Former OSU receiver Stanley dies at 48 after cancer battle
Dimitrious Stanley, a former wide receiver at Ohio State who was the Buckeyes’ top pass catcher as a senior in 1996, has died. He was 48.
His death followed a battle with prostate cancer. Stanley was diagnosed with the disease in 2019.
Thomas Worthington High School football coach Mike Picetti announced the news of his death Thursday.
“It is with great sadness that I report that Cardinal Great Dimitrious Stanley has gone home to be with our Lord,” he wrote in a message on Twitter. “Please pray for Jessica and his little girl Dakota. Rest in Peace my friend.”
Ohio State teammate and friend Dee Miller said Stanley’s death was “heartbreaking news for everybody. Teammates. Buckeye Nation. He fought very, very hard.
“It was remarkable to see how he handled things after being diagnosed, the way he fought, and the way he still tried to live his life and be around for his family. Selfishly, we’re all going to miss him physically, but we didn’t want him to continue to suffer the way he was.”
Miller, a Springfield native, is a year younger than Stanley and described him as a mentor.
“He had the best smile,” he said. “He would always be making the room light, cracking jokes in the wide receiver room. Even in his hospital bed, we would joke like it was the locker room, all the way up until a few days before he passed. He was very, very funny and had a big heart.”
Before heading to Ohio State, Stanley grew up in Worthington and graduated from Thomas Worthington.
Over his career with the Buckeyes, he caught 63 passes for 1,136 yards and 13 touchdowns. His 43 receptions for 829 receiving yards and eight touchdowns were team highs in 1996.
In his final game, Stanley helped Ohio State to its first Rose Bowl triumph in 23 years as he caught a 72-yard touchdown from Joe Germaine late in the third quarter of a 20-17 win over Arizona State. He also caught two third-down passes on Ohio State’s last-minute game-winning drive.
“We needed that win,” Miller said, “and Coach ( John) Cooper needed that win. Back then, the Rose
Bowl was the thing to get to and win. He had a big part in that. Being raised in Worthington and having such a big impact in that game, it was remarkable to see.”
Germaine said he was sorry to hear of Stanley’s passing.
“So sad,” he texted to The Dispatch. “I love Dimitrious. He was an amazing teammate and player and will go down in Ohio State history as making some of the biggest plays in the biggest games.
“He was always so kind to me and always made me feel welcome. A great man and a great person.”
Stanley later spent three seasons in the Canadian Football League and Arena Football League and contributed to the Football Fever show on WSYX ABC 6 before Buckeyes games.