Original HOF Board member dead at 83

{GALLERY}F. Stuart “Stu” Wilkins, an original member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame’s Board of Trustees, died Tuesday at the age of 83. Wilkins also served as Chairman of the Board for 10 years.

Wilkins, a key member of the steering committee that earned Canton as the site for the Pro Football Hall of Fame, served on the Hall of Fame’s Board from its inception in 1963 through 2004. He was granted Emeritus status following his retirement. Wilkins was the Board’s first secretary, a position he held until being named Chairman of the Board in 1987.

“Stu was instrumental from the very beginning in getting the Hall of Fame started in Canton,” commented current Board Chairman Thomas W. Schervish. “He devoted decades of leadership in helping the Hall of Fame grow to such great heights. He drew tremendous pride in seeing how the Hall of Fame developed into the institution it is today.”

A graduate of the University of Michigan, he was a four-year letterman at guard for the Wolverines football team and a member of the 1948 National Championship squad. Wilkins also earned his law degree at Michigan. He was a partner in the Wilkins, Perkins, Wilkins, Milligan Law Firm from 1954 to 1966.  He then helped form Krugliak, Wilkins, Griffiths & Dougherty in 1966.  Although he retired from the firm in 1998, he remained active in the company for many years afterward.  

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