WWE Hall of Famer George ?The Animal? Steele, known for his green tongue and eating turnbuckle pads, has died, the WWE announced Friday. He was 79.
Steele, whose real name was William James Myers, had spent time in hospice care for parts of the last nine months, announcing on Twitter last spring that he was dealing with ?serious health issues.?
Despite his in-character vocabulary being limited to a handful of one syllable words, Steele had a master?s degree from Central Michigan. Before he became a full-time wrestler, he was a teacher and wrestling coach at a high school Madison Heights, Mich. He was later inducted into the Michigan Coaches Hall of Fame.
He briefly played football as an undergraduate at Michigan State before knee issues ended his career.
A few years back I drank with George for about 2 hours at a local watering hole.
Very cool guy. Told me some great stories.
Very cool and normal dude.
RIP GEORGE
Steele, whose real name was William James Myers, had spent time in hospice care for parts of the last nine months, announcing on Twitter last spring that he was dealing with ?serious health issues.?
Despite his in-character vocabulary being limited to a handful of one syllable words, Steele had a master?s degree from Central Michigan. Before he became a full-time wrestler, he was a teacher and wrestling coach at a high school Madison Heights, Mich. He was later inducted into the Michigan Coaches Hall of Fame.
He briefly played football as an undergraduate at Michigan State before knee issues ended his career.
A few years back I drank with George for about 2 hours at a local watering hole.
Very cool guy. Told me some great stories.
Very cool and normal dude.
RIP GEORGE
