Animal

Overview

A candid memoir from the man behind the beast

A stand-out character in an entertainment industry where persona is everything, George “The Animal” Steele shares how he balanced his real life as Jim Myers, a highly respected high school teacher and coach, with the green tongued, hairy backed, turnbuckle eating wrestling icon he was in the ring. The memoir delves into the golden era of wrestling in the 1970s and 1980s and his entry into the World Wrestling Federation where he earned a spot in professional wrestling history despite only speaking in animal-like grunts. In reality, the educated man that overcame his struggles with dyslexia and Crohn’s Disease was a father and an inspiration to many of his students and players, and the dichotomous personalities that marked this much-loved man’s life are explored in his own words. The book is filled with nostalgic and humorous anecdotes about the whirlwind life of wrestling alongside such notables as Hulk Hogan and Bruno Sammartino, both in and out of the ring.

Reviews

“Animal is a fun read, and is well worth picking up.”—Pro Wrestling Between the Sheets

“Fans will love how he spends many pages detailing his run with Randy Savage and how what we saw on television was sometimes real reactions from people playing characters that were so close to home that they did not easily differentiate reality and pro wrestling.”—Canoe Slam! Sports

“A fun read with Myers sprinkling in his own signature humor in just about every chapter. Fans will enjoy his stories of working with the likes of Bruno Sammartino and the Macho Man Randy Savage, but the book is more than that. It’s a story of triumph and survival.”—Miami Herald

Author Biography

George “The Animal” Steele is Jim Myers, a retired professional wrestler, high school teacher, and high school football and wrestling coach. He is an inductee of the Professional Wrestlers Hall of Fame, the World Wrestling Entertainment Hall of Fame, and the Michigan High School Coaches Association Hall of Fame as well as the Michigan High School Football Association Coaches Hall of Fame. He lives in Cocoa Beach, Florida. Jim Evans is a sportswriter and columnist for the Daily Tribune of Oakland County, Michigan and Macomb Daily. He lives in Rochester Hills, Michigan. Cowboy Bill Watts is a former professional wrestler and promoter who worked with and developed some of the biggest names in wrestling history. He is the author of The Cowboy and the Cross. He lives in Bixby, Oklahoma.