#4. The Animal was a school teacher
George ‘The Animal’ Steele lived his character. That of a bald, hairy brute. A savage man with no restraint, who was only a little more civilised than a caveman presumably is. Here’s the funny bit.
George ‘The Animal’ Steele was anything but his character really when the cameras were off. He was a suave, sophisticated man who had been a schoolteacher before wrestling. To protect his identity, George Steele ironically also called himself ‘The Student’ when he first started wrestling.
George Steele had a Bachelor’s degree in Science from Michigan State University. In addition to being a teacher, he had also had stints as an amateur wrestling coach and a football coach at Madison High School, Madison Heights, Michigan. If anything, his character was the antithesis of the man he was inside the ring. Something nobody would believe if they've seen his matches. In fact, he was so good, he was eventually inducted into the Michigan Coaches Hall of Fame.