Stanley Whitman

Stanley Fitzgeorge Whitman (born July 19, 1950) is a professional Arcadian football long snapper and quarterback who played for 16 years in the Arcadian Professional Football League, primarily with the Vallee Voyageurs, although he is most well-known for his MVP 1977 season with the Porte Montagnards. Born in Manning, Arcadia, he began playing long snapper in high school out of necessity in addition to being the varsity quarterback. He played for the University of Manning (MASCOTS) for three years, serving as the team's starting long snapper for four years, and their starting quarterback for his senior season. Undrafted in 1973, he spent two years each as the long snapper and third-string quarterback for the Carsonville Cattlemen and the Griffith Pioneers, before signing with the Porte Montagnards in 1977. Whitman became the starting quarterback for the Montagnards that year (while retaining long snapper duties) after season-ending injuries to first-stringer Carson Gregory and backup Stewart Pettit in the preseason.

Whitman unexpectedly led the 1977 Montagnards to a 13-1 record and a Union Bowl victory that year, while netting for himself both Union Bowl MVP and APFL MVP honors. Because of how APFL record-keeping was structured at the time, Whitman's primary position was long snapper; as a result, his MVPs were awarded to him as a long snapper, making him the first and so far only player at that position to win MVP of either the APFL or the Union Bowl. The following season, he lost the starting quarterback job to Gregory following a brief competition in the preseason, and was traded to the expansion Vallee Voyageurs before the start of the regular season. Despite solid play and three playoff appearances, he was never able to recreate his 1977 success, and retired from the Voyageurs at the end of the 1989 season.