Stu Hart

Stewart Edward (Stu) Hart (born May 3, 1915 in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan; died October 16, 2003 in Calgary, Alberta) was a Canadian wrestler and wrestling trainer.

Career

Hart had played football for the Edmonton Eskimos and been a champion wrestler, but was better known for his work behind the scenes in wrestling. In 1948 Hart founded Stampede Wrestling, a Calgary-based regional circuit. A number of top stars trained with Stu Hart, including Superstar Billy Graham, Abdullah the Butcher, Junkyard Dog, Brian Pillman, Chris Benoit, Chris Jericho and Keichi Yamada, later known as Jushin 'Thunder' Liger.

Family

In 1948 he married Helen Smith; she died in 2001. Together they had twelve children:

• Smith (1949-), a wrestler
• Bruce (1950-), a wrestler and promoter
• Keith (1951-), a wrestler
• Wayne (1953-), a wrestling referee
• Dean (1954–1990) who died of kidney failure, also a wrestler
• Ellie (1955-), who was married to the wrestler Jim Neidhart
• Georgia (1956-), has a son: Teddy Hart
• Bret (1957-), WWE and WCW legend
• Allison (1959-), who was married to the wrestler Ben Bassarab
• Ross (1961-), a wrestling producer and sometime wrestler
• Diana (1963-), who was married to the wrestler British Bulldog Davey Boy Smith. She wrote a book entitled Under the Mat about life in the Hart family; it was removed from bookstores only weeks after its release in November 2001, following a lawsuit by Owen Hart's widow Martha over the contents. Her son is Harry Smith, pro wrestler.
• Owen (1965–1999), a WWE wrestler who died when a wrestling stunt went wrong

Family life with Stu Hart was colourful, including having André the Giant as a babysitter and a wrestling grizzly bear sleeping under the front porch.

Championships/Accomplishments

• 1-Time NWA United States Heavyweight Champion
• 1-Time Northwest Tag Team Champion (with Pat Meehan)

External links

Stu Hart at the Internet Movie Database