Howard Payne University Athletics

Robert E. “Steamroller” Stokes came to Howard Payne from Buckner Baptist Children’s Home in Dallas and became a standout in track and football. He won all of the Texas Conference weight events in his four years at Howard Payne and was the first freshman to ever earn high-point honors. In football, Stokes was on the 1940 Texas Conference co-championship team and the championship teams in 1941 and 1942. He also was named Most Valuable Player and Most Versatile Player. He was All-Texas Conference in 1941 as an end and All-Texas Conference in 1942 as a fullback. He was selected to the Little All-American team in 1942 as a defensive left end. Stokes also played center for the Yellow Jackets basketball team. After graduating in 1943, he joined the U.S. Navy. From 1951 to his retirement in 1980, served as recreation director at the Veterans Administration Hospital in New Orleans.