Stanley Ridd

Stanley Ridd was born Stanley John Ridd on August 14, 1890, in St. Louis, Missouri, to John C. Ridd and Eliza Jane Shuck. He later moved to northern Kentucky and graduated from Newport High School in 1908 before entering the University of Kentucky that fall. Ridd studied mechanical engineering, belonged to the Kenton and Campbell County Club and earned a Bachelor of Mechanical Engineering degree in 1913. His senior project examined the power value of gasoline in internal-combustion engines.

The 5-foot-9 forward remained involved in basketball during his years at Kentucky. Contemporary campus publications connected him with inter-class competition and listed him with the 1912 team, while Wildcat World records his lone varsity appearance on January 27, 1912. Ridd scored two points against the Lexington YMCA as part of an undefeated Kentucky squad coached by Edwin R. Sweetland.

Although his varsity career was brief, the surviving records show that basketball was a continuing part of Ridd’s university experience. The 1913 Kentuckian portrayed him as a popular student and active in engineering organizations as he completed his degree.

During World War I, Ridd served in the United States Navy as a chief maintenance mate. He later spent 43 years with the American Creosoting Company, managing its Kettle River division in St. Louis from 1937 to 1952 before becoming personnel director in Louisville. Ridd retired in 1956 and died January 28, 1964, at age 73.