In 1903, his Nevada State Sagebrushers team, drawn from a school with 80 students, defeated the California Golden Bears.

His father, Abraham B. Steckle, was born in Waterloo Township, Ontario, Canada, in 1842, and worked as a farmer.

At the time of the 1880 United States Census, Steckle was residing with his parents and six siblings in Campbell Township, Michigan.

In 1898, Steckle was among the first western players to be named to an All-American team after being selected by Walter Camp as his second-team tackle.

The entire front page of the Daily Nevada State Journal was given to coverage of the game, and the banner headline read: "CALIFORNIA'S PROUD COLORS LOWERED BY THE DOUGHTY ELEVEN FROM SAGEBRUSHDOM.

"[5] Steckle's picture appeared on the front page, and the paper praised his efforts in turning Nevada into a football power: Out of the eighty students of the N.S.U.

have been selected eleven young men who were moulded into shape by Dr. Steckle, the best football coach who ever came to the Coast.

"[6] Ivan left Nevada after the 1903 season to follow his older brother to the University of Michigan Medical School.

Ivan died from typhoid fever in 1909, and Steckle accompanied his brother's body to the family's old home in Freeport, Michigan.

[11] On March 4, 1938, Steckle, 65, was found dead beside his automobile on a side road near his home with "a .38 caliber bullet through his head.