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During the early years of Bowling Green athletics, coaches were selected more on the basis of leading an
athletic regimen than coaching a specific sport. Few men typified this example as much as Warren Steller.
On the gridiron, he amassed a record of 40-21-19 from 1924-34, and his .619 winning percentage during that time is
second only to Doyt Perry for coaches that have spent more than five years walking the sidelines as Bowling Green's
head coach. His most impressive seasons came in 1928 and 1930, finishing both years with no losses and two ties on
their record.
He coached basketball for one season in 1924-25, and did an outstanding job there, as well, turning a 3-15 team into
a team that went 9-5 before handing the reins of the program over to Paul Landis, who continued the success for 17
more years. He also served as athletic director until 1941.
But Steller is most known for his work as manager of the baseball team, a job he also held in 1925 (the third Falcon
team he coached that year), and went back to for 31 years starting in 1928. His baseball teams won 217 games against
139 losses, a winning percentage of almost 61 percent over his career, including being named the 1944 Ohio collegiate champions.
Steller was inducted into the Helms Hall of Fame in 1954, and retired as baseball coach in 1959, and as a teacher in the Department of Health and Physical Education in 1964. The university dedicated the newly built baseball stadium in his honor in 1965.
Steller was inducted to the BG Hall of Fame in 1965, and was bestowed an Honorary Degree by the university in 1973. He
passed away on August 6, 1974.
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