1. Freddie Steele was a boxer and film actor born Frederick Earle Burgett in Seattle, Washington.
25 Facts About Freddie Steele
1. 2.
Freddie Steele was recognized as the National Boxing Association Middleweight Champion of the World between 1936 and 1938.
3.
Freddie Steele's managers included George McAllister, Dave Miller, Eddie Miller, and Pete Reilly.
4.
Freddie Steele appeared as an actor in a number of Hollywood films in the 1940s, including Preston Sturges's Hail the Conquering Hero.
5.
Freddie Steele floored Risko for seven seconds in the first round.
6.
Freddie Steele took seven of the fifteen rounds with good margins, with only four going to Risko.
7.
Freddie Steele damaged both of Risko's eyes during the bout which hampered the reigning champion's ability to defend himself.
8.
On January 1,1937, Freddie Steele defended his NBA World Middleweight Championship against William "Gorilla" Jones, a former champion, in a unanimous ten round decision in Wisconsin.
9.
Freddie Steele had Jones down for a count of three in the seventh, and won all but one round in his decisive victory before a disappointing crowd of only 3,700.
10.
On May 11,1937, Freddie Steele made his third defense of the NBA World Middleweight Title against Frank Battaglia in Seattle, Washington, winning in a third-round knockout.
11.
Freddie Steele scored knockdowns in both the first and second rounds, before flooring Battaglia with a crushing left 34 seconds into the third round.
12.
Freddie Steele fought two memorable bouts with Fred Apostoli, winning the first, but suffering a TKO in a subsequent non-title match.
13.
Freddie Steele lost the middleweight crown to Al Hostak in his next to last fight, in a first round knockout of a scheduled fifteen round contest at the Seattle Civic Arena on July 26,1938.
14.
Celebrity referee Jack Dempsey, the former heavyweight champion, stopped the fight after Freddie Steele arose after his third fall to the mat before a record Seattle crowd of 35,000.
15.
Freddie Steele's career had declined after the death of his manager, Dave Miller in 1938 after surgery.
16.
Freddie Steele lost his next and last fight to Jimmy Casino in 1941.
17.
Freddie Steele was known for his footwork, and waist-down shots of his footwork can be seen in the 1942 film Gentleman Jim in which he performed as boxing double for star Errol Flynn.
18.
Freddie Steele went on to appear in a number of Hollywood films as an actor throughout the 1940s, notably as "Bugsy", one of the six Marines central to the plot of the Oscar-nominated Hail the Conquering Hero, directed by Preston Sturges.
19.
Freddie Steele appeared in nearly 30 films, although he was usually uncredited.
20.
Freddie Steele left Hollywood in the 1950s, and returned to the Pacific Northwest.
21.
Freddie Steele owned and operated Freddie Steele's Restaurant in Westport, Washington, with his wife, Helen, for over 20 years until illness forced his retirement.
22.
Freddie Steele died at a nursing home in Aberdeen, Washington, on August 22,1984; he had suffered a stroke in 1980.
23.
Freddie Steele is interred in the Fern Hill Cemetery, Aberdeen, WA.
24.
Freddie Steele is an honored member of both the International Boxing Hall of Fame and the World Boxing Hall of Fame.
25.
Freddie Steele was one of the three original inductees into the Tacoma-Pierce County Sports Hall of Fame when it opened in 1957.