George "The Animal" Steele: Forgotten WWE Legends, Part I

I have decided to write a series of pieces on those I consider to be the forgotten legends of WWE.  Now, this is not to say people don't know who these people are, but these are people who I almost never see mentioned in wrestling articles anymore and maybe are too old for some of the younger fans to remember.

The first person I have decided to profile is none other than the lovable turnbuckle eating superstar known as George "The Animal" Steele.

George was born William James Myers on April 16, 1937 in Madison Heights, Mich.

Myers was a multi-sport athlete during high school, competing in track, baseball, basketball, and football.  He then went on to attend Michigan State University as a member of their Spartans football team.

Myers' football career would be cut short due to knee problems he developed while playing on the gridiron.

Despite his simple demeanor in the ring, Myers was actually a very accomplished academic, earning a BA from Michigan State and his Masters from Central Michigan University.

Myers would later return to his hometown of Madison Heights in Michigan to become a teacher, amateur wrestling coach, and football coach.  Myers ended up being inducted into the Michigan Coaches Hall of Fame for all his hard work.

Looking to make some additional money around this time, he began wrestling under a mask with the ring-name "The Student."  He did not want his real name to be used which is why he went under this name and used the mask.

Eventually he caught the eye of WWE legend Bruno Sammartino, and was recruited to wrestle in the original World-Wide Wrestling Federation (WWWF) promotion.  While there, he dropped the mask and began using the name George Steele.

In the beginning he was more of a technical wrestler, utilizing many different arm-bars and holds to set up for his first finisher, the flying hammerlock.

Steele's size and demeanor catapulted him up the ranks of WWWF, and at one point he was feuding with the top stars of the company like Bruno Sammartino and Chief Jay Strongbow.  Myers even wrestled the then champion Sammartino to a 60-minute draw in Madison Square Garden. He would lose the rematch, however.

Steele was known as a bruiser and would often eat the turnbuckles and use the padding inside as a weapon.  His promos at the time were high quality and very intelligent.

It was Vince McMahon Sr. who wanted George to appear more like a dumb Animal, which is where the name came from.  Steele was at first upset about this, due to the fact that he believed himself to be far more educated and eloquent than most mic workers.

This led to George cutting a promo using only incoherent syllables.  He did this to upset McMahon, who ended up loving it, much to the dismay of George. This allowed George to develop his "crazy" heel persona into one that the fans loved.

The Animal eventually grew to like his new character, and went on to become one of the WWF's most beloved superstars of the '80s.

His most famous feud was with Macho Man Randy Savage.  George developed a crush on Miss Elizabeth, and the feud lasted well over a year, ending of course with George not getting the girl.

He retired in 1989 due to his fight with Crohn's disease.  He came out of retirement briefly after winning his fight against Crohn's disease in 1999 to become part of the stable, the Oddities. 

George's most recent appearance was as a groomsman at the wedding of Jay Lethal and SoCal Val in TNA back in 2008.  This was funny, as one of George's biggest rivals, Jay Lethal, was doing an homage with his Black Machismo character.

Although he never won any titles, George "The Animal" Steele was arguably one of the WWF's most popular wrestlers of the '80s.  He was known inside the ring as a crazy man and outside the ring as one of the nicest guys anyone would ever meet.

George Steele was inducted into the WWF Hall of Fame in 1995.

William Myers now lives with his wife Pat in Cocoa Beach, Fla.  They have been married for over 54 years and have three children.

George Steele is one of my greatest childhood icons and I wanted to share his story with those who may be unfamiliar with the lovable, bald, hairy animal.