Stuper calls it a career
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — John Stuper will never forget the year 2022.
The Butler native and former Butler County Community College baseball coach took part in celebrations of his two most glorious achievements on the diamond — winning 551 games as head baseball coach at Yale University and winning a World Series game as a rookie in 1982 with the St. Louis Cardinals.
“I cherish my experiences in both places,” Stuper, 65, said.
He retired as coach after this past season. He returned to Busch Stadium in St. Louis during the summer for a 40th anniversary celebration of the Cardinals’ 1982 world championship.
“It was time for me to get out,” Stuper said of his decision to retire. “It’s been 30 years, I’m 65, it just seemed right. I’m proud of what we were able to do there.
“Wins and losses aside, my favorite part of coaching at Yale was the people. That school has the highest academic requirements in the league. I’ve had the privilege of working with some tremendous young people.”
Yale won four Ivy League titles during Stuper’s tenure — including consecutive crowns in 2017-18 — and played in a pair of NCAA Regionals. His 2017 team won a school-record 34 games.
Ron DeSantis, Yale’s left fielder for four years under Stuper, went on to become governor of Florida.
Stuper and his wife, Pam, Yale’s field hockey coach for 17 years, now live in Florida.
“We were 63-38 over my last five years,” Stuper said of Yale. “I feel like I left the program in pretty good shape and that was important to me.”
He described his players at Yale as “selfless individuals who cared about the big picture.”
Stuper said DeSantis “graduated from Yale and law school and could have made millions of dollars. Instead, he joined the Navy right after he graduated. That’s the kind of people I’m talking about.”
A few of Stuper’s players were selected in the major league draft over the years, including four from the 2019 team, “despite the high academic requirements needed to even get into that school,” Stuper said.
Turning down a few opportunities to leave Yale for coaching positions elsewhere in baseball over the years, Stuper admitted to coming closed to accepting an offer or two. Big 10 and Pac-12 schools offered him pitching coach positions during his Yale career.
“A couple of them were tempting,” he said. “But our football coach, Carmen Cozza, who is a good friend of mine, said something once that I’ve never forgotten: ‘The grass isn’t always greener and you don’t mess with happy.’ That’s why I never left.
“The number of friendships I’ve built over the last 25 years is incredible. It’s been a phenomenal ride for me.”
So, too, was his trip back to St. Louis for the reunion of the 1982 World Series team. Stuper was 32-28 in four major league seasons, three of them with the Cardinals.
His image was part of a bobblehead with fellow pitcher Dave LaPoint, another key piece of the Cardinal pitching staff that year.
“The baseball fans in St. Louis are the most knowledgeable in baseball,” Stuper said. “Dave and I did not have outstanding big league careers, but when they took the entire team around the field in cars while we were introduced, we drew as many cheers as the stars on the team.
“Those fans remember big games and key contributions. Players appreciate it. That’s why it’s such a great baseball town. It’s the best baseball city in America. No one else is even close.”
And few in baseball draw the satisfaction from their experiences in the game as John Stuper.
“The kids I coached there were educated and have gone on to do great things in life,” he said. “Just to be a part of that ... I’ve been truly blessed.”
Stuper coached baseball at Butler County Community College from 1986 through 1991.
