Sad News: Former Ohio State Wide Receiver, a Star Player, Passes Away at the Age of 48
"The Ohio State Football Program Mourns the Loss of Dimitrious Stanley, a Star Wide Receiver on the 1996 Rose Bowl Champion Team"
It is with a heavy heart that the Ohio State football community announces the passing of Dimitrious Stanley, a former wide receiver who was a key player on the 1996 Rose Bowl champion team. Stanley passed away after a valiant battle with prostate cancer that lasted nearly four years. He leaves behind his beloved wife and young daughter.
Stanley was a letterman for four years from 1993 to 1996 and was a member of two Big Ten championship teams under the leadership of Coach John Cooper. He played in 45 games and started 13 of them, including all 12 games in the 1996 season, which saw Ohio State go 11-1 and finish second in the nation after their Rose Bowl victory over Arizona State.
As the leading receiver in 1996, Stanley had 43 receptions for 829 yards and 8 touchdowns. He was an honorable mention all-Big Ten Conference selection and was named Big Ten player of the week twice. He had a standout performance in 1996, with a career-high 10 receptions and 199 receiving yards, including the game-winning 48-yard touchdown catch against Wisconsin. In the Rose Bowl victory, he made five catches, including a 72-yard touchdown and three catches during the game-winning touchdown drive in the fourth quarter of the 20-17 win. His 85-yard opening kickoff return at Notre Dame was one of the critical plays in Ohio State's victory in South Bend. Stanley led the nation in kickoff returns for a significant portion of the season and had an average of 24.8 yards per return.
In the 1995 season, Stanley had a 17-yard touchdown catch in Ohio State's win over Notre Dame at Ohio Stadium. Throughout his career, he had 63 receptions for 1,136 yards, an 18.0 yards-per-catch average (seventh-best in Ohio State history), and scored 13 touchdowns. He received his degree in Communications from Ohio State in 2001.
Stanley's father, Wayne, was a running backs coach at Ohio State for five years under Earle Bruce, from 1979 to 1983. Stanley, a native of Worthington, Ohio, remained in the area after professional football stints in the Canadian Football League with Winnipeg and in the Arena League with New Jersey. He co-hosted The Football Fever, a college football show on local ABC affiliate WSYX, for several years and even ran for Columbus City Council in 2015.
