One of the most successful running backs in UBC history. A three-time All-Canadian, league rushing champion three years in a row, '81 Canada West outstanding player and '81 CIAU Rookie of the Year. Holder of numerous UBC records, he also played two years in the CFL.
Glenn Steele, while at Vancouver's Notre Dame High School, was one of the finest high school football players ever to play in British Columbia. It was very much a recruiting coup on the part of Thunderbird head coach Frank Smith that brought about the small (5'8") but speedy running-back's enrollment at UBC and his lining up as a starter with the 1981 Thunderbirds football team.
Steele's first two games in a Thunderbird uniform demonstrated why he was so highly touted, as he carried the ball for 300 yards against Saskatchewan and Alberta. UBC recorded a successful seven win, one loss season in 1981, with Steele emerging as the top ball carrier in the country, gaining a record 951 yards. He was also selected to the 1981 All-Canadian team, nominated for the Hec Crighton Award as the outstanding player in the country and was the winner of the Peter Gorman Trophy as Canada's outstanding rookie university football player.
In 1982, Steele again was the essence of an effective ground game on the team that was considered the best balanced and most potent in UBC football history. After four games, in which UBC dominated its opposition, Glenn was the leading ball carrier in the nation, averaging close to 200 yards per game. The UBC Thunderbirds went on to an undefeated WIFL season, easily winning the league championship. In the National semi-final (Atlantic Bowl) against St. Francis Xavier, it was an incredible performance by Steele and his teammates that produced a 54-1 UBC victory. In that game Steele scored four touchdowns and ran for a record 276 yards, 259 of which he achieved in the first half! One can only imagine how many yards he would have compiled had he played the entire second half. After the game Steele was the recipient of the Don Loney Trophy as the most valuable player of the game - truly an outstanding performance within a total team effort.
The next week, Steele picked up where he left off as UBC captured the National championship and the Vanier Cup with a 39-14 triumph over Western Ontario. He scored two touchdowns and ran for a 236-yard Vanier Cup record, establishing this record as early as the second quarter. He also set a record for the longest Vanier Cup ground gain run, paving the way to his receiving the Ted Morris Trophy as the game's most valuable player and, of course, sharing in UBC's first Vanier Cup.
Steele completed the historic 1982 season by leading UBC to a 19-8 Shrum Bowl victory over SFU, carrying for 239 yards and one touchdown.
Steele's 1982 season could be considered one of the greatest ever experienced by a UBC athlete. He led the nation in rushing and was an easy choice as a selection to the 1982 All-Canadian football team. He was the MVP in his league, the National semi-final Atlantic Bowl and in the Vanier Cup game. He was an integral part of both the Vanier Cup and Shrum Bowl championships, set six UBC football records and was honoured as the province's Outstanding University Athlete by Sport BC.
After only two games into the 1983 season there was talk of UBC career football records falling. Steele had just surpassed Gordie Penn's career record for most rushing touchdowns and was within striking distance of Penn's career yards rushing record. Although 1982 was a tough act to follow, Steele persisted, winning the league rushing title for the third consecutive year as well as gaining WIFL All-Star status for the third time.
1984, Steele's final season, was a disappointment for the team, but UBC's "best ever natural, instinctive runner", according to coach Smith, was for the third time selected to the All-Canadian team. Looking forward to the CFL draft and a career in pro football, Steele culminated his four-year UBC athletic career by sharing with hockey player Bill Holowaty the prestigious Bobby Gaul Award - UBC's top award for male athletes.
Steele still holds numerous UBC football records. His three career records; most yards rushing, touchdowns rushing and total touchdowns - appear secure. His season touchdown record remains unbroken. The three individual game records he owns or shares ties him with Mark Nohra for the most game records of any UBC running back.
Following his graduation from UBC in 1985 with a B.P.E., Steele was drafted by the Winnipeg Blue Bombers for whom he played that season. It was Winnipeg teammate, All-Pro David Shaw, who stated publicly that there weren't many players in the CFL that could return punts as well as Steele.
Steele played for Ottawa in 1986 before retiring from active play to become Sports Information Director and Assistant Football Coach at UBC for the year 1987. In 2012 Steele’s play was acknowledged with induction into the BC Football Hall of Fame. "I look back on my life at UBC and remember that I had a lot of great times," says Steele. "UBC was a great experience for me. I had great coaching and learned a lot about football and myself."
A player with great moves and quickness - there was no running back in UBC history quite like Glenn Steele.
Researched and written by Fred Hume, UBC Athletics Historian
