Stu Hart
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Stewart Edward (Stu) Hart (born May 3, 1915 in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan; died October 16, 2003 in Calgary, Alberta) was a Canadian amateur wrestler, professional wrestler and wrestling trainer.
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Career
Hart played football for the Edmonton Eskimos. In 1946 he became a professional wrestler, debuting in New York, and embarked on a long, eventful career, at one point wrestling a tiger and a grizzly bear. However, Hart was better known for his work behind the scenes in wrestling. In 1948 Hart founded Stampede Wrestling, a Calgary-based regional promotion. Stampede operated until the early 1980s, when it was purchased by the World Wrestling Federation. Hart then began training talent for the WWF, including his sons Bret and Owen. This relationship effectively came to an end in November 1997 when Bret left the WWF on bad terms.
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 and firefighter
- Wayne (1953-), a wrestling referee
- Dean (1954-1990) who died of kidney failure, also a wrestler
- Ellie (1955-), who married the wrestler Jim Neidhart, with whom she has a daughter: Nattie Neidhart
- Georgia (1956-), who married the wrestler, firefighter and gym owner B.J. Annis, with whom she has a son: Teddy Hart
- Bret (1957-), WWF and WCW wrestling 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 Davey Boy Smith (The British Bulldog). 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 named Terrible Ted sleeping under the front porch.
In Wrestling
Finishing/signature moves
Wrestlers trained by Stu Hart
- Ben Bassarab
- Abdullah the Butcher
- Chris Benoit
- Larry Cameron
- Justin Credible
- The Junkyard Dog
- The Dynamite Kid
- Superstar Billy Graham
- Bret Hart
- Bruce Hart
- Keith Hart
- Owen Hart
- Ross Hart
- Smith Hart
- Billy Jack Haynes
- Jason Helton
- Mark Henry
- Jos Leduc
- Paul Leduc
- Jushin 'Thunder' Liger
- Jim Neidhart
- Brian Pillman
- Kensuke Sasaki
- Gama Singh
- Davey Boy Smith
- Lance Storm
- Greg Valentine
Championships/Accomplishments
- 1-Time NWA United States Heavyweight Champion
- 1-Time Northwest Tag Team Champion (with Pat Meehan)