Now, the Fellowship of Christian Athletes (FCA) is celebrating six decades of touching lives—one heart at a time.

"To look back over 60 years and realize the athletes and coaches who have been shaped by the Fellowship of Christian Athletes is remarkable," said Les Steckel, FCA President and CEO. "We are so thankful for all who have helped FCA grow to where it is today and have encouraged young athletes to lead lives that are dedicated to Christ, both on and off the playing field. Athletics offers continual opportunity either to portray Christ or to elevate the world's standards. By choosing to honor Christ, players and coaches impact not only their own teams but also all who interact with them, look up to them and even oppose them on the playing fields."

That young basketball coach with a vision was Don McClanen, who founded the Fellowship of Christian Athletes in 1954. But for seven years before that, he prayed about what the organization would look like and whom it would serve. He joined forces with the other FCA "Founding Fathers"—Dr. Louis H. Evans, Dr. Roe Johnston and Branch Rickey, among others—who made FCA come to life.

Evans had encouraged McClanen to write to other athletic greats who were also strong in their faith—greats like football stars Doak Walker and Otto Graham; baseball players Carl Erskine, Robin Roberts and Alvin Dark; Olympians Bob Mathias and Bob Richards; coaching and front office legends Amos Alonzo Stagg, Bud Wilkinson and Clarence "Biggie" Munn; and even broadcasters Tom Harmon and Red Barber. In all, 19 letters were mailed, each carefully laying out McClanen's God-given desire for what would become FCA.

Fourteen of those 19 men told McClanen they were interested. But Rickey, the then-Pittsburgh Pirates General Manager who had signed Jackie Robinson, didn't answer McClanen's letter. But the young coach pressed on for a meeting with him. He promised to drive to Pittsburgh to meet with Rickey on his own dime for a five-minute face-to-face. The meeting lasted five hours, and the rest is history. Three months later and with a $10,000 gift from a Pittsburgh businessman, FCA became a reality, chartered in Oklahoma on Nov. 10, 1954.

Large events where top names in sports spoke to young athletes began in Oklahoma City and Tulsa, then a few years later, in Denver, Houston and Indianapolis. Overall, 90,000 young people heard the gospel from some of the nation's most popular athletes and coaches. When Sports Illustrated covered the Denver events, FCA had the publicity push it needed to explode.

The first FCA National Conference was held in 1956 in Estes Park, Colorado—a precursor to today's FCA Camps, which are now a staple of FCA's ministry, growing to 516 camps in 40 states and 33 countries with an attendance of 86,557 in 2014. This past summer, 10,137 campers made a first-time commitment to Christ, and 9,642 more rededicated their lives to Him.

Building on the words of Billy Graham, who said, "A coach will influence more people in a year than most people will in a lifetime," FCA began focusing on reaching coaches as well as athletes. Coaching legends such as Tom Landry, Tom Osborne, Bobby Bowden, Grant Teaff, Frank Broyles, Dean Smith, Kay Yow, Tony Dungy, Raymond Berry and Jerry Kindall have joined FCA over the years to impact countless athletes and fellow coaches.

According to the FCA web site, "For 60 years, the Fellowship of Christian Athletes has never stopped moving, never stopped growing. Whether it existed only in the form of a dream and stack of old magazine articles in a basketball coach's dresser drawer, or in the very real possibility of reaching every corner of the earth, the vision remains the same: to see the world impacted for Jesus Christ through the influence of coaches and athletes."

Les Steckel is President and CEO of the Fellowship of Christian Athletes. The veteran NFL coach's involvement with FCA dates back to 1972 when, as a college football coach, he attended his first FCA conference. Since then, Steckel has served as Huddle Leader, platform speaker, camp dean, football clinician and a regular guest speaker for FCA events. During his 32-year coaching career, Steckel was a mentor to teams for the University of Colorado, U.S. Naval Academy, San Francisco 49ers, Minnesota Vikings, Tennessee Titans, New England Patriots, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Denver Broncos, Buffalo Bills and Houston Oilers. While a student at the University of Kansas, Steckel was a Golden Gloves boxing champion; he graduated with a triple-major in political science, social work and human relations. He also served in the U.S. Marine Corps and Marine Corps Reserves, retiring as a colonel in 1999. Steckel and his wife, Chris, have three children and three grandchildren.

Watch a video timeline celebrating FCA's 60 years and counting, click here. For more information about the Fellowship of Christian Athletes, visit www.fca.org.

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