Stu Hart facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Stu Hart OC
Hart, aged approximately 18, with an amateur wrestling championship belt.
Birth name	Stewart Edward Hart
Born	(1915-05-03)May 3, 1915 Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada
Died	October 16, 2003(2003-10-16) (aged 88) Calgary, Alberta, Canada
Cause of death	Stroke
Spouse(s)	Helen Louise Smith ​ ​ (m. 1947; her death 2001)​
Children	12, including Smith, Bruce, Keith, Dean, Bret, Ross, Diana, and Owen
Relatives	Donald Stewart (grandfather) Harry Smith (father-in-law)
Family	Hart
Professional wrestling career
Billed height	5 ft 11 in (180 cm)
Billed weight	230 lb (104 kg)
Billed from	Calgary, Alberta, Canada
Trained by	Jack Taylor Toots Mondt
Debut	1943
Retired	1986
Military service
Buried	Eden Brook Memorial Gardens
Allegiance	Canada
Service/branch	Royal Canadian Navy
Years of service	1942–1946
Battles/wars	World War II

Stewart Edward Hart (May 3, 1915 – October 16, 2003) was a famous Canadian amateur and professional wrestler. He was also a wrestling coach and helped organize wrestling shows. Stu Hart is best known for starting Stampede Wrestling, a professional wrestling company in Calgary, Alberta.

He taught many people how to wrestle at his special training school called "The Dungeon". Stu Hart also created a famous wrestling family, the Hart wrestling family, which includes many of his relatives and students. He was the father of famous wrestlers Bret and Owen Hart. He was also the grandfather of Natalya Neidhart, Teddy Hart, and David Hart Smith.

Hart grew up in a poor family in Saskatchewan. But he became a very successful amateur wrestler in the 1930s and early 1940s. He won many national championships and played other sports too. He started wrestling for fun in 1943 while serving in the Royal Canadian Navy during World War II. He couldn't go to the 1940 Summer Olympics because of the war.

After leaving the Navy, he became a professional wrestler in New York in 1946. He was known for his good looks and his technical wrestling style. He later started his own wrestling company in Edmonton, Alberta, which became Stampede Wrestling. This company covered most of western Canada and parts of the US. In the 1950s, Hart became known as one of the best wrestling teachers. In 1951, he moved to Calgary, Alberta, into the famous Hart House.

Stu Hart wrestled full-time until the 1960s. After that, he focused on running his company, planning matches, and teaching. He also raised his twelve children with his wife, Helen. He made occasional appearances in the ring until the 1980s. Hart was almost always a "good guy" in wrestling. He only won one professional title, the NWA Northwest Tag Team Championship.

In 1984, he sold his company to Titan Sports, Inc. (which later became WWE). After that, Stu and Helen sometimes appeared on WWE shows. They were often part of storylines involving their sons Bret and Owen. Stu continued to teach wrestling at his home until the 1990s. He passed away in October 2003 at age 88 after several health problems.

Many people, including wrestling historian Dave Meltzer, believe Stu Hart was one of the most important people in wrestling history. His biggest contributions were as a promoter and a trainer. Besides Bret and Owen, he trained future world champions like Chris Jericho, Edge, Christian, and Chris Benoit. Stu Hart was inducted into the Wrestling Observer Newsletter Hall of Fame in 1996. He was also inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2010 by his son Bret. He was also known for helping over thirty charities. For this, he was given the Order of Canada, a very high honor in Canada.

Early Life and Family Beginnings

Hart as a baby in 1915

Stu Hart was born in Saskatoon in 1915. His parents were Edward and Elizabeth Stewart Hart. His family had roots in Scotland and England.

His childhood was very difficult. Stu Hart and his family lived in a tent on the prairie in Alberta. They lived off the land, milking cows and hunting wild animals. Stu was often treated badly at school because his family was so poor. He was also made to use his right hand, even though he was naturally left-handed. This made him able to use both hands well. The Great Depression didn't change his life much, as he was already used to a tough life.

Amateur Wrestling Success

Stu Hart learned catch wrestling from other boys when he was young. He later taught this "shoot style" to his students. He believed it made their professional wrestling better. When he lived in Edmonton with his mother and sisters, he became interested in sports, especially wrestling and football.

He started lifting weights and training for wrestling at age fourteen. He quickly became very strong. In 1929, he joined the YMCA and began taking amateur wrestling classes. He quickly became a skilled wrestler. By age fifteen, Hart won the Edmonton City Championship. He also won the Alberta Provincial Championship that same year.

Hart kept training and improving. By 1937, he was the Dominion welterweight champion. He also won a gold medal in the welterweight class from the Amateur Athletic Union of Canada. He qualified for the 1938 British Empire Games in Australia. But he couldn't go because the Canadian government didn't have enough money to send him. In the mid-1930s, Hart also coached wrestling at the University of Alberta.

His amateur career reached its peak in May 1940. He won the Dominion Amateur Wrestling Championship in the light heavyweight category. Stu Hart qualified for the 1940 Summer Olympics in Helsinki. But the Olympics were canceled because of World War II. This was a big disappointment for Hart, as it had been his dream to compete.

Sports and Military Service

Stu Hart loved wrestling, but he was also a great all-around athlete. He was excellent at football, baseball, and fastball. He played professionally for the Edmonton Eskimos football team from 1937 to 1939. He was considered a top player. He also coached a women's fastball team and was captain of a popular baseball team called Hart's All Stars.

In late 1941, Hart was in a serious bicycle accident. He broke both his elbows and thumbs and hurt his back. This accident almost ended his sports career. He spent several months recovering in the hospital. After leaving the hospital, Hart joined the Royal Canadian Navy during World War II. He was made the Director of Athletics.

In the Navy, Hart was mostly asked to wrestle to entertain other servicemen. He performed regularly for thousands of men in drill halls. Some of the men he worked with later worked for him when he became a wrestling promoter. Stu Hart spent much of his free time during World War II organizing sports events to raise money for the war. He was the leader of all the sports teams in the Navy. He eventually left the Navy in early 1946.

Professional Wrestling Career

Starting in New York (1946–1947)

Stu Hart learned about professional wrestling while in the Navy. After recovering from his accident, he wrestled in exhibition matches for the troops. In 1946, he started wrestling professionally in New York City. He was trained by Toots Mondt.

At first, other wrestlers were tough on him because he was considered a "pretty boy." He was described as "tall, dark and handsome" and was very popular with female fans. But Hart quickly learned to be tough back. He used his catch wrestling skills to his advantage. He wrestled in important matches against famous wrestlers like Lou Thesz. He became known as a strong and legitimate athlete.

Hart often wrestled in tag teams with Lord James Blears. They lived together for a while. It was on a beach in New York that Hart met his future wife, Helen Smith. Hart was becoming a rising star, but he decided to leave New York after about a year and a half to start his own promotion.

Building a Wrestling Empire (1947–1986)

By 1947, Hart was working as a wrestler and match planner in Montana. In September 1948, he started his own company, Klondike Wrestling, in Edmonton. This company joined the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) in 1948. Hart was always a "good guy" wrestler and attracted many fans.

In 1951, Stu and Helen moved to Calgary, Alberta. They bought a large house called The Hart House. The basement of this house became famous as "The Dungeon," where Hart trained many wrestlers.

In 1952, Hart bought another wrestling company and combined it with his own. It became Big Time Wrestling. This company later changed its name to Wildcat Wrestling and finally to Stampede Wrestling. Stu Hart's wrestling shows were on TV for over 30 years. They were very popular in Calgary and were even shown in over 50 countries.

Hart wrestling a Bengal tiger named Sasha "Chi-Chi".

Stampede Wrestling helped many wrestlers become very successful. Stu Hart sometimes wrestled animals like tigers and grizzly bears to promote his company and for charity. Later, his sons Bruce and Keith helped him plan the matches.

Stu Hart wrestled his last match on July 25, 1986. It was a tag team match with his son Keith in Calgary.

Later Appearances (1991–2003)

After retiring, Stu Hart appeared on WWE television many times in the 1990s and early 2000s. Most of these appearances involved his sons, Bret and Owen Hart. Commentators like Bobby Heenan and Jerry Lawler often made fun of Stu and Helen.

At the Survivor Series event in 1993, Stu had a planned interaction with Shawn Michaels. Michaels was wrestling Stu's sons. Michaels attacked Stu, and Stu pretended to knock him out. Michaels later said it was an honor to be hit by Stu Hart.

A Legendary Trainer

Stu Hart trained most of his students in the basement of the Hart mansion, known as The Dungeon. He used this place from 1951 until the late 1990s. All eight of his sons and many other famous wrestlers learned there. Some of these include Junkyard Dog, Jushin Liger, Superstar Billy Graham, and The British Bulldog.

Hart's training method was called "stretching." He would put his students in painful holds and keep them there for a long time. This helped them get used to pain and prepare for professional wrestling. Stu Hart was famous for this technique. He would even let anyone who visited his home try one of his holds.

His son Bret once said that his father even stretched a priest and a rabbi. Some students said that his stretching could cause broken blood vessels in their eyes. Stu liked training football players and bodybuilders to test their strength.

His son Ross said that Stu was always kind to his children. But he was different when training wrestlers, believing there was no easy way to teach wrestling. His daughter-in-law Martha Hart wrote that Stu was careful not to seriously hurt anyone. She said he mostly wanted to scare them. She also mentioned that her husband Owen was scared of his father when he was young because of the screams from the Dungeon. But this fear went away when Owen grew up.

Famous Wrestlers Trained by Stu Hart

Personal Life and Family

Stu Hart was very close friends with fellow wrestler Luther Jacob Goodall, also known as Luther Lindsay. Goodall was one of the few people who beat him in the Dungeon. Hart reportedly carried a picture of Goodall until he passed away.

Hart married Helen Smith on December 31, 1947. Helen was the daughter of Olympic marathon runner Harry Smith. Stu and Helen were married for over 53 years until Helen's death in 2001.

Stu and Helen raised their twelve children in the Hart mansion. Their children were Smith, Bruce, Keith, Wayne, Dean, Ellie, Georgia, Bret, Alison, Ross, Diana, and Owen. Stu was a Christian, and all his children were baptized. They had many grandchildren and great-grandchildren. Many of his grandchildren became wrestlers too.

In 1949, Stu and Helen were in a car accident. Helen was pregnant with their second child, Bruce. Helen was injured and had to stay in the hospital for a long time. Their oldest child, Smith, stayed with Helen's parents for two years.

According to his son Ross, Stu Hart was deeply affected by the death of his youngest son Owen in 1999. He was also very sad when his wife Helen passed away in 2001.

Helping Others

Stu Hart was known for his charity work. He coached and mentored many young athletes. He also did over thirty years of charity work in his hometown. Because of this, he was made a Member of the Order of Canada on November 15, 2000. This is the second highest honor a person can receive in Canada.

Passing Away

In May 2003, Stu Hart became very sick with pneumonia and was hospitalized. He recovered and went home later that month. But on October 3, 2003, he was hospitalized again due to an elbow infection, and he got pneumonia again. He also had problems with diabetes and arthritis. After a short improvement, he had a Stroke on October 15 and passed away the next day. He was 88 years old.

About 1,000 people attended Hart's funeral. He was cremated, and his ashes were buried with his wife Helen.

Stu Hart's Legacy

Hart with a bust of himself

Many people see Stu Hart as one of the most important and respected figures in the history of professional wrestling. He is considered an icon of the sport.

Sports journalist and wrestling historian Dave Meltzer said that Stu Hart's influence on wrestling was huge. His decisions and the wrestlers he trained changed the industry. Meltzer believes that wrestlers like Hulk Hogan and Jesse Ventura were influenced by Hart's actions. He also said that Chris Benoit and Brian Pillman might never have become wrestlers without Hart. Meltzer called Hart the biggest wrestling star in his area who never won a major championship.

Stu Hart had a unique, raspy voice and way of speaking. The Wrestling Observer Newsletter says he is the most imitated person in professional wrestling. Almost everyone in the business has tried to do a Stu Hart impression.

WWE chairman Vince McMahon praised Hart as a pioneer for the wrestling industry. On March 27, 2010, Stu Hart was added to the WWE Hall of Fame after his death.

There is a wrestling company called Hart Legacy Wrestling run by Stu Hart's relatives. They have a championship called the Stu Hart Heritage Title.

An annual amateur wrestling tournament for young people in Canada is named after him, called the Stu Hart Tournament of Champions. In Saskatoon, there is a road named Hart Road in his honor.

In 2005, a documentary called Surviving the Dungeon: The Legacy of Stu Hart was released. Since 2005, Stu Hart has been part of a permanent exhibit at the Glenbow Museum. A wrestling move called a scissored armbar is sometimes called a "Stu-Lock" in his honor.

Championships and Awards

Amateur Wrestling Achievements

• Edmonton City Championships
  • Edmonton City Middleweight Championship (1930)
• Alberta Provincial Championships
  • Alberta Provincial Championship (1930)
• Canadian National Achievements
  • Western Canada Championship
  • Canadian National Wrestling Championship (1939)
• Dominion Amateur Wrestling
  • Dominion Welterweight Championship (1937)
  • Dominion Light Heavyweight Championship (1940)
• Amateur Athletic Union of Canada
  • Welterweight Championship (1937)
• Alberta Sports Hall of Fame
  • Inducted in 1980
• National Wrestling Hall of Fame
  • Inducted in 2008

Professional Wrestling Achievements

• Canadian Pro Wrestling Hall of Fame
  • Inducted in 1980
  • Inducted in 2021
• Cauliflower Alley Club
  • Iron Mike Mazurki Award (2001)
• George Tragos/Lou Thesz Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame
  • Inducted in 2008
• National Wrestling Alliance
  • NWA Northwest Tag Team Championship (2 times) – with Pat Meehan and Luigi Macera
• Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame
  • Inducted in 2014
• Stampede Wrestling
  • Stampede Wrestling Hall of Fame (Inducted in 1995)
• World Wrestling Entertainment
  • WWE Hall of Fame (Class of 2010)
• World Championship Wrestling
  • Lifetime Achievement Award
• Wrestling Observer Newsletter
  • Wrestling Observer Newsletter Hall of Fame (Inducted in 1996)
• Canadian Wrestling Hall of Fame
  • Individually
  • With the Hart family
• Prairie Wrestling Alliance
  • Prairie Wrestling Alliance Hall of Fame (Inducted in 2010)

Special Match Record

Stu Hart sometimes took part in "Luchas de Apuestas" matches. In these matches, wrestlers bet something important, like their hair or mask.

Honors and Awards

Special Recognitions

Ribbon	Description	Notes
	Order of Canada (CM)	Member Awarded on November 15, 2000

Other Awards

• Western Legacy Awards (2012)
• Calgary Awards (Signature Award, 1999)

See also

In Spanish: Stu Hart para niños