When he resigned in January 2000 as Allen High School’s softball coach due to physical issues, Ed Stinner said in a Morning Call story: “I never thought I’d leave Allen. This is the job I always wanted. I had every intention of coming back. But I have been in constant pain, and when I met with Dr. [Thomas] Meade, it became clear what I had to do. It wasn’t easy telling the kids. They’re such a big part of my life.”
But while Stinner had to leave his beloved Allen softball team, then nicknamed the Chicks, his legacy continued in local softball for the next quarter century at Parkland and Whitehall, and throughout the Lehigh Valley as a summer/travel team coach.
His involvement with the Carole Weil Memorial Scholarship Fund All-Star Classic, the Lehigh Valley Carpenter Cup team and the Lehigh Valley Softball Hall of Fame, as well as his participation in various camps and clinics, allowed him to remain a big part of kids’ lives.
And, conversely, he became a big part of theirs.
So, there was an overwhelming sense of sadness on Monday when news spread that Stinner lost a decade-long battle with cancer and died at the age of 71 at Fox Chase Cancer Center in Philadelphia.
Stinner’s Chicks reached the 1989 Eastern finals, won the 1990 Class 3A state crown, as well as a District 11 title in 1991 and an East Penn Conference championship in 1992. Under his leadership, Allen was a district runner-up four times and finished fifth in the EPC five times. His overall record was 281-127 in 18 seasons, and he was a two-time Morning Call Coach of the Year.
He went on to experience considerably more success as an assistant at Parkland and Whitehall.
But his impact on local high school softball can’t be measured in win-loss numbers.
His legacy could be more accurately gauged by the hundreds, if not thousands, of young lives he touched, beginning with his time with the West End Youth Center and the Patriot Queens women’s team. His start came in 1976 when he was a senior at Mansfield University and got calls from girls who knew him from the playgrounds who wanted to play. Maura Hertzog, who would go on to lead Allen to a state basketball title in 1981 was among those wanted to play.
Besides carving his niche as one of the area’s all-time best softball coaches, he was also a highly regarded special education teacher at Trexler Middle School and spent several decades working with kids in the summer on Allentown playgrounds.
In fact, this past summer, as his cancer spread, Stinner was still working the playgrounds, still giving whatever he had left to help mentor kids.
“Ed was a City of Allentown playground supervisor for over 20 summers, and he was a tremendous role model for athletes, playground children and teaching colleagues,” said John Hrebik, Allentown’s playground manager. “Everyone benefited from Ed’s passion, enthusiasm, kindness, knowledge, and commitment in whatever he was involved in. He was a true gentleman and lived life the right way. I valued the friendship we had and will miss him dearly.”
Hrebik is not alone. Dozens of Stinner’s players who spanned six different decades of his involvement with local softball expressed their heartfelt condolences on social media, and the outpouring of sympathy wasn’t limited to just two or three schools.
“This one definitely hurts,” said Rachael Medero Kuplen, a former Bethlehem Catholic player. “Our softball community lost a legend. A coach, mentor, husband, father, and friend, Ed was one of these to all of us. I am truly blessed to have had in my life.”
“Greatness will always live on in every one of us you touched,” said Jaime Wohlbach, the former Saucon Valley and Kutztown University standout who is now the head coach at East Stroudsburg University. “All our softball conversations will be treasured forever. I will miss your smiling, loving ways around Pates Park and beyond.”
“Coach Stinner had a gift — everything he touched turned into something amazing,” said Jenn Shellhammer Getz, a former Allentown Central Catholic star who went on to pitch Division I college softball at Radford and Maryland. “While I never had the chance to play for him, I was fortunate enough to work alongside him. I was still learning every time I was around him. His knowledge, leadership, and passion for the game were unmatched. His impact will continue to be felt through all he influenced along the way.”
Terri Adams was on some of Stinner’s first Allen teams in the early 1980s. She didn’t want to play softball at first, but Stinner coaxed her to give it a try. It turned out to be one of the best things she has ever done since it led to her becoming a college softball coach most of her adult life. She is currently the head coach at Eastern University.
“He had this amazing gift of knowing exactly what you needed, often before you even realized it yourself,” Adams said. “That was just who he was — always one step ahead in caring for others. The number of lives he touched is impossible to count — players, coaches, families — he poured into all of them. Around here, he wasn’t just a coach, he was Mr. Lehigh Valley Softball — the heart, the standard, and the spirit of the game we all love.”
Emma (Varrato) Strisovsky, the starting shortstop on Parkland’s 2015 state title team, who went on to play at Elizabethtown, said: “He just radiated joy and had a true passion for the game and helping girls get better, not just on the field but off it as well. Throughout the years, even after high school and college, he would still be in contact with me, checking in on how I was doing. He was there for my wedding. He was just one of those coaches you never forget. He was my coach for life, and I definitely wouldn’t be the person I am without him.”
Mackenzie Laub, who played for Stinner at Whitehall and is now a senior playing for Adams at Eastern, said, “Coach Stinner was an amazing influence on me in every aspect of my life. He was there for me on good days and bad. He taught me to believe in myself and always said just be Mackenzie. I won’t forget his motivating speeches, delicious after-practice desserts, and the impact he had on me and our team. He is one of the main reasons why I continued to play softball in college.”
Blake Morgan, who coached with Stinner at Parkland and then brought him over to Whitehall with him when he became the Zephyrs head coach, said: “Ed was a humble winner. He won at life. He won with his wife Melodie, who made tremendous sacrifices so he could go out and do all these awesome things and supported him through everything, and he won with his kids, Deanna and Kyle, who are both amazing.
“He also won with all the great kids whom he helped succeed on and off the field,” Morgan said. “He would never talk about himself. He would never talk about his own accomplishments. He would talk about them and listen to them and talk to them about the things that would make them better. And nothing made him happier than when they would succeed, and it didn’t matter what team they played for. He just wanted to make kids better.”
Softball Hall of Famer Brent Windsor went back at least 50 years with him and considered Stinner a brother.
“I never saw anyone teach the game and build a team the way he did,” Windsor said. “Not to slight any of the other great coaches in the Lehigh Valley, but Ed was always teaching with an incredible attention to detail. His players were blessed to learn the game from him. More importantly, he was one of the most caring, compassionate, and selfless people I have ever known. If you knew Ed, you knew he was always there for you. He was a wonderful husband and a terrific, inspiring father.”
Allen athletic director Randy Atiyeh said: “Coach Stinner has and always will be considered one of the good guys. The history at Allen is pretty incredible, and yet not too many can call themselves a state champion. Coach Stinner is a state champion. While that’s impressive, those who were fortunate to know Coach Stinner know he was even more of a champion as a person. He’s in our Allen Hall of Fame, and the softball player of the year award at Allen is named the Ed Stinner Award. When I look at our softball field, to me, and many others, it’s the Ed Stinner Softball Field. We have plans to honor Coach Stinner even more in the future.”
While funeral and memorial services haven’t been finalized by the family as of Tuesday afternoon, Morgan said several memorials are being planned for the places Stinner coached at the most — Allen, Parkand, Whitehall, and Patriots Park. Each memorial will have a place to leave either a flower or a note to the Stinner family, sharing a memory or a note of encouragement to them.
Morgan added that the memorials will be operational by Thursday and remain up for one week after his funeral service. Parents, players, friends and everyone in the softball community is encouraged to participate.
Meanwhile, the Stinner family has been overwhelmed by the response of the local community.
“My mom, sister, and I are so incredibly thankful for the outpouring of support we have received over the last 10 years and especially in the last few weeks,” Kyle Stinner said. “We have seen the impact that my dad has had on so many people, and we hope that impact never dies. The world is going to miss his passion, his service, and his smile. But if each of us can take the lessons he taught and pay them forward, we can help fill the holes left by his loss and continue his legacy.”
