Stephen A. “Steve” Orthwein, a renowned polo player and a member of the Busch brewing family, died Sunday at his home in Florida. He was 72.
According to a biography from the St. Louis Sports Hall of Fame, Mr. Orthwein was an international-level polo player who was captain of the Yale University team that won back-to-back college titles in the 1960s.
In the 1970s, Steve was elected captain of the St. Louis Polo Club, a post he held for 30 years. He was president of the U.S. Polo Association from 1988 to 1991 and chairman from 1991 to 1995.
In 2011, Mr. Orthwein was elected into the U.S. Polo Hall of Fame.
He was involved in an accident while playing polo in May 2016, sustaining neck and spinal injuries that required him to use a wheelchair.
Mr. Orthwein was a great great-grandson of brewery founder Adolphus Busch, and his grandmother, Clara Busch Orthwein, was a sister of August A. “Gussie” Busch Jr.