Harold Steel, who died at Burnham, Somerset, on June 29th, was one of the seven sons of the late Mr. Joseph Steel, and was born at South Hill Grove, Liverpool, on April 9th, 1862. Of the seven brothers as many as six were actively identified with the game, and in June 1884, four of them assisted Lancashire against Surrey at Liverpool. Mr. H. B. Steel received his early education at Uppingham, but leaving there at the Borth crisis (in 1875), was, like Mr. F. D. Gaddum, who proceeded to Rugby, not in the Eleven. He was transferred to Repton, for whom he played in 1879 and 1880, heading the batting averages each season, in the former with 20.27 and in the latter with 26.36. In his second year as a member of the side he scored 61 against Malvern and 58 v. Uppingham. Among his contemporaries were Messrs. H. J. and W. A. J. Ford. Mr. Steel was a very powerful hitter, and obtained an unusually large proportion of his runs by boundary hits. He was seen but seldom, however, in county matches, preferring good-class club cricket, of which he played a very great deal on behalf of the Liverpool C.C., the Uppingham Rovers, the Quidnuncs, Hoi Pepneumonoi (which he founded), &c. For Lancashire he scored 765 runs with an average of 22.50, his first appearance for the county being in 1883 and his last in 1896. His highest scores were 100 v. Surrey at the Oval and 77 v. Kent at Maidstone, both made in 1884. At one time he was also a fair change bowler, and he could keep wicket. It is not generally known that a relationship exists between the Steel and Studd brotherhoods.
Wisden Cricketers' Almanack