Freddie Steele

Freddie Steele (December 18, 1912 – August 22, 1984) was a boxer and film actor born Frederick Earle Burgett in Seattle, Washington. He was recognized as middleweight champion of the world between 1936 and 1938. Steele was nicknamed "The Tacoma Assassin" and was trained by Jack Connor, Johnny Babnick, and Ray Arcel, while in New York. He also appeared as an actor in a number of Hollywood films in the 1940s, including Preston Sturges's Hail the Conquering Hero.

Fights

A good boxer and a hard hitter, Steele lost only two fights during his first ten years in the ring. Among those he defeated during his career were Ceferino Garcia, Ralph Chong, Leonard Bennett, Joe Glick, Bucky Lawless, Andy Divodi, "Baby" Joe Gans, Vince Dundee, Gorilla Jones, Swede Berglund, Young Stuhley, Meyer Grace, Henry Firpo, Eddie "Babe" Risko, Jackie Aldare, Gus Lesnevich, Paul Pirrone, Frank Battaglia, Ken Overlin, Carmen Barth, and Solly Krieger.

He fought two memorable bouts with Fred Apostoli, winning the first, but suffering a TKO in a non-title match. He lost the middleweight crown to Al Hostak in his next to last fight, at the Seattle Civic Arena in July 1938, with Jack Dempsey refereeing. Steele lost his next and last fight to Jimmy Casino in 1941. His final record included 125 wins (60 KOs), 5 losses, 11 draws and 1 No Contest.

Freddie Steele (footballer)

Frederick Charles "Freddie" Steele (6 May 1916 – 23 April 1976) was a footballer who played as a forward for Stoke City and England. He also had spells at Mansfield Town and Port Vale as a player-manager, leading Vale to a league title. He remains a legendary figure in the histories of both Stoke and Vale. His nephew is former England cricketer David Steele.

Signing with Stoke City in 1931 at the age of fifteen, he set a club record when he scored 33 league goals in the 1936–37 season. During the season his 214-day-long international career also made for impressive reading, as he hit eight goals in six games for England. However a series of misfortunes severely disrupted his playing career. Picking up a serious knee injury in 1937, he retired two years later after suffering from depression – aged just 23. After an improvement in his physical and mental state he resumed his career, only to have it cut short again, this time due to the outbreak of World War II. Guesting for several clubs, he also had a spell in Iceland where he coached KR Reykjavík and was appointed manager of the national team for their first ever international match in 1946. He continued his Stoke career after the war, before joining Mansfield Town as player-manager in 1949.