Peter Sauer (February 2, 1900 – September 11, 1949), was an American

professional wrestler Professional wrestling, often shortened to either pro wrestling or wrestling,The term "wrestling" is most often widely used to specifically refer to modern scripted professional wrestling, though it is also used to refer to real-life wrest ...

, better known by the ring name Ray Steele. He was born and raised in Norka, a German colony in Russia, in 1900 before immigrating to

Lincoln, Nebraska Lincoln is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Nebraska. The city covers and had a population of 291,082 as of the 2020 census. It is the state's List of cities in Nebraska, second-most populous city a ...

, in 1906. A highly skilled and dangerous

catch wrestler Catch wrestling (also known as catch-as-catch-can) is an English wrestling style where wrestlers aim to win by pinning or submitting their opponent using any legal holds or techniques. It emphasizes adaptability and seizing opportunities dur ...

, Steele was known for his extensive knowledge of

submission Deference (also called submission or passivity) is the condition of submitting to the espoused, legitimate influence of one's superior or superiors. Deference implies a yielding or submitting to the judgment of a recognized superior, out of re ...

holds. After a successful

amateur wrestling Amateur wrestling is a variant of wrestling practiced at Olympic Games, Olympic, Collegiate wrestling, collegiate, Scholastic wrestling, scholastic, and other levels. There are two international wrestling styles performed at the Olympic Games, fr ...

career, Steele then started wrestling in the carnivals, where he honed his catch wrestling skills. Upon turning pro, he relocated to

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

and became a regular workout partner of fellow catch wrestler

Ad Santel Adolph Ernst (April 7, 1887 – November 10, 1966), better known for his ring name Ad Santel, was a German-American professional wrestler, considered one of the greatest practitioners of catch wrestling. He was a World Light Heavyweight Champio ...

. On 16 May 1934, he wrestled

Orville Brown Orville Brown (March 10, 1908 – January 24, 1981) was an American professional wrestler. He is a thirteen-time world champion and was recognized as the first NWA World Heavyweight Champion in 1948. Brown's professional wrestling career end ...

to a 30-minute draw. He gained some notoriety in 1936 when he faced heavyweight

boxing Boxing is a combat sport and martial art. Taking place in a boxing ring, it involves two people – usually wearing protective equipment, such as boxing glove, protective gloves, hand wraps, and mouthguards – throwing Punch (combat), punch ...

contender Kingfish Levinsky in what is considered an early

mixed martial arts Mixed martial arts (MMA) is a full-contact fighting combat sport, sport based on strike (attack), striking and grappling; incorporating techniques from various combat sports from around the world. In the early 20th century, various inter-s ...

(MMA) contest, which Steele won in 35 seconds. Steele's biggest accomplishment in the sport was winning the

National Wrestling Association The National Wrestling Association (NWA) was an early professional wrestling sanctioning body created in 1930 by the National Boxing Association (NBA; now the World Boxing Association, WBA) as an attempt to create a governing body for professional ...

's World Heavyweight Championship from

Bronko Nagurski Bronislau "Bronko" Nagurski (November 3, 1908 – January 7, 1990) was a Canadian-American professional football player who was a fullback and defensive tackle in the National Football League (NFL). Renowned for his strength and size, Nagurski ...

St. Louis, Missouri St. Louis ( , sometimes referred to as St. Louis City, Saint Louis or STL) is an Independent city (United States), independent city in the U.S. state of Missouri. It lies near the confluence of the Mississippi River, Mississippi and the Miss ...

, on March 7, 1940. Steele would hold the belt for over a year before losing it back to

on March 11, 1941, in

Houston, Texas Houston ( ) is the List of cities in Texas by population, most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and in the Southern United States. Located in Southeast Texas near Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, it is the county seat, seat of ...

. Sauer served as a mentor and coach to many young stars, including

Lou Thesz Aloysius Martin Thesz (April 24, 1916 – April 28, 2002), known by the ring name Lou Thesz, was an American professional wrestler and wrestling coach. Considered to be one of the last true shooters (legitimate wrestlers) in professional w ...

before his death of a

heart attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when Ischemia, blood flow decreases or stops in one of the coronary arteries of the heart, causing infarction (tissue death) to the heart muscle. The most common symptom ...

Wray, J. G. "Wrestling Mourns Ray Steele" ''St. Louis Post-Dispatch'' (Sept. 13, 1949) in September 1949. Thesz considered Sauer to be one of the finest wrestlers he ever knew. A British wrestler would later re-use the ring name "Ray Steele" in the late 20th century, holding the

British Heavyweight Championship The British Heavyweight Championship is a top British wrestling championship found throughout the country's circuit. The championship was recognised and defended on matches screened by UK national television network ITV as part of the professi ...

Championships and accomplishments

George Tragos/Lou Thesz Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame The George Tragos/Lou Thesz Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame (TNTHOF) is a professional wrestling hall of fame The Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame (PWHF) and Museum was an American professional wrestling hall of fame and museum located in ...

**Class of 2002 *

** World Heavyweight Championship (1 time) *Midwest Wrestling Association (Ohio) **

MWA World Heavyweight Championship (Ohio version) The MWA World Heavyweight Championship was an Americanprofessional wrestling world heavyweight championship in the Kansas City, Kansas-based Midwest Wrestling Association (MWA). It was the direct predecessor of the National Wrestling Alliance ( ...

'' (1 time) *

Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame The Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame (PWHF) and Museum was an American professional wrestling hall of fame and museum located in Wichita Falls, Texas; following the postponement of its 19th induction ceremony, planned for May 2020, and an annou ...

** Pioneer Era (Class of 2008) *''

Wrestling Observer Newsletter The ''Wrestling Observer Newsletter'' (''WON'') is a newsletter that covers professional wrestling and mixed martial arts. Founded in print in 1982 by Dave Meltzer, the ''Wrestling Observer'' website merged with Bryan Alvarez's ''Figure Four Wee ...

'' **

Wrestling Observer Newsletter Hall of Fame The ''Wrestling Observer Newsletter'' (''WON'') Hall of Fame is a professional wrestling and mixed martial arts (MMA) hall of fame that recognizes people who make significant contributions to their professions. It was founded in 1996 by Dave Mel ...

( Class of 1996)

References

External links

Profile at WrestlingMuseum.org

* 1900 births 1949 deaths Russian people of German descent American people of Russian descent 20th-century American male actors American male professional wrestlers Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame and Museum Russian male professional wrestlers 20th-century male professional wrestlers NWA World Junior Heavyweight Champions {{US-prowrestling-bio-stub

Championships and accomplishments

See also

References

External links