Art Steves

2009 Inductee

Art Steves is a 1954 graduate of Union City High School. After graduation, Art attended Slippery Rock University majoring in education. He also served in the United States Army and is a veteran of the Korean War.

After graduation from Slippery Rock University, Art began teaching at Fort LeBoeuf High School which was the start of his 34 years in education. During his time at Fort LeBoeuf, Art was very active in the community. He coached Little League and softball, was a high school football coach, and was also the director of the Union City Recreation Board. In 1996 Art was recognized as the Outstanding Community Resident by the Erie Business Center and Erie Seawolves. Art is also a past president of the Erie County Coaches Association.

Art is probably best known for his accomplishments as the coach of the Fort LeBoeuf wrestling team. He was the head coach at Ft. LeBoeuf for 26 years and during that time he became known as "Mr. Wrestling" of Erie County. During his tenure at Fort LeBoeuf, Art has coached 88 individual Section Champions, 23 District 10 Champions, 5 Regional Champions, 12 PIAA State medalists, and 3 State Champions. His teams earned 14 Sectional Titles, 10 Erie County League Championships, 6 District 10 Championships, 2 NW Regional Championships, and 32 other tournament victories. His successes as wrestling coach at Fort LeBoeuf earned Art induction into the Pennsylvania Wrestling Coaches Hall of Fame in 1989, the Erie Sports Hall of Fame in 1991, and in 2001 Art was inducted into the National Wrestling Hall of Fame. Throughout all of these accomplishments Art remained true to his one passion, educating his students.

Art is enjoying his retirement with his wife Phyllis and has three children: Russell, Matthew, and Tricia.