WWE has posted the following to Twitter confirming the passing of WWE Hall of Famer George “The Animal” Steele:

BREAKING: WWE is saddened to learn that WWE Hall of Famer George “The Animal” Steele has passed away at age of 79. https://t.co/TTCUVMDtTU pic.twitter.com/AeEcohPCRe — WWE (@WWE) February 17, 2017

WrestleZone’s Mike Killam has put together the following in regards to Steele’s passing:

Steele was born in Detroit, Michigan in 1937 and graduated from Central Michigan University with a masters degree, working as a high school teacher, football coach and wrestling coach before entering the world of professional wrestling. He was brought into Vince McMahon Sr.’s World Wide Wrestling Federation in 1967 after being found by Bruno Sammartino, and worked almost exclusively for the company throughout his career. He was inducted into the third class of the WWE Hall of Fame in 1995. He final televised appearance was in 2010, during a “Old School” special episode of Monday Night Raw, interfering in a match between David Otunga and Kofi Kingston.

All of us here are WrestleZone send our condolences to Steele’s friends and family. We will have more on his passing as new information comes along.