Born in Augusta, Georgia, to pastor Charles A. Stakely and Sarah Jessie Stakely, he received a law degree from Mercer University in 1904,[1] where he was also a star athlete on the Mercer baseball team.
[3] He "was at second base in every game played by the Baptist institution for four years (1901-02-03 and 04) and four times was named to the All-Southern Intercollegiate team".
[3] In 1905, he was elected to the faculty of Howard College (later renamed Samford University), where he taught business methods and Latin,[4] and where he was also head coach of the football team in 1905, and of the baseball team in 1908.
[1] In 1943, Governor Chauncey Sparks temporarily appointed Stakely to a seat on the state supreme court vacated by a leave of absence taken by Justice Thomas S. Lawson, who had taken an active duty role with the United States Navy during World War II.
[1][5] Stakely successfully ran for re-election to the seat in 1946, 1952, and 1958,[1] remaining on the court until his resignation in 1962.