Here is a picture of the NWF North American Heavyweight Title belt. Here is a picture of the Detroit NWA World Tag Team Title belt circa 1975. (Images courtesy of Online World of Wrestling) Here are two pictures of Steele as the Student. He defeated Dominic Denucci for the NWF (Ohio) North American Heavyweight Title on in Pittsburgh and lost it back to Denucci on June 21st. He held the Superstars of Wrestling (Newfoundland) Canadian Heavyweight Title, defeating Luis Martinez at Memorial Stadium in St. Steele and Frankie Laine beat John Bonelllo and Randy Scott for the belts on May 3, 1980, and held them until Bonelllo and Scott reclaimed them on May 24, 1980. It was in Detroit that he won one of the three titles he ever held, the Detroit version of the NWA World Tag Team Title. He had a brutal feud with the legendary Detroit madman the Sheik. He would often use foreign objects in the ring. From the beginning, he was known as a wildman who could not be controlled. It was the fans who came up with the name the Animal. The name Jim Steele was suggested but he didn't like it so he became George. The name Steele originated from the fact that he was headed to the Pittsburgh territory, since Pittsburgh is nicknamed the Steel City. As the Student, he battled Dick Garza/Mighty Igor Vodik, The Great Mephisto, and "Leaping" Larry Chene, among others.
At first, he wore a mask and wrestled as the Student as the first wrestler ever managed by "Playboy" Gary Hart. He began his career in Detroit in the 1960's. Steele was trained by Detroit promoter and former two-time Wolverine Wrestling Michigan Junior Heavyweight Champion Bert Ruby, who also helped train Mighty Igor and the Sheik. Before he became a wrestler, he was a teacher. George "The Animal" Steele was born William James Meyers in Madison Heights, MI on April 16, 1937. "One of the most awesome individuals I've ever seen in my life"- Gordon Solie, Georgia Championship Wrestling, April 24, 1982, after Animal and Dusty Rhodes joined in on a brawl involving Tommy Rich, Buzz Sawyer, Ole Anderson and Roddy Piper. Bernard"- legendary referee Al Vass, as quoted in The Pictorial History of Wrestling: The Good The Bad and The Ugly by Bert Randolph Sugar and George Napolitano. "Trying to referee a George Steele match is like being trapped in a steel cage with a rabid St. (Image courtesy of Solie's Vintage Wrestling.) Special thanks to The History of WWE for dates and places.
The George The Animal Steele Fan Page! The George The Animal Steele Fan Page!
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