He gained national prominence by coaching Beloit College to a 238–57 basketball record from 1945 to 1957 while guiding them to an NIT berth and a final AP Rank of No.

That team included future Hall of Fame coach Johnny Orr and 1952 Olympic gold medalist Ron Bontemps.

The success Stanley had demonstrated caught the interest of Beloit College, where he became coach and athletic director in 1945.

During his twelve years at Beloit, Stanley's teams won six consecutive Midwest Conference titles from 1946 to 1951.

The two most prominent events occurred when the Stanley's Buccaneers devastated Cornell (Iowa) 141–53 to establish a Beloit College Field House scoring record, and crushed Ray Meyer's DePaul team 94–60 to break the Chicago Stadium scoring record.

[7] That career was short-lived, as Stanley's desire to coach brought him back to the high school ranks of Illinois.

For 10 seasons Stanley coached the Knights to four regional and three sectional titles, advancing to the state quarterfinals in 1963.

At Boylan, met his most difficulties, losing 130 games – nearly half of his high school total.

[11] In 2007, the Illinois High School Association named Stanley one of the 100 Legends of the IHSA Boys Basketball Tournament.

[12] Stanley was also inducted into the Wisconsin Basketball Coaches Association Hall of Fame posthumously in October 2009.