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- George Steele (1)
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George Steele
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| George Steele | |
|---|---|
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| Steele (left) in the movie Ed Wood' | |
| Statistics | |
| Ring name(s) | George Steele The Student |
| Billed height | 6ยด1" ( 185 cm ) |
| Billed weight | 288 lbs. ( 131 kg ) |
| Born | April 16, 1937 Detroit, Michigan |
| Debut | 1967 |
| Retired | 1989 |
George Steele, better known as George "The Animal" Steele, real name William James (Jim) Myers (born April 16, 1937), is an American professional wrestler from Detroit, Michigan whose career lasted from the early 1960s until 1989 and would make occasional wrestling appearances into the 1990s and 2000s.
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After gaining a masters degree from Central Michigan University, Jim Myers became a teacher and amateur wrestling coach at Madison Heights High School in Madison Heights, Michigan. There he would eventually become a member of the Michigan Coaches Hall of Fame.
Looking to supplement his income, he got into the world of Detroit-area professional wrestling, but in order to protect his privacy, he wrestled under a mask using the name The Student. Scouted by World Wide Wrestling Federation champion Bruno Sammartino, he began working in Pittsburgh in 1967. There he dropped the mask, but still looking to hide his real name, adopted the name George Steele.
Working well with Sammartino and now invited for a full run in the WWWF, Steele initially spoke in interviews and was fairly restrained within his bad-guy style. Eventually, his character became more outlandish and fans started calling Steele "The Animal" for his habit of biting opponents.
Now George "The Animal" Steele's wrestling gimmick was fully established. A true crazy heel, he acted like a wild man in the ring, tearing up the turnbuckle with his teeth and using the stuffing as a weapon as well as sticking out his green tongue (an effect accomplished by chewing green-colored chewing gum before each match). The Animal had a stooped posture and a hairless head, but a thick mat of fur on his back; wrestling broadcasters often speculated that The Animal was indeed "the missing link". At best The Animal could occasionally manage to utter a word or two during interviews with one them usually being "Heeeeey".
However, Steele eventually became one of the more beloved wrestlers of the early "WrestleMania" era of the mid-1980s. He turned face during an edition of Saturday Night's Main Event aired on May 10, 1985 when his partners in a six-man match, Nikolai Volkoff and the Iron Sheik, abandoned him to their opponents, Ricky Steamboat and the U.S. Express (Barry Windham and Mike Rotunda), leading to Steele being taken under the wing of the Express' manager, Capt. Lou Albano. His most famous feud was in 1986 against "Macho Man" Randy Savage, after Steele developed a crush on Savage's valet, Miss Elizabeth. The feud was meant to last only a couple of months (and end with Steele being disappointed), but it proved so popular with fans that it continued well into 1987. In 1988, Steele began carrying a hand puppet named "Mine" to the ring.
In 1994, Steele made his professional acting debut as Swedish wrestler-turned-actor, Tor Johnson, in Tim Burton's Ed Wood. The casting was particularly appropriate because for many years Steele was often mistaken for Johnson. He tells a story where in New York, a store was selling the popular Tor Johnson mask as a George Steele mask, as George was having a popular run in wrestling at the time.
In a 1996 episode of Seinfeld, Jerry complained that his girlfriend had "man hands" that reminded him of George "The Animal" Steele.
In 1998 during the WWF's "Attitude Era", George Steele returned as part of The Oddities.
Myers has Crohn's disease and dyslexia, which he talks about on his website.
- Finishing and signature moves
- Flying Hammerlock (Hammerlock)
- Georgia Wrestling Alliance
- GWA Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
- National Wrestling Alliance
- Regional
- NWA World Tag Team Championship (Detroit version) (1 time) - with Frankie Laine
- Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame
- Inducted in 2005
- Pro Wrestling Illustrated
- PWI ranked him # 267 of the 500 best singles wrestlers during the "PWI Years" in 2003.
- World Wrestling Federation