Family members aside, few people knew the legendary Elford “Brud” Stover better than Bill Haggett. Stover and Haggett went to school together in Bath from first grade on. Haggett has the fondest memories of his old friend, who passed away Oct. 5 at the age of 77. Haggett visited Stover, who was weakening from his cancer, last week.

“We talked about walking to Dike School together,” Haggett said. “He was like a brother. We walked to school together and home for lunch, until we got our bicycles.”

Haggett doesn’t hesitate to call Stover the greatest athlete ever to come out of Bath.

The 1953 Morse High School graduate excelled in baseball, basketball and football there, and went on to do the same at Bowdoin College.

The Bowdoin website puts it this way:

“Elford ‘Brud’ Stover is perhaps the most versatile athlete ever to grace a gridiron, court, or diamond beneath the pines, playing three sports and excelling at three positions in two of them.

“Stover arrived at Bowdoin with a breathtaking athletic pedigree. During his senior year at Morse High School, Stover was a stellar two-way performer for the 1952 state champion football squad and the 1953 state champion baseball team; he was also the top scorer for the Shipbuilders in basketball.”

Stover is a member of both the Maine Sports Hall of Fame and the Maine Baseball Hall of Fame.

Nicknamed “Brud” ever since his older sister Nancy referred to him as “little brudder,” Stover and his beloved wife, Marilyn, had five children.

One of their sons, Tim, said he and his siblings loved relationships with their father’s many friends. They remember fun things, like going to games at Bowdoin.

“It was like an extended family,” Tim Stover said. “It was a lot of fun being his son.”

Tim Stover also recalls his father’s sense of propriety.

“He wouldn’t swear around us,” he said. “There was a kind of classiness to him, and dignity. He was a great role model. As a man, he taught me how to conduct myself.”

Tim Stover also recalls his father announcing Morse football games, and coaching youth sports. And business trips with him to Boston, when Brud Stover worked at Bath Iron Works.

“It was a blast,” he said.

In later years, Stover worked part-time as a consultant. He underwent bone-marrow transplant for cancer, and lived for many years afterward.

“As he would say, ‘I’m a 13- year cancer survivor,’” Tim Stover said. “Spending time with him was just precious and fun. You always want more.”

Haggett also praised Stover as much more than a great athlete.

“He was dedicated to family and community,” Haggett said. “He was considerate.”

And he was loyal to Morse. Stover created the Blue & White Golf Classic with Morse students in mind. Most of the proceeds go toward scholarships.

Haggett said that the golf tournament generated $43,000 in net proceeds this year, with $38,000 going to the school’s scholarship fund.

“He knew that Morse High School graduates were going to benefit,” Haggett said. “He was very interested in young people, with particular importance going to graduates of Morse High School, and of Bowdoin.”

Stover played on state baseball and football championships at Morse. He was a quarterback/defensive back on the football team, second baseman/shortstop on the baseball team and guard on the basketball team. Until his senior year, when the barely- 6-foot Stover filled in at, yes, center.

In another remarkable accomplishment, Stover made the Smith-Tobey American Legion baseball team as a 12-year-old, playing with high school students. He played Legion baseball for an unheard-of six years.

Haggett said it was apparent by age 10 that Stover would be a great athlete. His best sport? Basketball. Maybe.

“If he’d been faster,” Haggett said, “he could have played at the professional level. He had all the skills. He was an incredible shooter and an excellent passer, and for his height, a good rebounder. He scored 30 points or more in five straight games.”

Following high school graduation, Stover went to Bowdoin and Haggett to Colby. It was a friendly rivalry.

Haggett worked with Stover for years at BIW, and served with him on the Bath City Council in the mid-1960s.

Stover also officiated high school basketball for many years.

More from the Bowdoin website:

“While undoubtedly an outstanding two-way player on the Bowdoin football team and an excellent fielder both behind the plate and at first base for the baseball team, it was on the hardwood that Stover made the greatest impact on the Bowdoin record book. Graduating in 1958 with 1,144 career points, Stover was the first basketball player in Bowdoin history to break the 1,000 career point mark. This feat is made more remarkable by the fact that first-years were not allowed to compete at the varsity level during that era.

“While he had his greatest impact on Bowdoin’s record book in basketball, it was on the football field that he gained his widest recognition. The accolades were welldeserved as Stover led the Polar Bear offense from behind the line as the team’s quarterback — where he was the top passer among Maine’s colleges and universities — and was a stalwart on defense as well. To this day, his four interceptions in one game against Bates as a sophomore remain the greatest singlegame performance by a pass defender in Bowdoin history.”

Stover graduated from Bowdoin with a degree in history, and was a member of Psi Upsilon fraternity.

lgrard@timesrecord.com