Steele, a life-long sports fan who grew up in Lanham, MD and attended the University of Maryland, was diagnosed with Acute Myeloid Leukemia (AML) and passed away after a two-year battle with the disease. Shortly after that, the annual golf tournament was set up by Steele's family and close friends to help keep Steele's legacy alive while helping to raise money for people currently battling cancer.
Former Redskins two-time Pro Bowl quarterback, and Super Bowl XXVI Most Valuable Player, Mark Rypien lost his son Andrew to cancer at age 3. Rypien then dedicated his post-career days to creating and running the Rypien Foundation, which helps raise money for families with kids battling cancer.
Rypien's Foundation teamed up with the Mickey Steele Tournament shortly after hearing about it in 2005, as Mark was a close friend of Steele's and they used to play softball together.
Former Washington great, Joe Theismann, tees off
"To be out here and honor a buddy of ours and to help others is incredible. It's great to see the alumni out and the new guys out here," Rypien said following a day of golf out on the links. "It's very humbling to do this for our organization and the Redskins organization (another sponsor of the event)."
The Rypien Foundation's Program and Event coordinator Amber Masten and Mark's daughter Angela Rypien were also in attendance helping out around the course. Masten was seen around the course with Mickey's granddaughter, Lexi Steele, selling raffle tickets and interacting with golfers throughout the day.
"I have been a part of the foundation for 7 1/2 years," Masten explained prior to the start of the 10:00 am tee times. "We raise a good amount of money for cancer and all of it goes to patient care for cancer patients.
"It's really a great event. Lots of the alumni come back each year and they have a lot of fun with it."
Angela Rypien, the quarterback for the Baltimore Charm of the Legends Football League (formerly the Lingerie Football League), drove a cart around the course with a fellow Charm teammate to interact with golfers and sometimes even throw a football with them.
Rypien (white shirt, third from right), poses with a group
All of the proceeds to the charity event, which had a great turnout on a beautiful Friday afternoon, benefit the Washington Redskins Charitable Foundation and the Rypien Foundation.
Among some of the other notable former Redskins players in attendance and on the golf course include: quarterbacks Billy Kilmer and Joe Theismann; running backs Brian Mitchell, Reggie Branch; wide receivers Ricky Sanders and Gary Clark; tight end Doc Walker; lineman Jeff Bostic; linebacker Ken Harvey; DE/LB Carl Kammerer; safety Clarence Vaughn.
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