Pam, (left), Karen and Charles Steele. (Solomon Crenshaw Jr., For The Birmingham Times)
” data-medium-file=”https://www.birminghamtimes.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/Parker_Family-e1738813622436-300×258.jpg” data-large-file=”https://www.birminghamtimes.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/Parker_Family-e1738813622436-1024×879.jpg” tabindex=”0″ role=”button” />
By Solomon Crenshaw Jr. | For The Birmingham Times
Pam (class of 1982) and Karen (class of 1980) Steele can scarcely remember a time when they didn’t attend A.H. Parker High School sporting events. That’s because their parents, who weren’t even graduates, were devout Thundering Herd fans.
“I was in the fifth grade at Elyton Elementary,” recalled Karen of her earliest recollections of attending Parker athletic events. “We would always attend the Parker games. It was something that we did as a family and we really enjoyed going, even at that young age.”
Their dad, Charles Steele, who passed in April 2020 at age 82, was an alumnus of Immaculata High School, a private Catholic school in Birmingham, and their mom, Betty Steele, a grad of Birmingham’s Ullman High, who passed away in November 2005 at 64. Each was passionate for Parker sports.
The family home was on First Avenue North in the Smithfield Community, about a mile and a half from Parker, Birmingham’s oldest high school which turns 125 this year. But home or away, the parents, the daughters and their brother Robert (class of 1978) would certainly be there.
“We used to go to games with him when we were younger,” said Pam, president of the A.H. Parker United Alumni Association Inc. since January 2024. “A lot of his friends went to Parker. He went to a private Catholic school. He used to go to the (Parker) games with them.”
And he was quick to expose his children to Parker pride and each one bled purple and white.
“My mom and dad, they loved Parker,” Karen said. “They loved the history and the tradition. With my dad, his mom attended Parker, his uncle and his aunt attended Parker and graduated from Parker. His uncle (John B. Norman) also taught at Parker.”
Charles Steele knew all there was to know about Parker lore. “He could tell you about all the greats from Parker,” Pam said. “I remember him talking about Buck Buchanan (a Parker standout athlete who was captain of the football and basketball teams before starring at Grambling State and then the National Football League’s Kansas City Chiefs) and all of the greats. He was a fan of Parker even before we attended Parker.”
Or were even born.
“Most of the kids (with whom he grew up) went to Parker,” the alumni president said. “I can remember being a little girl and all of us going to the football games with him. That was way before either of us went to Parker. He was a fan for as long as I can remember, even before we went.”
Pam could have chosen not to go to Parker. Her great uncle – Hayes High Principal John B. Norman – insisted on her taking the test to attend Ramsay Alternative High School. The eighth-grade honor student passed the test but passed on becoming a Ram.
“I can remember crying. ‘No, I don’t want to go,’” Pam said. “My parents said, ‘She’s gonna go to Parker.’ I went to Parker.
“When we went (to Parker), they became involved in PTA, the band boosters,” recalled Pam, who played clarinet in the band. “They were supportive and involved in all of our activities.”
Said Karen: “There was no way that we could grow up in that house and not love Parker. My parents loved to attend the games. It was just like a big family. Everybody who was a part of the Parker fanbase was like a big family. I felt like I was with my family, who I love, cheering for the school that I love.”
Principal Darrell Hudson was pleased to affirm Charles Steele’s Parker pride.
“Even when he was ill, he was coming to everything that we had,” Hudson recalled. “He treated me like I had been here, like I was a graduate. And the way he interacted with the coaches was just phenomenal.”
Pam said she’s proud to be president of the alumni association of the 125-year-old A.H. Parker High School. She hopes to bolster the 100-member alumni organization to buoy the current student body.
“That’s what I have in our newsletter, at the beginning from the President’s Desk,” she said. “I want to be able to give more back to the students at the school and I want to recruit more alumni to be active within the alumni association.”
