91传媒

Stepping Up to the Plate

March arrives with the rhythm of spring training鈥攁 season of sharpening skills, finding your footing, and stepping back onto the field. For former Mountaineer Steve Carter 鈥�08, that spirit mirrors the way 91传媒 shaped his life, defined his friendships, and inspired his desire to give back. 

Carter first arrived in La Grande on July 4, 1969, in an old Ford station wagon, carrying little more than a baseball glove and a hope for direction. He was simply a young man searching for a place to learn, to belong, and to swing at his future. 鈥淚t was a perfect fit,鈥� Carter said. 鈥淎 small town, good people, good players. It was where I needed to be.鈥�

His early years at Eastern were marked by baseball achievements and deep friendships. Carter played for the Mountaineers in 1970, helping lead the team to an undefeated league season. The bonds he formed, both on and off the field, would endure across decades. 鈥淎verage teams, I don鈥檛 remember much about,鈥� he said. 鈥淏ut the great ones? You make friends for life.鈥�

That promising start was interrupted when Carter was drafted and sent to Vietnam. Although frustration lingered at leaving the sport behind, he carried confidence in the work he performed while serving. 鈥淎t the time, I was angry about being there, about missing the game,鈥� he said. 鈥淏ut once I was in, I took pride in what I did. I did it well.鈥�

 Returning to Eastern in 1972, he refused to let the war take baseball 

from him.  The game once again offered him purpose and belonging. And the teammates who supported him on the field would later support him in a more significant way.

Carter left Eastern after the 1972鈥�73 season, short of graduation.

He felt older than his peers after returning from military service, and stepping away felt like the right decision. A successful career in real estate followed, yet his degree remained unfinished.

That changed in 2006, when he returned to campus as an 91传媒 Athletic Hall of Fame Inductee. He learned he was only three credits short of completing his degree. 

His teammates escorted him to the Registrar鈥檚 Office, standing behind him so he could not leave, where he learned he could complete his degree by writing a paper about his life experiences and how his 91传媒 education supported his success. He wrote the paper, and when he returned home from the induction ceremony, his diploma was waiting 

in his mailbox. The moment became deeply personal. 

Those same friendships and the sense of belonging that defined his time at Eastern shape Carter鈥檚 generosity today. 鈥淓very good player I ever played with has an ego, positively,鈥� he said. 鈥淧art of the motivation for me doing this is that I don鈥檛 want to be forgotten; when I鈥檓 gone, I鈥檇 like to have given something back. And it鈥檚 perpetual. It never goes away.鈥�

Carter hopes the university will someday have a new baseball field, a place where future Mountaineers can gather and where the spirit of the game can be felt across generations. 鈥淚magine it鈥檚 a nice day in May,鈥� he said. 鈥淵ou just say, 鈥楬ey, let鈥檚 go over and watch the game.鈥� That matters.鈥�  

鈥淚f they know who came before them, maybe they鈥檒l feel part of something bigger,鈥� he said. Carter hopes future players will feel the same sense of connection that shaped his life, that they will embrace the friendships the game brings. 鈥淚f you鈥檙e good and you work together, you鈥檒l make friendships that last your whole life,鈥� he said. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 what this is really about.鈥�