Editor's Note: I had the pleasure of working with Steve for six of his 35 years at Washburn and I was honored to sit down with just a few of the people within the athletics department and let them share the story of Steve's life. Coaching baseball was just one of his many passions and we were all lucky to be a part of that for more than a third of a century.


Boots or cleats. A Washburn ball cap or a cowboy hat.
 
Steve Anson was comfortable wearing any of those things, which is why the community was shocked that he recently died doing what he loved: working outdoors on his land.
 
The 60-year-old head baseball coach at Washburn University was killed in a tree-trimming accident Sunday afternoon on his property. A memorial service will be held at 4 p.m. Monday, June 30, at Falley Field. The field will be open as late as needed and the public is invited to socialize and celebrate his life.
 
Anson filled out 1,645 lineup cards in his 35 seasons and 513 men took the field for him from 1980 to 2014 wearing the Ichabod uniform.  His 867 career wins (including one year at Wayne State) ranks 25th all-time in NCAA II and second among coaches to ever coach in the MIAA.
 
His passing left many stunned and saddened but nearly everyone will remember the same positive trademarks.
 
"When something like that happens to someone you know and care about, you just want the world to stop," volleyball coach Chris Herron said. "You want everybody to mourn like you are and to see what a good person that guy was."
 
Herron was a high school baseball coach when he first met Anson at a clinic. He was impressed that Anson remembered their conversation years later when Herron came to Washburn.
 
Steve Ice, head athletic trainer at Washburn since 1982, saw evidence right away of Anson's longevity and dedication to the University. Of the seven people he remembers interviewing with, Anson was one of only two to stay in their positions three months after Ice took the job.
 
Ice has been the only head athletic trainer at Washburn and he and Anson went through a lot of growth and changes in their 32 years together. Falley Field and Lee Arena didn't exist when they began. "We were all piled together in Whiting," Ice said.
 
Anson, the only coach to call Falley Field home, had to go off campus to McDonald Field before the stadium was built in 1990. Ice remembers Anson bringing the whole team out there to do a lot of the maintenance.
 
"I used to always tell him, if I ever hit the lottery, I was going to do something to make that baseball diamond something that he wouldn't have to worry about," Ice said.
 
Though it wasn't winning the Powerball, Anson got a break in 2008 when Falley Field was fitted with an artificial surface that covered most of the infield and foul territory. Infield bobbles were reduced and practice time was increased.
 
When Anson wasn't wearing a cowboy hat or Washburn cap, another feature was very noticeable atop his tall and fit frame and he wasn't ashamed to joke about it.
 
"He loved bringing recruits in," Ice said. "Particularly in the last few years, and tell them, 'if you can believe it, when we started here, we both had hair. And I got pictures to prove it.' Even up until his last week he was telling people that."
 
People who have spoken publicly about Anson since his death remember his ability to tell stories and laugh. They remember the open-door policy he had with players and anyone who would come around the office.
 
"As everyone says, he's about as nice a guy as you ever want to meet," head football coach Craig Schurig said. "He always made you feel better after talking to him. After a loss, he'd be one of the first ones in on Monday to see how you're doing."
 
Baseball connected Herron with Anson. "The great thing for me and Anson was, we were both baseball guys," Herron said. "He would sit down and we'd talk for 40 minutes and then he would let my old backside go out and throw BP (batting practice). I certainly enjoyed the opportunity that he gave me to keep my foot in the door for baseball."
 
Anson's friends and coworkers remember lunches together at Henry T's and his players will remember pregame meals of Mr. Goodcents subs. He will be remembered for trading country and classic rock CDs with anyone who wanted to share, St. Louis Cardinals baseball and hunting. Beyond wins and losses, Anson cared about the character of his players.
 
Dena Anson, Steve's wife and the university relations director at Washburn, wrote on Steve's life: "While the players were expected to perform to the best of their abilities on the field, he also stressed the priority of their performance in the classroom," she said. "Steve always enjoyed meeting up with former players and their families at reunions and the many weddings we attended through the years. He was humored by the fact so many of them commented years later on three things: the torturous running at practice, his routine spartan lunch of fruit, vegetables and yogurt and his ability to perform more wrist curls in the weight room than anyone he encountered."
 
Schurig said: "As a coach, you can get tied up in wins and losses too easily and it's really about the relationships that you build with the players."
 
Ice considered Anson a friend and he'll remember their last hunting trip for one of the coach's friendly jabs.
 
"I hadn't gone hunting in a while," Ice said. "I had a pheasant coming straight at me. That's probably the easiest shot there is. That bird went by me and I unloaded my gun on it. He loved laughing about it. He goes, 'Ice, how many times you gonna shoot at that bird?' I don't even think I saw a feather drop."
 
Anson had a bird practically land in his lap on a bus ride in 2012 and his whole team witnessed him calmly deal with the strange situation in a matter of seconds. They were on the way to Truman for a four-game series in mid-march.
 
"All the sudden you hear this loud crash and I see nothing but feathers and glass," pitcher Brett Ash said. A turkey had crashed through the window. "All you see is feathers floating around and then coach Anson runs out the door with a turkey in his hands."
 
"Easiest shot he ever took," Ice said after learning of the story. "He didn't get ruffled about much."
 
They patched up the window and proceeded to Kirksville, Missouri, where they won three of four games against the Bulldogs.
 
Ash learned about Anson's death the evening it happened while on the way to a summer league game. He had a weird feeling about carrying on and no one would have blamed him if he decided not to play. He talked with his coach and decided playing was the right thing to do.
 
Ash, a four-year starter at Washburn, is the closer on his team and when they took a 5-0 lead into the eighth inning, he didn't think he'd get the chance to pitch and honor his former coach.
 
His team gave up four runs in the bottom of the eighth and Ash took the mound in the ninth hours after Anson's death. He retired the side with two strikeouts to get the save and preserve the win.
 
"That one tonight was for you Coach A. We lost a great man, coach and friend. Thank you for everything," he posted on Twitter after the game.
 
Like many other Ichabods to play under Anson before him, Ash extended his playing career hoping to get a look from a Major League franchise.
 
"It's how he would have wanted it," Ash said. "He loved the game and enjoyed hearing about his guys playing after their college careers."
 
More than 500 men played for Anson and they probably all have their own story of how they came to meet him and earn a spot on his team.
 
"Honestly, he's one of maybe three coaches to offer," Ash said. "But I came in and earned his trust and he gave me a chance my freshman year."
 
Ash suffered two injuries that kept him from playing in 2013 and limited his time this year.
 
"Through my injury, during the tough times when things weren't healing right, he always had faith in me," Ash said. "Even when I took a year off, there were no problems with my scholarship or anything like that. He's one of those guys who would never turn their back on you."
 
Anson always had an interest in athletics as he grew up in Indiana. He was born on Jan. 30, 1954, in Princeton and also lived in South Bend and Mishawaka. He attended Kansas State on a baseball scholarship and also played basketball. His 19 career triples with the Wildcats still stands as the school record and he led the Big 8 in hitting in 1974 with a .439 average. He earned a bachelor's and a master's degree from K-State before coaching one season at Wayne State.
 
Steve and Dena were married in 1990 and they recently took custody of their youngest grandson, Seth Cooksey. Their oldest grandson, Zach Linquist, will attend Washburn and play baseball this year.
 
"He was most proud of his grandsons," Dena Anson wrote. "Steve's sudden passing is an extreme loss for Zach, who will pitch for the Ichabod baseball team beginning this fall. Zach now says he will still play for his Pa Steven, but only in a different way. Seth also misses his grandpa profoundly. Through the years, they forged a bond through an appreciation of country music, which filled their many rides in the truck. Seth treasured Steve as the prime male role model in his life and will need more hugs than usual in the coming years."
 
Steve was looking forward to the future.
 
"He was in great shape and I think he had another 10 years of coaching in him," Schurig said. "He was reenergized with the team this year and with his grandson coming to play for him. I'll always feel lucky to have known him and I'm a better person for it."

Anson left big shoes to fill. A pair of cleats at Falley Field and a pair of boots back home.