Stu Hart

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Stu Hart
File:Stu Hart circa 2001.jpg
Stu Hart in 2001
Birth name Stewart Edward Hart
Born (1915-05-03)May 3, 1915
Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada
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Calgary, Alberta, Canada
Spouse(s) Helen Smith Hart (m. 1947; her death in 2001)
Children 12
Family Hart
Professional wrestling career
Ring name(s) Stu Hart
Billed height 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)[1]
Billed weight 231 lb (105 kg)[1]
Billed from 26th Field Artillery Regiment (Canada)
Debut 1943

Stewart Edward "Stu" Hart, CM (May 3, 1915 – October 16, 2003) was a Canadian amateur wrestler, professional wrestler, promoter and trainer. Hart founded Stampede Wrestling, a promotion based in Calgary, Alberta, and associated wrestling school "The Dungeon". The patriarch of the Hart wrestling family, Stu was the father of many wrestlers, most notably Bret and Owen Hart. Along with Bret and Owen, Hart's trainees included future world champions Chris Jericho, Edge, Christian, Mark Henry, and Chris Benoit.[2]

Early life

He was born in Saskatoon in 1915[1] to Edward and Elizabeth Stewart Hart. He was mainly of Scots-Irish descent but also had Scottish and English ancestry.[3][4] His childhood was impoverished; as a boy, Stu Hart lived in a tent with his family on the prairie in Alberta, living off the land and wild game that Stu took down with his slingshot. In 1928, his father was arrested for failure to pay back taxes, while the Salvation Army sent Stu, his mother, and sisters to live in Edmonton. There, Stu Hart began attending wrestling classes at the YMCA.[5] Hart played football for the Edmonton Eskimos in the 1938 and 1939 seasons. Stu Hart began amateur wrestling when he joined the YMCA in Edmonton in 1929. By 1937 he won a gold medal in the welterweight class from the Amateur Athletic Union of Canada. His amateur career peaked in May 1940 when Hart won the Dominion Amateur Wrestling Championship in the light heavyweight category. Hart enlisted in the Canadian Army and served as the Director of Athletics.

Hart was trained in catch wrestling in his youth by other boys. Speaking of it, Stu said that his "head would be blue by the time they let go of him". Stu taught this 'shoot style' to all who trained under him in the 1980s and 1990s with the thought that teaching his students real submission moves would make their pro wrestling style sharper.

Career

It was during his service that Stu was introduced to professional wrestling. After recovering from a car accident, Stu competed in various exhibition matches to entertain the troops. In 1946, while receiving training from Toots Mondt, Hart debuted in New York and embarked on a long, eventful career, at one point wrestling a tiger and a grizzly bear.

In 1948, Hart established Stampede Wrestling, which was responsible for developing many second generation wrestling superstars. Three years later, he purchased a mansion in Patterson Heights, Calgary. The Hart House is now considered a historical site for the many famous figures that had passed through its doors. Its basement, known as the Dungeon, provided training grounds with an extensive legacy all its own.

A coach and mentor to countless young athletes, and a generous supporter of community life in Calgary, Hart, a loyal benefactor to more than thirty charitable and civic organizations including the Shriners Hospital for Crippled Children and the Alberta Firefighters Toy Fund was appointed on November 15, 2000 to the Order of Canada. He was honored with an investiture on May 31, 2001.[6]

In 2005 the City of Saskatoon announced that a street in the city's new Blairmore Suburban Centre development will be named Hart Road in Stu Hart's honor.

On March 27, 2010, Hart was posthumously inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame.[7]

Personal life

Hart was close friends Luther Lindsay. Lindsay was one of the few men who bested him in the infamous "Hart Dungeon" and Hart reportedly carried a picture of him in his wallet until his death.[8]

Family

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Main article: Hart wrestling family

For 53 years he was married to U.S. born Helen Smith (February 16, 1924 – November 4, 2001) and together they had and raised twelve children in the Hart mansion. Smith, Bruce, Keith, Wayne, Dean, Ellie, Georgia, Bret, Alison, Ross, Diana and Owen. Many of his children went on to become wrestlers or were otherwise involved in wrestling. The couple have around thirty-six grandchildren and several great-grandchilden, including Teddy Annis's son Bradley, Tobi McIvor's three daughters Amanda, Jessica and Isabella, Kristin Neidhart's sons Locklin and Maddox, Jade Hart's daughter Kyra, Alexandra Sabina's son Grayson and Mike Hart's two children Lakken and Ashwin. Tom and Michelle Billington's three children, Bronwynn, Marek and Amaris are also often included in the list of his grandchildren, therefore Bronwynn's daughter Miami is also often referred to as one of his great-grandchildren.

In wrestling

Wrestlers trained

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Championships and accomplishments

References

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External links

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  7. ↑ http://www.vancouversun.com/entertainment/Bret+Hart+hits+ring+WrestleMania/2735466/story.html
  8. ↑ McCoy, Heath. Pain and Passion: The History of Stampede Wrestling. Toronto: CanWest Books, 2005. (pg. 66) ISBN 0-9736719-8-X
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