The all-time winningest coach in program history, John Stallings '76 was a name synonymous with Franklin & Marshall men's squash for 20 years. Stallings finished his career with 239 victories as a head coach, leading the Diplomats from 1991 through 2007. He additionally served as co-head coach alongside "Doc" Marshall from 1987 through the spring of 1991, before assuming the reigns of the program while Marshall took on more duties associated with being the director of athletics. Prior to being named cohead coach, Stallings spent six years on staff as an assistant to Marshall.
With Stallings at the helm, the Diplomats continued their golden era of squash. Stallings' accomplishments with the team are even more impressive when it is taken into account that squash competes under a single division, which pits the Diplomats against the top teams across all three NCAA Divisions. Nonetheless, that did not slow the momentum that Stallings and his Diplomats were able to build.
From 1984-88, Franklin & Marshall was ranked in the top division of college squash. F&M never finished outside of the top six during that time in what would be commonly known today as qualifying for the Potter Cup. That run of success was highlighted by what still stands as the best squash team at Franklin & Marshall. Coming into the 1986-87 season, the Diplomats had been consistently ranked among the top six during the previous three seasons, climbing to as high as No. 3 in the final rankings during the 1985 team national championships. However, there was something special in the air when that 1987 team took the courts as the Diplomats went 15-1, falling only to the eventual national champions during a historic season. They backed that success up with a fourth-place finish in 1988.
By the time Stallings wrapped up his coaching career, the Diplomats had made five Potter Cups, 12 Hoehn Cups, and two Summers Cups. The Diplomats captured three Hoehn Cups at the national team championships (1991, 1996, and 1997) to finish as the No. 9 team in the country during those occasions. Franklin & Marshall also won the Summers Cup during the 1998 and 2003 seasons when it qualified for that division. In summary, that success amounts to an incredible legacy of consistency as the Diplomats never finished outside of the top 17 teams across the entire country with Stallings at the helm.
The 1996 Hoehn Cup Championship team was another particularly strong season for the Diplomats as they won a school-record 16 matches against some of the strongest competition on the East Coast. An always-challenging schedule was a hallmark of Stallings' legacy as coach. Stallings helped to mentor the program's first All-Americans as an assistant, and that success continued throughout his entire tenure. A total of 13 players combined for 30 All-America honors since he joined the coaching staff. That collective group featured three players (Morris Clothier '87, Jess Berline '97, and Vineet Asthana '99) who became the program's only four-time All-Americans to this day. Berline would go on to win the prestigious Skillman Award, which is presented annually to just one senior who has demonstrated outstanding sportsmanship while maintaining the highest level of play in the country. Berline also teamed up with Michael Sabatine to win F&M's first intercollegiate doubles championship.
When Stallings wasn't guiding his players to excellence on the court, he enjoyed a very successful playing career in his own right, highlighted by playing many years on the Berwyn "A" team in the Philadelphia "A" singles league.
