Year Inducted: 2002
Nominated By: Tom Keach
Sports Competed In: Tennis
Athlete, Coach, or Contributor: Athlete, Coach, Contributor
High School:
Attended Pueblo Roncalli H.S. until it closed, then attended Pueblo East H.S., where he graduated in 1972.
Accomplishments:
● One of the most successful local and regional tennis players in Pueblo history.
● Winner of more than 150 Colorado/United States Tennis Association-sanctioned tennis tournaments; 15 Pueblo city championship titles in singles and doubles.
Holder of numerous state rankings, including:
● No. 1, men’s 5.0-division singles.
● No. 1, men’s 5.0 doubles.
● No. 2, 5.0 mixed doubles.
● No. 2, 35 and older mixed doubles.
● No. 3, father-son open doubles.
In the Intermountain USTA District (Colorado, Nevada, Utah, Wyoming, Idaho, Montana), the holder of the following rankings:
● No. 1, 5.5-division mixed doubles.
● No. 2, 35 and older mixed doubles.
● No. 3, 40 and older singles.
● Member of Colorado state championship 5.0 mixed doubles team.
Honors:
The first Puebloan ever elected as CTA President (1999) and re-elected to serve two more one-year terms. Unprecedented.
Recipient of the Bud Robineau Award, given by the CTA to the top contributor to Colorado Tennis.
Inductee, Pueblo East High School Hall of Fame.
Coaching:
Volunteer coach at Central, County, and South high schools.
Paid assistant boys and girls coach, Pueblo County High School. More than 30 of his players have qualified for the state tournament, and the County High girls won the South-Central League title for three consecutive years (2023-25).
Personal coach, at no cost, to several Pueblo high school players, several of whom won state championships and went on to play in college on scholarships.
Occupation:
Retired Managing Editor/columnist, The Pueblo Chieftain newspaper. Past president of the Colorado Press Association. Named the CPA Newspaper "Person-of-the-Year". Winner of more than 40 state and regional press awards for writing and special projects.
As of 2026, Steve is an adjunct professor in the media communications department at Colorado State University Pueblo.
Personal:
Lives in Pueblo with his wife, Paula, a 2017 GPSA inductee. They have five children between them: Tia, Chandra, Casey, Stephen, and Nathan.
