Wrestling Legend And Michigan Native George “The Animal” Steele Dies at 79

The wrestler known for his green tongue and his fondness for turnbuckles George "The Animal" Steele passed away at the age of 79.

According to M-Live,  WWE announced his passing Friday morning February 17th.   George "The Animal" Steele was the ring name of William James Myers, a Detroit native.

Besides wrestling he was a teacher in the Detroit area along with coaching wrestling, football and track.  He earned degrees at Michigan State and Central Michigan.

He began his wrestling career in the early 60's working in Detroit with promoter Burt Ruby who mentored legends like The Shiek, Bobo Brazil and Abdullah The Butcher.

George had many matches for the title over the years  with Bruno Sammartino, Pedro Morales and Bob Backlund.   He was the villain and never held the top title for then WWWF.

He became more of a fan favorite in the mid 80's when he became involved in the match between "Macho Man" Randy Savage and Ricky "The Dragon" Steamboat at Wrestlemania 3.

He acted as well as he played actor Tor Johnson in the film, "Ed Wood".

George was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 1995.    In recent years he had some major health issues and was in hospice care when he passed away.