US Air Force and consultancy Stealey had the goal of becoming a fighter pilot and eventually a general. He attended
Pennsylvania Military College in the 1960s; he wore glasses but "fought his way into the program" regardless, and was granted a waiver. This allowed him to attend the
United States Air Force Academy in 1966, but unfortunately a "minor slip-up in his final days dropped him to sixth in his class and out of the running for the fighter assignments." He was however asked to work as a flight instructor after his graduation in 1970, flying the
T-37. Stealey has stated that he was advocating for computer based flight simulators in military training as early as 1971, but faced opposition due to fears of new pilots losing flight hours. He attained the rank of Captain before leaving active service and going back into education, while continuing to serve with the
Pennsylvania Air National Guard over the following decade. Initially considering a
law school, he realised that he would be better served with an MBA and so attended
Wharton School of Business. He became a consultant with Cresap, McCormick & Paget, and later
McKinsey & Company. He has stated that he was not very good at consultancy, as he would want to solve problems for the clients immediately and not sit and wait for them to "talk for years". He took job with
General Instrument in corporate strategy. He built some novel software for the business for financial planning, and while purchasing computer hardware for the company he encountered early video games on the Atari and met
Sid Meier, then also employed by General Instrument.
MicroProse At a company function in Las Vegas in 1982, he was seated next to Meier, and discussed setting up a games business. The two spent time together in Vegas and competed against one another for high scores on a
Red Baron arcade cabinet. Stealey was shocked that Meier beat his score, considering he had actual pilot experience, but Meier's knowledge of video games was more important for the contest. He retired from the military with the rank of lieutenant colonel.
Baltimore Spirit Stealey had been a fan of the
Baltimore Blast soccer team since the 1980s, having previously sponsored trips for the group. In 1988 he had also included the Blast's goalkeeper
Keith Van Eron in
MicroProse Soccer. When the
MISL collapsed in the summer of 1992, Stealey stepped in and bought the team which was renamed to Baltimore Spirit and shifted to the
NPSL. It retained many of the same players, along with the original coach Kenny Cooper. Cooper and Stealey had a "falling out" in 1994; Cooper resigned after Stealey declined to sell, and was replaced by Dave MacWilliams. The team's record over the following years was consistently poor, and Stealey lost $3 million in the venture before he sold it to Ed Hale in 1998.
Interactive Magic / iEntertainment Network Stealey started the game software company
Interactive Magic in 1995.
Next Generation listed him in their "75 Most Important People in the Games Industry of 1995" for his roles as former head of MicroProse and then-current head of Interactive Magic. Stealey sold it in 1999, but re-purchased it in 2002 and renamed it to
iEntertainment Network. In 2018, Stealey worked together with David Lagettie to re-acquire MicroProse; the studio announced its first new titles in 2020. Stealey is considered the co-founder but has no specific role at the new MicroProse, providing consultancy and mentorship only due to his age. ==Personal life==