{{Short description|American professional wrestler (1920–2010)}} {{Use mdy dates|date=October 2024}} {{Infobox professional wrestler |name=Steve Stanlee |birth_name=Steve Zygowicz |names=Steve Stanlee<br />Paul Stanlee |image= |image_size=200px |weight={{convert|232|lb|kg|abbr=on}} |birth_date ={{Birth date|1920|2|29|mf=y}} |birth_place =Chicago, Illinois, U.S. |death_date = {{Death date and age|2010|7|2|1920|2|29}} |death_place = Lake Geneva, Wisconsin, U.S. |debut= |retired= }} '''Paul Oswald Zygowicz''' (February 29, 1920 – July 2, 2010), better known by his ring name of '''Steve Stanlee''', was an American professional wrestler from the late 1940s through the 1960s. He was the younger brother of professional wrestler Gene Stanlee.<ref name=slam>{{cite web|title="Mr. America" Stanlee a showboating pioneer|work=SLAM! Wrestling|last=Oliver|first=Greg|url=http://slam.canoe.com/Slam/Wrestling/2005/09/27/1238185.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170724194916/http://slam.canoe.com/Slam/Wrestling/2005/09/27/1238185.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=July 24, 2017|access-date=2008-02-11}}</ref>
==Career== Steve served with Gene in the U.S. Navy during World War II and entered the professional wrestling circuit after the war. From 1947 to 1948, Stanlee wrestled under the ring name Paul Stanlee for Georgia Championship Wrestling (gCW).<ref name=ga>{{cite web|title=Who's Who: Paul Stanlee|work=Georgia Wrestling History|url=http://www.georgiawrestlinghistory.com/whoswho/p/paul_stanlee/01.html|accessdate=2008-02-12 |archiveurl = https://web.archive.org/web/20071029034141/http://www.georgiawrestlinghistory.com/whoswho/p/paul_stanlee/01.html <!-- Bot retrieved archive --> |archivedate = 2007-10-29}}</ref> He competed against such wrestlers as Tom Mahoney and Bobby Roberts, winning the majority of these matches.<ref name=ga/> Like his brother Gene, Steve took the nickname "Mr. America" for his chiseled physique, bleached his hair blond, and wore dazzling sequined jackets to the ring.<ref>{{cite news|title=Children's Books: I Was a Teenage Professional Wrestler|work=New York Times|url=https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9F0CE4D6143AF933A15755C0A965958260|accessdate=2008-02-11|last=Kelly|first=David | date=1993-06-20}}</ref> Gene and Steve did train together and had a couple of runs as a tag team, but the two generally stayed on separate career paths.<ref name=slam/> Notably, Steve wrestled Lou Thesz for the NWA World Heavyweight Championship on October 27, 1950,<ref>{{cite web|title=Steel Belt Wrestling - Buffalo - 1950|work=Steel Belt Wrestling|url=http://www.steelbeltwrestling.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=22&Itemid=45|accessdate=2008-02-11|archive-date=2012-02-06|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120206223630/http://www.steelbeltwrestling.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=22&Itemid=45|url-status=dead}}</ref> two full years before his brother faced Thesz.<ref>{{cite web|title=Wrestler Profiles: Gene Stanlee|work=Online World of Wrestling|url=http://www.onlineworldofwrestling.com/profiles/g/gene-stanlee.html|accessdate=2008-02-11}}</ref>
After his stint in Georgia, Stanlee competed in Toronto, Ontario. He worked as a jobber, putting over other wrestlers, such as Al Korman and Pat Flanagan.<ref>{{cite web|title=1949 Results|work=Toronto Wrestling History|url=http://www.garywill.com/toronto/1949.htm|accessdate=2008-02-13}}</ref> In the early 1950s, Stanlee wrestled in the Northeastern United States. Wrestling in New York and New Jersey, he received occasional pushes, challenging for the NWA World Heavyweight Championship on several occasions.<ref>{{cite web|title=Records of NWA World Heavyweight Championship Matches: 1950-51|work=Wrestling Titles|url=http://www.wrestling-titles.com/nwa/world/nwa-h-matches/nwa-h-matches1950.html|accessdate=2008-02-13}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Records of NWA World Heavyweight Championship Matches: 1952-53|work=Wrestling Titles|url=http://www.wrestling-titles.com/nwa/world/nwa-h-matches/nwa-h-matches1952.html|accessdate=2008-02-13}}</ref>
Stanlee then traveled to California, where he wrestled in the mid-1950s.<ref name=jb/><ref>{{cite web|title=Wrestler Results Archive: Sandor Kovacs|work=SLAM! Wrestling|url=http://slam.canoe.com/Slam/Wrestling/ResultsArchive/Wrestlers/kovacs.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150919175610/http://slam.canoe.com/Slam/Wrestling/ResultsArchive/Wrestlers/kovacs.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=September 19, 2015|access-date=2008-02-13}}</ref> He later returned to wrestle for Capitol Wrestling in the New York area in the late 1950s.<ref>{{cite web|title=Results: 1958|work=NY Pro Wrestling|url=http://www.nyprowrestling.com/results/1958.html|accessdate=2008-02-13}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Results: 1959|work=NY Pro Wrestling|url=http://www.nyprowrestling.com/results/1959.html|accessdate=2008-02-13}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Capitol-NWA 1959|work=Superstar Billy Graham Record Book|url=http://superstarbillygraham.net/wrestlingresults/capitol/1959.htm|accessdate=2008-02-13|url-status=dead|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20080514160249/http://superstarbillygraham.net/wrestlingresults/capitol/1959.htm|archivedate=2008-05-14|df=}}</ref>
Steve didn't catch on with the public in the same way as Gene did, and as a result never attained the same level of fame. He did have a longer career in the ring, however, and may in fact be the better known brother among fans of 1960s wrestling. While Gene was out of wrestling by the early '60s, Steve remained active. He wrestled both as a singles competitor and as part of a tag team, "The Stanlee Steamers", with a kayfabe third "brother", Bob Stanlee (played by Bob Merrill).<ref name=slam/> Unfortunately, Steve won few high-profile matches either way and is generally regarded to have been a "jobber to the stars" for much of his career. He did, however, win the National Wrestling Alliance's Ohio Heavyweight Championship on July 1, 1961, by defeating Frankie Talaber.<ref name=oh/> He dropped the belt back to Talaber in a rematch later that year.<ref name=oh/> Stanlee also helped train Buddy Bison, who wrestled for Georgia Championship Wrestling for several years.<ref>{{citation | url=http://www.onlineworldofwrestling.com/profiles/b/buddy-bison.html|accessdate=2008-02-13|title=Wrestler Profiles: Buddy Bison|work=Online World of Wrestling}}</ref>
From 1964 to 1966, Stanlee wrestled for the World Wide Wrestling Federation (WWWF). He lost the majority of his matches, but he did get victories over Arnold Skaaland and "Baron" Mikel Scicluna in 1965.<ref name=wwwf64>{{cite web|title=Ring Results: 1964|work=The History of WWE|url=http://www.angelfire.com/wrestling/cawthon777/64.htm|accessdate=2008-02-11 |archiveurl = https://web.archive.org/web/20071102224232/http://www.angelfire.com/wrestling/cawthon777/64.htm <!-- Bot retrieved archive --> |archivedate = 2007-11-02}}</ref><ref name=wwwf65>{{cite web|title=Ring Results: 1965|work=The History of WWE|url=http://www.angelfire.com/wrestling/cawthon777/65.htm|accessdate=2008-02-11 |archiveurl = https://web.archive.org/web/20071102224237/http://www.angelfire.com/wrestling/cawthon777/65.htm <!-- Bot retrieved archive --> |archivedate = 2007-11-02}}</ref><ref name=wwwf66>{{cite web|title=Ring Results: 1966|work=The History of WWE|url=http://www.angelfire.com/wrestling/cawthon777/66.htm|accessdate=2008-02-11 |archiveurl = https://web.archive.org/web/20080101144819/http://www.angelfire.com/wrestling/cawthon777/66.htm <!-- Bot retrieved archive --> |archivedate = 2008-01-01}}</ref> After leaving the WWWF, Stanlee wrestled in Hawaii, competing in both singles matches and in a tag team with Jim Hady.<ref name=jb>{{cite web|title=Wrestler Profiles: Johnny Barend|work=Online World of Wrestling|url=http://www.onlineworldofwrestling.com/profiles/j/johnny-barend.html|accessdate=2008-02-13}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Wrestling Results (1966)|work=50th State Big Time Wrestling|url=http://www.50thstatebigtimewrestling.com/results.html|accessdate=2008-02-13}}</ref> He then returned to Georgia Championship Wrestling, putting over the other talent in that promotion as well.<ref name=ga/>
In December 1966 he showed up in Tokyo Pro Wrestling and lost a match against a rising Antonio Inoki.<ref name=inoki>{{cite web|work=Cagematch.net|title=TPW Opening Big Match Series 1966 - Tag 22|url=https://www.cagematch.net/?id=1&nr=264538}}</ref>
Late in life, Steve Stanlee appeared in an interview in the ''Icons Of Wrestling'' documentary series.<ref name=slam/> He died in Lake Geneva, Wisconsin, on July 2, 2010.<ref name=obit>{{cite web|title=Steve Stanlee Obituary|work=Legacy.com|url=http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/chicagotribune/obituary.aspx?n=steve-stanlee&pid=144065491|accessdate=2010-07-13}}</ref>
==Championships and accomplishments== *'''National Wrestling Alliance''' **NWA Ohio Heavyweight Championship (1 time)<ref name=oh>{{cite web|title=Ohio Heavyweight Title|work=Wrestling Titles|url=http://www.wrestling-titles.com/us/oh/oh-h.html|accessdate=2008-02-11}}</ref> **NWA World Tag Team Championship (1 time) with Bob Stanlee
==References== {{Reflist|2}}
==External links== *[https://web.archive.org/web/20170724194916/http://slam.canoe.com/Slam/Wrestling/2005/09/27/1238185.html "Mr. America" Stanlee a showboating pioneer] *[http://www.onlineworldofwrestling.com/profiles/s/steve-stanlee.html Profile at Online World of Wrestling]
{{DEFAULTSORT:Stanlee, Steve}} Category:1920 births Category:2010 deaths Category:American male professional wrestlers Category:20th-century male professional wrestlers Category:Professional wrestlers from Chicago