Does the name George "The Animal" Steele ring a bell?
If you are a professional wrestling fan, it should. He was one of the most popular wrestlers on the circuit for years.
Still doesn't jog your memory? Let me help a little. Much more hair on his chest and back than his head. A penchant for eating the stuffing out of turnbuckles. A tongue as green as Kermit's complexion. A vocabulary that would lose in a spelling bee to a Cro-Magnon.
His battles in the ring were legendary.
He's had plenty of lesser-known battles, too.
What a lot of people do not know about George "The Animal" Steele is that his real name is Jim Myers. Despite his ring persona, he is a very intelligent man. He graduated from Michigan State University and went on to earn his masters degree. He spent decades in education as a teacher and coach at Madison High School in Madison Heights, Michigan.
He has also battled dyslexia his entire life. Attending school was a definite challenge. There were no gray areas in the classroom when Myers was growing up. You were either smart or stupid; intelligent or dumb.
He proved all of those teachers wrong. It took lots of time and lots and lots of hard work, though.
Something else that took some time was Myers' battle against Chron's disease. His affliction was so severe that they aimed the Last Rites his way on a couple of occasions. He whipped it, too.
Jim Myers and I are currently working on his memoirs. It's a very enjoyable project. He has led a fascinating life. There are many, many fascinating stories.
You'll be reading more of them soon.