Sept. 8, 2011
DEKALB, Ill. - Gary Stearns, a Northern Illinois football great and a member of the school's Athletics Hall of Fame, died Sept. 2 at the age of 69 in Elmhurst, Ill.
A four-time letterman on NIU's football team, Stearns came to DeKalb from Freeport, Ill. and played for the Huskies from 1960-63. He made his mark as a slot end for the team and was part of a dynamic passing attack with Hall of Famers Hugh Rohrschneider (1960-63) and quarterback George Bork (1960-63). All three were members of the Huskies All-Century team.
Stearns still ranks eighth all-time on NIU's career receiving chart with 1,958 yards and 18 touchdowns. His 17 receptions on Nov. 9, 1963 against Central Michigan helped Northern Illinois clinch the Interstate Intercollegiate Athletics Conference Championship, a 27-22 victory for the Huskies. He still owns Northern Illinois' single game reception record for his performance in that game.
In 1963, Stearns and his teammates finished the season 10-0 to claim the College Division National Championship, along with the IIAC Championship. In that season, he posted 931 receiving yards en route to All-IIAC and honorable mention All-America accolades. Stearns led the country in receiving yards per game with a mark of 116.4 yards per game. His 931 yards is still the eighth-best single season total in the Huskies record book.
After graduating from NIU with a degree in physical education, Stearns had a brief stint in the NFL with the Washington Redskins in 1964. He entered the world of education shortly thereafter, and was a teacher and coach at both the secondary and collegiate levels.
From 1970-94, he served as a teacher, head football coach and eventually athletics director at Elmwood Park High School and followed his high school career as an assistant coach and professor at Elmhurst College and Triton College. He started his career at West Leyden High School.
The Huskies 1963 football team was inducted into the Northern Illinois Athletics Hall of Fame in 1986, and in 1991, Stearns was inducted into the hall as an individual. He was also selected to the Illinois High School Football Coaches and Illinois High School Athletic Directors Hall of Fame in his career. He was also presented with the Glenn Holmes Award, the highest honor bestowed to a Freeport High School athlete or coach. At Freeport, Stearns was an all-state selection in 1959.
Stearns, who remained a Huskies supporter throughout his post-NIU career, visited the 2011 team during preseason practices Aug. 19. At the request of current Northern Illinois Head Coach Dave Doeren, he spoke to the players as a group and chatted with them individually after practice.
Stearns was the beloved husband of Toni; father of Bob (Kristi), Scott and Jennifer; grandfather of Kyle, Bailey and Kameron; brother of Evelyn (Chuck) Mrkvicka.
