Sat, Dec 20, 2003
March 9, 1977, Howie Steindler was kidnapped about a block from his Encino home, police believe, and was found beaten and smothered to death in the backseat of his 1976 Cadillac about an hour later. Steindler ran the Main Street Gym in downtown Los Angeles where greats like Muhammad Ali and Sugar Ray Robinson had trained and inspired the character of Micky, the tough-as-nails trainer played by actor Burgess Meredith in Sylvester Stallone's Rocky.