2,318 career rushing yards in three seasons (1963-65), including an Evergreen Conference record of 271 against College of Idaho on Oct. 16, 1965. That stood as a school record for more than 30 years until Prescott broke it with 272 versus Northern Arizona in 1997. His 21 touchdowns (an Evergreen Conference record) and 126 points in 1965 were school records. Eastern was 8-1 in 1965, with the lone loss by a 21-14 score to Whitworth. Eastern was 5-4 in 1964 and 3-6 in 1963 after a winless season in 1962 (0-8-1). Besides his All-America honor in 1965, he was a first team selection on the All-Evergreen Conference and All-NAIA District 1 squads. He was the lone Savage selected to the All-EvCo first team in 1963 when he rushed for 496 yards. Limited to 13 games in his first two seasons at Eastern because of injuries, he had 584 yards as a junior in 1964."Playing at about 185 pounds, Stanton did not have abundant speed," wrote sportswriter Butch Brown in 1979. "But he was extremely adept at using his blocking, and his balance was unmatched. If a would-be tackler didn't take him down hard, he was gone for six." As a senior at Lewis & Clark in 1958, Stanton set the Spokane City scoring record with 85 points as he finished with 767 yards rushing (8.7 per carry) and 135 yards receiving. He was selected as the Inland Empire Sportswriters and Broadcasters Athlete of the Year for his efforts, however, a ban against awards to high school athletes by the Washington State High School Activities Association prevented him from accepting the honor in person. Stanton played his freshman season at Washington State before transferring to Eastern. He credited his eventual wife Dixie, who also attended Lewis & Clark, for luring him back into college after a two-year hiatus. "When I dropped out of Washington State I started going with Dixie (Carter) who was going to school out here," Stanton said in 1965. "After a couple of years, she talked me into going back to school and actually recruited me to Eastern." Stanton taught and coached in Monroe, Wash., before going overseas to teach. He taught physical education, coached, and served as athletic director at schools in Guam, Taiwan, Iran, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates. He also served as president of the Eastern Mediterranean Activities Council for six of those years in the United Arab Emirates. He and his wife Dixie returned to Wilmington, New York, where they helped their oldest daughter, Jill, and her family run Mel's Diner and the Four Seasons Motor Lodge. Stanton was one of the 12 running backs on Eastern's "100 for 100" All-Time Football Team released in June 2008 by the EWU Athletic Department. The overall "100 for 100" squad consisted of 100 of the top players in school history to help commemorate the 100th year of football at Eastern. Players were honored on Eastern Athletics Hall of Fame Day on Sept. 27, 2008, in conjunction with EWU's Big Sky Conference football game with Idaho State.