He was part of a family from Antwerp with close connections at Beerschot. He made his Red Devils debut on 3 May 1931 as successor to Dis Bastin and became a regular. Stanley did not walk run past his opponents, he danced away from them in a nonchalant manner. He was unable to play for three years, after a horrific broken leg during a game in Ireland. In 1938 he once again came into the national team.