Elyria Sports Hall of Fame: Joel Stuart was force for Elyria Catholic

A football career that started on the fourth grade field at St. Jude's School in Elyria eventually led Joel Stuart to Elyria Catholic and Northwestern University. It will take him into the Elyria Sports Hall of Fame on Saturday. Stuart is part of the 2026 Hall of Fame class that will be inducted in a ceremony at Lorain County Community College. He will be joined by fellow Elyria Catholic alum MacKenzie Tweardy; Elyria High grads Amanda Medvitz, Joe Norton and Doug Foor; the 2009 state champion Murray Ridge basketball team and the state champion 1995 Elyria West 4x100 relay team. Dr. Dennis Carson will receive the Distinguished Service Award. "I was totally stunned," Stuart said of being informed of the honor by former freshman baseball coach and current ESHOF trustee Dominic Piazza. "It means a lot. It's really a testament to everyone who helped me to where I am in life. My parents, my brother and all of the coaches and the players and the teachers who were there along the way. I could not have done this by myself." Stuart, a 1994 Elyria Catholic grad, was a standout on the football field and the basketball court. After earning All-Ohio second-team honors as a defensive lineman his senior year, Stuart went on to Northwestern where he played tight end on the Wildcats' first Rose Bowl team in five decades. "In grade school and in junior high we'd always go to the Elyria Catholic football and basketball games and we looked up to those guys," Stuart said. "They had some good teams, so I was aware of the history and tradition of EC. "There was that expectation that when you played at EC and you put that emblem on your helmet that it meant something special." Stuart's love of sports started when he a young boy growing up in Wellington before his family moved to Elyria the summer before he started fourth grade. "Part of it comes from my family and family values they instilled," Stuart said. "My dad, Francis Stuart, was a high school teacher and coach. We used to go with my dad to practices and he'd go to scout teams and I'd go with him. I was around that atmosphere my whole life." Dave McFarland was Stuart's football coach his final two years at Elyria Catholic and he still remembers the huge role Stuart played at defensive end on the Panthers' 1992 playoff team that finished the year with a 9-3 record. "Joel's presence on the football field changed how offense's had to operate," McFarland said. "There's this 6-foot-4 defensive end with perfect technique. Nobody was going to get outside of him and if you went inside of him he was going to close down on you. It was easier for us to call a defense because people ran away from Joel. "He did it all on his own. He was a quiet leader, he outworked everybody. He had that big frame and he made it bigger and stronger. Everybody respected Joel and followed Joel. He came in ready to work. He didn't say a lot but you knew he meant business. I don't remember a lot of guys wanting to lineup against him in practice." After college, Stuart went on to play one season of professional football in Finland. Despite the fact that Stuart's greatest exploits came on the football field, some of best memories of high school came on the basketball court. "Freshman year my (basketball) coach was Lou Rotunda," Stuart said. "We went 16-4 and won the Admiral King tournament. The game was Lou's 400th win. That was a big deal for us to get him his 400th win and win the tournament." In his senior year the Panthers defeated state-ranked Lorain Catholic in the Division III district final. "That was quite the rivalry and that game my senior year was one I'll never forget," Stuart said. "That (district final) at Elyria High was probably the biggest game in my career at EC." One of his favorite football memories was when the Panthers freshman team, coached by fellow Hall of Fame member Mark McGuire, faced St. Edward and beat the Eagles 7-6. Elyria Catholic won the game with 13 players while St. Edward showed up with three buses filled with players. It wasn't only in the athletic arena where Stuart succeeded. He said his time at Elyria Catholic instilled skills and values that have helped him in the game of life. "If you want to make it on the field you had to do it in the classroom, too," Stuart said. "One of biggest takeaways from Elyria Catholic and Northwestern is managing your time. Once you're committed everything falls in line that's required to succeed in the classroom and on the football field." Stuart has lived in Columbus, Washington state and Northern Virginia but now makes his home in Avon Lake. He works for the Department of the Treasury as program manager. Football helped Stuart make friends he still keeps in contact with three decades later. "I had just moved to Elyria and I didn't know anyone. I had never played tackle football. It was this perfect storm of stuff I was going through as a kid," Stuart said. "We were driving up to the football field because my dad wanted me to play ... I was kind of hesitant. Those kids I met that day became lifelong friends. "Most former athletes always speak to the camaraderie, that's what people miss the most. I can be gone for 30 years and the connections are still right there. They don't go away." Stuart, a father of three, has advice for his own children and others who might look to follow in his footsteps. "Have passion for whatever it is you do," he said. "Whatever you do, do your best." Contact Todd Shapiro at (440) 329-7135 or ctsports@chroniclet.com.