Stuart Tripp amassed an unbelievable record as a coach, almost all at his high school alma mater, Ayden. A 1940 graduate of Ayden, Tripp then graduated from East Carolina in 1944 and then helped make Ayden into an athletic powerhouse. He coached football, basketball and baseball there from 1946-62, and then after a one-year stint at Tarboro returned to Ayden to coach basketball from 1965-68. His overall football mark at Ayden was 93-39-4. He was an assistant coach during a mammoth 45-game win streak there. His baseball teams compiled a 100-52 record, while in basketball his teams rolled up a 289-69 slate during his first stint and then went 72-4 in his final three years of coaching upon his return. His teams won seven conference championships in 15 years in football, six in 15 years in baseball, and 12 league titles, including a couple of state championships, in basketball. Tripp served eight years as an elected official on the Ayden Board of Commissioners. A youth baseball facility in Ayden was constructed and named in his honor, with the money all raised from and by his former athletes.