A three-sport star at Grand Haven High School, Steve Sluka was outstanding in football, basketball and track for the Buccaneers. Captain of the football and basketball teams in his senior year, he helped the Bucs to the Class B mythical football crown in the fall of 1926, followed by the Class B state basketball title in the spring of 1927.

Sluka enrolled at Michigan State College (now Michigan State University) in 1928, earning a freshmen numeral in football, basketball and baseball. He transferred to the University of Illinois, where he again earned freshman numerals in the same three sports. After graduation from Illinois, he received his master’s degree from the University of Michigan in 1938.
Steve began his teaching career at Hemlock High School near Saginaw in the fall of 1938. Head coach of the basketball and baseball teams at Hemlock, he moved to Morenci for the 1941-42 school year. In the fall of 1942, he returned to Grand Haven to teach. Following his service in World War II, Sluka came back to Grand Haven High School and took on the head coaching duties of the Bucs varsity basketball and baseball teams. His cage squad won one Class B district crown in his 10-year period as basketball coach.

But baseball was Sluka’s first love. He coached the sport for a total of 32 years in Michigan, compiling a 380-244-2 overall record, including a 340-231-2 mark at Grand Haven. His 28 years at the helm of the Buccaneer program included a 31-0 season in 1961 and a state record 56 consecutive wins spanning the 1960-62 seasons. In 1971, he was recognized as the Midwest region’s National High School Athletic Coaches Association baseball coach of the year. He retired from coaching in 1973.

Athletic director at Grand Haven from 1950-1972, Sluka served on the state committee that established the format for the state’s first official baseball championship tournament in 1973. In 1981, he earned the Charles E. Forsythe award (the Michigan High School Athletic Association’s highest honor) for his years of service to high school sports.