Richard Stull and Craig Riordan have one thing in common besides being professors at Humboldt State.

They are both avid sports fans.

And, thanks in part to the Sport Literature Association, they are able to share their zeal with 500 people who write about and/or used to play sports themselves.

Stull and Riordan both recently attended the 25th Annual Sport Literature Conference in Johnson City, Tenn., where the professors presented papers on sports.

“Everyone there is extremely supportive and you learn all kinds of stuff you’d never know otherwise,” said Stull, who, along with Riordan, is a member of the SLA. “We have good discussions and it’s great.”

HSU has been privy to two of the SLA events in the past few years – as Stull hosted the 17th Annual SLA Conference in 2000 and Riordan took on hosting duties in 2005 – and Stull said he felt honored to host at a place other members truly enjoy.
“The other members like it here and actually wanted to host the event here this year (instead of in Tennessee),” Stull said. “And I enjoy being a part of this very much. I look forward to it and it’s one of the highlights for me every year.”

The SLA was started by Lyle Olsen, who was a talented athlete that played minor league baseball before becoming the head coach at San Diego State from 1965 to 1971.

At a North American Society of Sport History meeting, Olsen discovered many professors who were presenting sports literature papers and decided to found the Sport Literature Association by publishing an issue of Arete: The Journal of Sport Literature in 1983.

And although Olsen passed away in 2000, his legacy is carried on by people like Joyce Duncan, who was the SLA conference host this year and has done an admirable job of promoting the group.

“She’s a very influential member,” Stull said.

Some of the more luminous members of the SLA include former professional football player Michael Oriad, who joined the Kansas City Chiefs to play center for six seasons after they defeated the heavily favored Minnesota Vikings 23-7 in the 1970 Super Bowl.

Now, Oriad is the dean at Oregon State University.

Also, Don Johnson was a tight end for Hawaii when they played Humboldt State in a 1968 football game before joining the SLA later.

Stull said former athletes like Oriad and Johnson are just a small sample of an eclectic group that has maintained their love of sports despite career changes.

“Many of them are former athletes, but the majority of them now are English professors or intellectuals who try to incorporate sporting themes into their work,” Stull said.

Stull added that he wants to continue imploring others – within the association and in Humboldt County – to see how rewarding being an SLA member is.

“I hope Craig and I get gray and inspire other folks within or outside the group to create their own work,” Stull said. “I have no plans of stopping any time soon. I love this group.”