Former Parks and Rec director Steen leaves lasting legacy in Capital City
In 2015, the Miracle League Park was dedicated to former Montgomery Parks and Recreation Department director Wiley Steen, who recently passed away at the age of 76. (File Photo)
By GRAHAM DUNN
Few people in the public eye shied away from the limelight like Wiley Steen.
Few people did as much to earn it as the former head of the City of Montgomery Parks and Recreation Department for more than four decades.
“When you needed something, he found a way,” stated Montgomery County Commissioner Doug Singleton.
Steen passed away on Sunday of this week. He was 76 years old.
“He will be missed,” stated Cramton Bowl/Paterson Field facilities director Murray Wilson. “He meant a lot to so many people and was dedicated to making our facilities the best they could be.”
Steen was at the helm of the Parks and Recreation Department for 43 years, overseeing several major projects for the city during his tenure.
During his time as Director of Leisure Services, Cramton Bowl was renovated to include a new press box and eventually became home of a new event, the Camellia Bowl.
Two years later in 2012, the Multiplex was built in the south end zone of the stadium and is now the home of several events year round.
Also in 2012, the construction of a new soccer complex was completed near AUM, named for former mayor Emory Folmar.
One of Steen’s biggest projects was Gateway Park which was developed in south Montgomery that included a nine-hole golf course, the first public golf course built by the city since Lagoon Park was created in the late 1970s.
A native of Pine Apple in Wilcox County, he graduated Auburn University in 1969 and became a student teacher later that fall at Goodwyn Junior High School.
He coached basketball at Goodwyn and his pupils included longtime high school football coach Jimmy Perry, who was a member of Steen’s first team in 1969.
“He loved the game of basketball,” Perry said. “It was easy for the players to fall in love with the game because of his passion. His favorite part of practice was rebounding because he got to shoot the ball. When he was installing (offenses), he demonstrated the works - ball handling, passing, dribbling.
“What was so impressive to me is, years later, he always remembered his players. If you saw him in public, he would remember you and call you by name. That meant a lot to us.”
Steen left coaching and teaching in the late 1970s and eventually went to work with Parks and Rec director Jimmy Brown, who oversaw the construction of the new facility at Lagoon Park, which included a much needed public golf course.
Lagoon’s 18 holes would continuously be rated as one of the top public golf courses in America. The Lagoon softball complex became a model to replicate for several other cities as well as an annex softball complex at Fain Park in East Montgomery. The tennis center has been home to AHSAA state championships and the annual Blue Gray Classic.
But Steen’s most beloved project proved to be the Miracle League Park, which opened in 2005.
“I already knew Wiley but I really learned the most about him when I pitched the idea of a Miracle League,” Singleton said, regarding a baseball field designed for special needs.
“I thought he would say no. or we can’t do that. But from the day I talked with him, he embraced it. He made sure we had what we needed and was out there every day, making sure what needed to be done.
“It would not have happened had Wiley not been in charge. Most projects like this take several months if not a year or two. He did it in a few months. And the bigger picture: Prattville wouldn’t have one now, nor Troy or Opelika. They all spun off what we did here.”
On the 10th anniversary of the league’s debut, the park was named in honor of Steen - the Wiley Steen Miracle Park, in 2015.
“Nobody loved (those kids) more than Wiley did,” Singleton said. “He put out the playground at Ray Thorington park for them…. That is Wiley’s legacy. He had such passion for that project. It meant a lot to him. He didn’t want a lot of fanfare but he know how important that was to so many people.”
Steen worked for five different mayors during his tenure. He was appointed to Mayor Todd Strange’s cabinet in 2009 and maintained a relationship with the city for several years in that capacity.
Steen is survived by his wife, Edna Belle Stallworth Steen, son Wiley Scott Steen (Heather) and grandchildren Wiley Oliver Steen, III and Eloise Hudson Steen, his brother Robert Donald Steen, Senior (Sheila), his brother Timothy Heyward Steen (Cathy) and numerous nieces, nephews and great-nieces and nephews.
Visitation will be held at Frazer Church on Wednesday, Feb. 28 at 11 a.m., followed by a memorial service at 12:30 p.m.
In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations be made in Wiley’s Honor to Dream Court Montgomery at dreamcourt.org , or The Miracle League of Montgomery or Respite Ministry at First United Methodist Church at 2416 West Cloverdale Park Montgomery, AL 36106.