Lynn “Bear” Stiles ’50 knows what it takes to be successful in athletics. At Cornell he set the school shot put record, played center in football and occasionally wrestled heavyweight. 

Nearly 50 years later, after watching his community’s high school varsity football team struggle through 33 consecutive losing seasons, Stiles launched a program he hoped could lead others toward athletic success. He and his wife, honorary alumna Sally Stiles, formed the Youth Sports Foundation (YSF) in 1996 in Muscatine, Iowa, with three local tackle football teams and 58 players in fifth and sixth grades.

“I looked around and said, ‘It’s time to start,’ ’’ Stiles said. “The way you build something is to start with the young kids. We didn’t advertise, but through word of mouth the numbers increased so much that we needed to hire a staff.”

Next season the YSF expects to field 170 football teams with 3,800 players from all across Iowa, western Illinois, Minnesota and Wisconsin. The organization has added girls’ volleyball, coed track and field and coed golf. Perhaps by no coincidence, Muscatine High School has qualified for the Class 4A state football playoffs five times (1997, 2001-2004), advancing to the semifinals in 2003. 

“Everyone on the team gets to play and it’s not win, win, win,” Stiles said of the YSF. “You have to make it a great experience for the kids and you have to live sportsmanship.”

“Lynn is one of the most positive-spirited people I have ever met.” -Bob Majors '57

Because of their efforts founding the YSF, the Stileses were inducted into the World Sports Humanitarian Hall of Fame in 2005 in Boise, Idaho.

“Can you imagine if our country could produce 50 more Lynns and Sallys — one for every state — there would be hope for our generation and the next,” said Myron Finkbeiner, founding member of the World Sports Humanitarian Hall of Fame. 

The YSF is another chapter in the Stileses’ longtime support of causes that draw their passion, including Cornell. Bear was a Cornell trustee from 1981-90 and is a class agent. Still frequent visitors to the campus, the couple have a history of consistent giving to Cornell, especially to athletics.

“We have a great group of young, aggressive coaches at Cornell,” Stiles said. “I just like to help them. We want our coaches to be enthused because winning is a lot more fun than losing.”

Bear Stiles made a name for himself in his first week at Cornell during an activity for first-year students. “The nickname comes from a skit I did during Freshman Week at Cornell, not because of my prowess on the athletic field,” he said.  “Not many people knew my name at the time, but they knew I played the bear in the skit.”

Stiles had graduated from Lake Forest (Ill.) High School in 1946 and was recruited to the Hilltop by Glen Cunningham, former athletics director at Cornell, who told him about Coach Paul Scott ’29. 

“One of my greatest experiences was being with Scotty, getting to wrestle once in awhile and being on the national championship wrestling team in 1947 — not necessarily being a champion, but being associated with those guys,” Stiles said. “At Cornell I had that drive to try to break a school record in the shot put. You have to keep after it. There have been a lot of times in my life when the chips were down, but I learned at Cornell that when the chips are down, you still really can perform.”

Stiles majored in business administration with a minor in physical education and coaching. He received a master’s degree in marketing and market research from the University of Illinois in 1952. From 1952-56 Stiles served in the U.S. Naval Reserve where he set up the first self-service Navy Exchange in Columbus, Ohio. He started Stiles Stores in 1963 and peaked with 18 drug and hardware stores. The desire to be successful in business was shaped in part during Stiles’ years at Cornell, he says. 

“Lynn is one of the most positive-spirited people I have ever met,” said Bob Majors ’57. “Without question he is one of those people who has always supported and spoken up for the college.”