George, "THE ANIMAL" Steele has passed.
- Thread starter jcamero
- Start date
That's our George! RIP, big guy.
Cool story:
Years ago I was between radio gigs & driving a cab in the Twin Cities...mainly out in the 'burbs like Bloomington, Edina, etc. Early one evening I was sitting on the cab stand at the Bloomington Marriott when this big dude with long hair waves me up. "How much to take us to the Met Center?" Basically right behind the hotel, so I said "I'm not busy....5 bucks". He motions towards the lobby and out comes a good-lookin' gal and a burly guy with a bald head. The long haired guy was Randy "Macho Man" Savage, of course the gal was The Lovely Miss Elizabeth, and the burly guy? George "The Animal" Steele. On the ride over they were griping that the hotel restaurant would be closed by the time the match was over and they didn't want a burger or tacos or anything like that. I piped up "I know a bunch of places open late...but they're a bit of a ride." "How much of a ride?" "Probably 15-20 to get there." We pull up at the "stage door" on the west side of the old Met, Savage flips me a ten and says "Can you pick us up here when the match is over?" "No problem!"
I continued taking fares up and down the 494 strip, all the while keeping an eye on the Met. When I started to see cars leaving the lot, I headed over to that west door to wait. About 1/2 hour later here they come...pile into the cab and "Let's go...we're HUNGRY". Off we go. I took them to Rudolph's BBQ at Franklin & Lyndale, dropped them off and told them I'd be outside waiting. "Fine!"
About 1/2 hour later Savage comes out to the cab..."These ribs are FANTASTIC! C'mon in...we're buying!" I demurred, telling him I had to stay with the cab. He insisted..."just leave the meter running, lock it & c'mon!" I did so, went in, enjoyed a rack of ribs and some "interesting" conversation. Steele was quite the erudite fellow, well-spoken and obviously an educated guy. (English teacher? My memory fails me.) After the rib feast it was back to Bloomington to drop them off. About $70 on the meter, a $20 tip, a rack of Rudolph's ribs and a fun couple of hours.
Cool story:
Years ago I was between radio gigs & driving a cab in the Twin Cities...mainly out in the 'burbs like Bloomington, Edina, etc. Early one evening I was sitting on the cab stand at the Bloomington Marriott when this big dude with long hair waves me up. "How much to take us to the Met Center?" Basically right behind the hotel, so I said "I'm not busy....5 bucks". He motions towards the lobby and out comes a good-lookin' gal and a burly guy with a bald head. The long haired guy was Randy "Macho Man" Savage, of course the gal was The Lovely Miss Elizabeth, and the burly guy? George "The Animal" Steele. On the ride over they were griping that the hotel restaurant would be closed by the time the match was over and they didn't want a burger or tacos or anything like that. I piped up "I know a bunch of places open late...but they're a bit of a ride." "How much of a ride?" "Probably 15-20 to get there." We pull up at the "stage door" on the west side of the old Met, Savage flips me a ten and says "Can you pick us up here when the match is over?" "No problem!"
I continued taking fares up and down the 494 strip, all the while keeping an eye on the Met. When I started to see cars leaving the lot, I headed over to that west door to wait. About 1/2 hour later here they come...pile into the cab and "Let's go...we're HUNGRY". Off we go. I took them to Rudolph's BBQ at Franklin & Lyndale, dropped them off and told them I'd be outside waiting. "Fine!"
About 1/2 hour later Savage comes out to the cab..."These ribs are FANTASTIC! C'mon in...we're buying!" I demurred, telling him I had to stay with the cab. He insisted..."just leave the meter running, lock it & c'mon!" I did so, went in, enjoyed a rack of ribs and some "interesting" conversation. Steele was quite the erudite fellow, well-spoken and obviously an educated guy. (English teacher? My memory fails me.) After the rib feast it was back to Bloomington to drop them off. About $70 on the meter, a $20 tip, a rack of Rudolph's ribs and a fun couple of hours.
exhippy
I use to have long hair. Now I'm lucky to have any
R.I.P. Animal
I remember being a kid and watching local matches on TV from the Chase Park Plaza in St. Louis. Billed as: Wrestling at the Chase. Filmed (yes, film.) on Saturday night and replayed on a local TV station Sunday late morning. Bull Dog Bob Brown FTW!
.
I remember being a kid and watching local matches on TV from the Chase Park Plaza in St. Louis. Billed as: Wrestling at the Chase. Filmed (yes, film.) on Saturday night and replayed on a local TV station Sunday late morning. Bull Dog Bob Brown FTW!
.
And now Ivan Koloff passes a day later! RIP
That's a great story! It's funny how the Twin Cities was a pro wrestling hotbed for a long time. I never missed AWA wrestling on Sunday mornings after church when I was a kid. One thing I never knew, until last weekend, was that Verne Gange was a national champion at heavyweight for the Gophers back in the 1940s. Too bad he became senile in his later years and body slammed another resident at his care facility. I think he broke the other guy's hip.
Back to the OP: RIP, George. You were great.
Back to the OP: RIP, George. You were great.
Jesse Garron
You may know my brother
Bugsy McGraw?
ggregg
Super Member
Really cool story, John. Thanks for sharing. RIP George.
A friend of mine told me a story of long ago when he came up on a Lincoln, driving his logging truck, in the middle of nowhere, where 4 guys were standing outside pissing. Mad Dog Vachon, Nick Bockwinkle, Crusher, and Baron Von Rashke. "Mortal enemies" of each other were all riding to a match in Thief River Falls in the same car. They offered him a beer and free tickets. The Baron used to teach for a school district a couple of towns over and owned a little tourist trap shop in Lake George for years. He'd gladly sign anything put in front of him. He was much slimmer but the face and bald head were the same.
IPADave
Turning a whiter shade of pale.
RIP 
Around here it was "The Crusher"!
Around here it was "The Crusher"!
^^^^^
Ah, the great Reggie Lisowski. Master of the "big entrance"...stogie gripped between his teeth toting a beer keg.
Ah, the great Reggie Lisowski. Master of the "big entrance"...stogie gripped between his teeth toting a beer keg.
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