A few years after he retired, he and his family moved to the St. Louis area, where he worked as a mechanic for Swift and Company and later as a maintenance man at an A&P warehouse.

A 1907 article in the Pike County Dispatch reported that Steele's pitches were "more of a puzzle than ever with his shoots, drops and the ‘spit ball’ which he has thoroughly mastered.

"[1] By 1909, Steele was pitching professionally for the Altoona Mountaineers of the Class B Tri-State League, though his career nearly came to a premature end.

Not properly insulated, the lever ""shocked [Steele] almost to insensibility," and he "narrowly escaped being electrocuted" according to a local newspaper.

He completed all eight of his starts that year and won four of his first five games, giving Cardinal fans something to cheer about in the midst of a seventh-place season.

[1] In nine games (eight starts) his rookie year, Steele had a 4–4 record, a 3.27 ERA, 25 strikeouts, 24 walks, and 71 hits allowed in 71+2⁄3 innings pitched.

[2] The St. Louis Post-Dispatch said "[I]f Bresnahan’s team is to climb this year, it will be because the pitching is improved over the 1910 brand..." citing Steele as an important factor in the club's 1911 fortunes.

After giving up four runs in the first inning to the Boston Rustlers, Steele pitched scoreless ball for the rest of the game.

His victory over the Philadelphia Phillies on August 17 is notable for being the only shutout of his career; Steele gave up just five hits in the game.

He posted a 3.73 ERA in a career-high 287+1⁄3 innings and had an 18–19 record, tying Earl Moore of the Phillies for the NL lead in losses.

[1] Facing the Reds, he "rose heroic, like some grand old monolith by the River Nile" according to the St. Louis Star and Times as he held Cincinnati to seven hits and contributed a triple with the bases loaded in the 7–2 victory.

[1] In the last of those, on August 3, Steele held the Phillies to five runs (three earned) in a complete-game, 7–5 victory, improving his record for the season to 9–8.

"[1] Unpopular with the Cardinals' front office as a result, Steele's troubles increased when he came down with rheumatism in his right hip during spring training.

Steele rejoined the team a week into the season and "prolonged his big-league career," according to the Post-Dispatch, by holding Pittsburgh to one run and three hits on April 23 in a 3–1 victory.

[1] At spring training in 1914, Steele said that he believed he could win at least 25 games, but he again served in a mopup role once the regular season began.

[1] Steele had only appeared in 17 games (two starts) thus far, posting a 1–2 record, a 2.70 ERA, 16 strikeouts, seven walks, and 55 hits allowed in 53+1⁄3 innings.

[10][11] In his last game of the year, on October 1, he entered in the ninth inning with Brooklyn leading the Phillies 7–6 and gave up three runs, taking the loss as Philadelphia triumphed 9–7.

[3] The Robins optioned Steele to the Newark Indians of the Class AA International League after the 1914 season, but he was released without having played a game for them.

[1][2] In 129 major league games (79 starts), he had a 37–43 record, a 4.02 ERA, 236 strikeouts, 235 walks, and 733 hits allowed in 676+2⁄3 innings.

[2][3] When Steele made his debut on September 10, 1910, reporter Jack Ryder called him a "large and ferocious gentleman, with baleful ire in his amps and a curveball in his capacious mitt.

According to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, "[T]he hot weather during the middle of the season sets him back a great deal and peels off too much flesh making him go stale and weakening him.

[1] Bernard played three years of minor league baseball in the 1940s, interrupted by a four-year service in the military during World War II.

[16] The Steeles lived in Milford until several years after Bill had retired; they then moved to 8275 Albin Street in Overland, Missouri, a St. Louis suburb.