A former member of the United States Marine Corps, Steele was a teammate of future world Heavyweight champion Ken Norton in the Marines. He began his career as an amateur boxer while with the Marines, compiling a record of 12 wins and 3 losses before launching a professional career. Steele was All Marines in 1963-64 and participated in the 1964 Olympic Trials, and was inducted into the US Marines Boxing Hall of Fame in 2017. He had 16 wins and 4 defeats as a professional fighter. He was also a contestant on To Tell the Truth on April 9, 1991 as the central character.