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Salford Steel

The depth and richness of talent of British wrestling in the 1960s made it difficult for a wrestler to stand out amongst the crowd, especially if he refused to wear a colourful costume, dye his hair or adopt some other outrageous gimmick. Salford’s Bob Steele did stand out, and he did so simply by relying on an outstanding level of technical ability.

He was singled out by middleweight champion Tommy Mann as the best of the early 1960s newcomers and biggest threat to his title.

Born in on 17th March, 1931 as Joseph Wray. He became interested in wrestling whilst a child and attended his first show at the Ardwick Stadium when he was eleven years old. Manchester’s second stadium, “The bloodtub,” was known for fights that were just that bit more exciting and violent than at the nearby Belle Vue, and the frenzy inside the hall hooked the youngster.

A couple of years later he joined the Manchester YMCA, initially to box, but soon turned his attention to wrestling. During his national service in 1950 he became friends with wrestler Tony Vallon. Vallon encouraged the Salford teenager to put his wrestling knowledge to good use by turning professional, which he did in 1951, adopting the name Bob Steele.

Right from the start it was apparent that here was a wrestler with exceptional ability and Bobby was soon matched with the big names like Danny Flynn, Cliff Beaumont and Tommy Pye. Wins over welterweight champion Jack Dempsey were rewarded with a championship clash but Steele was unable to beat the champion in any title bouts.

During the first half of the 1960s Bob was a familiar figure to television fans, making around thirty appearances. Wrestling enthusiast William Richmond told us, “Bob Steele was one of the finest middleweights of the 1960s. I watched him a number of times at Preston’s Queens Hall and should think he was one of the most regularly televised wrestlers of the early part of that decade.“

He remained a highly respected campaigner on the periphery of championship honours for the best part of two decades. By 1968 the bumps and the grind of the wrestling ring were getting the best of Bob and he took over management of a garage in Manchester, our last recorded appearance being in April 1968.

Eddie Rose recalled Bob: “A truly great wrestler. Had some marvellous bouts versus Tommy Mann, Chic Purvey, Cliff Belshaw, Ted Hannon, Jack Dempsey. I had a car from him (he had a place in north Manchester). It was a red Ford Zephyr 6 and it ran like a dream. Its previous owner was Alan Ball, the England footballer. Bob Steele was one of the perhaps unsung heroes who made wrestling such a great favourite during the Golden age.”

Another fellow wrestler, Colin Joynson, was another admirer and told us that in his opinion he was one of the best middleweights of the 1960s.

There was an unplanned and unwelcome return to combat in January 1989 when two machete wielding thieves attempted to rob his Bob Steele’s Garage on Queens Road, Cheetham, Manchester. He sustained a split knee cap when struck on both legs and one arm before overcoming the attackers, who fled.

Bob Steele died on 23rd November, 2012.

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