Butch Steen
2026 Hall of Fame Inductee
Raymond, MN
Raymond, MN
Butch was born in Sisseton, South Dakota, and graduated from Browns Valley High School in Minnesota in 1962 where he was a 4-year letter winner in baseball and wrestling. After graduation, he attended South Dakota State University where he played baseball for one year and wrestled for four years. After Butch graduated from SDSU in January 1967, he entered active duty in the U.S. Army for the next three years. There, he volunteered to serve in Vietnam where he commanded a mobile army hospital and earned two Bronze Stars. After his honorable discharge, Butch taught biology in Raymond and MACCRAY for 32 years. He coached baseball, football and wrestling, earning Coach of the Year honors in each at various times.
Butch has been involved with baseball for over five decades. He began his amateur baseball career in 1961 for New Effington, SD and joined the Browns Valley Bombers in 1965. He was known as a tenacious competitor. Butch was a hard throwing right-handed pitcher who also played third base with a career batting average over .300. He helped lead Browns Valley to their first state amateur tournament in 1966. In all, he played in four state amateur tournaments—three with Browns Valley and one more as a draftee for Dumont. He managed Browns Valley from 1970-1973 and played there until 1987.
Butch resurrected Raymond’s amateur baseball program in 1989 after he left Browns Valley and has managed them ever since. To date, he has managed 17 state tournament teams and helped make Raymond one of the top programs in the state, winning a state title in 2016 and losing in the semifinals three other times to the eventual state champion.
Butch also oversaw the building of dugouts, press box, concession stand, bathrooms and batting cage. He coordinated the installation of an irrigation system, infield sod, new fencing and helped build Raymond’s new grandstand. Butch helped organize the Cornbelt League in 2001 and was their league secretary for 24 years. In 2025, he initiated the Raymond Area Baseball Association to keep baseball alive among area youth.
Butch is also a member of the Raymond Rockets Hall of Fame, the West Central MN Historical Society Baseball HOF, the Cornbelt League HOF, the Dave Bartelma Wrestling HOF and the National Wrestling HOF/MN Chapter.
Butch married his wife, Deena, in 1984 and has three daughters (Janice, Terri, and Jennifer) and two sons (Trevor and Tyler) along with 12 grandchildren.