Frederick Charles Steele (6 May 1916 – 23 April 1976) was an English professional footballer who played as a forward for Stoke City and England.

[7] Signing with Stoke City in 1931 at the age of fifteen, he set a club record when he scored 33 league goals in the 1936–37 season.

After improving his physical and mental state, he resumed his career, only to have it cut short again, this time due to the outbreak of World War II.

He did so with 33 goals in 35 league games in 1936–37, making him the First Division's top scorer – this tally also remains a club record to this date.

[8] He continued to terrorise the "Baggies" in 1937–38, scoring a hat-trick in a 4–0 home win on 6 September before getting five goals in an 8–1 trouncing of Derby County five days later.

Steele scored 31 goals in 43 games, bagging hat-tricks against Middlesbrough, Sheffield United, Grimsby Town, and Burnley, as Stoke posted another fourth-place finish.

He was Stoke's top-scorer for a sixth-successive season in 1947–48, though he hit just 12 goals in 23 appearances; his contribution as the campaign was limited as he spent four months on the sidelines with a broken leg.

In April 1946, it was announced that Steele would travel to Iceland to become the manager of Úrvalsdeild club KR Reykjavík during the summer of that year.

Steele left Field Mill for Port Vale for a four-figure fee in December 1951, and Mansfield finished the 1951–52 season in sixth place under his successor George Jobey.

[19] His team were bottom of the Third Division South table, However, he did not make any new signings, and he sold striker Walter Aveyard to Accrington Stanley for a four-figure fee.

[20] Steele turned around results using the players at his disposal, and Vale lost just four of their last twenty games of the season to finish a comfortable 13th.

[20] Despite Ivor Powell coming back to haunt the club by leading Bradford City to victory on the opening day of the season, Vale showed their class by losing just seven of their remaining 41 games.

[20] However, the greatest success came in the FA Cup, where they beat Darlington, Southport, Queens Park Rangers, First Division teams Cardiff City and Blackpool, and finally Leyton Orient to reach the semi-finals.

[20] He gave a young Harry Poole his debut as Vale fell out of the promotion race by the end of the season to post a respectable 12th-place finish.

[20] However, injuries piled up as the 'old guard' of 1953–54 'cracked', whilst clever midfielder Eddie Baily was offloaded to Nottingham Forest for £7,000, a club that much more appreciated his considerable talents.

[1] He sold Bert Llewellyn to Northampton Town for £7,000 and Arthur Longbottom to Millwall for £2,000; before boosting his strike-force with Tony Richards from Walsall for £9,000.

[1] He spent big for the 1963–64 campaign, bringing in Northern Ireland international Billy Bingham from Everton for £15,000; Albert Cheesebrough from Leicester City for another £15,000; as well as Walsall's Tim Rawlings for £4,000 and winger Ron Smith from Crewe Alexandra for £6,500.

[1] His team finished a disappointing 13th, though in the FA Cup they beat top-flight Birmingham City and held Liverpool to a goalless draw.

[1] For the 1964–65 season, Steele tried and failed to sign legendary "Spurs" striker Bobby Smith, and instead had to make do with Ron Andrew (£3,000 from Stoke City), as well as goalkeeper Reg Davies from Leyton Orient.

[1] With the club bottom of the league despite the money he had spent in the transfer market, Steele left 'by mutual consent' in February 1965.

[7] "In the penalty box he was lethal, clinical and merciless, firing in shots from the tightest of angles and the smallest of spaces ... a masterpiece of strength, endurance, polish and skill that more often than not resulted in a billowing net.

"[21] Ray Hancock also said that Steele watched the games from the treatment room to distance himself from the pressure on the pitch, and even once left the ground entirely as he could not handle the stress of the occasion.

[27] In appearance Steele "used to wear a tweed trilby, a pair of black and white hooped football stockings with his suit and let his hair grow long!