ON OCTOBER 16 2003, legendary trainer Stu Hart died at the age of 88. Hart was an accomplished amateur wrestler in his youth, winning the welterweight class at the 1937 Canadian National Championships. This victory put him in line to compete at the 1940 Olympic Games, but the breakout of World War II put paid to that dream. Hart instead served a term of duty in the Canadian Navy before returning to his homeland to become a professional wrestler. He never managed to achieve great success as a competitor, seemingly preferring behind the scenes roles to in-ring competition, however, he was a well-respected athlete both in Canada and the USA (where he had competed under Toots Mondt). In 1948, he founded Stampede Wrestling in Calgary and would later purchase a mansion in Patterson Heights. This famous house would contain the infamous Hart Dungeon, probably the most respected training facility to have ever existed within professional wrestling. Hart oversaw many of the trainees himself and can count several world champions among his alumni, including Chris Benoit, Chris Jericho, Edge, Christian, Jushin Liger and Roddy Piper as well as his sons Bret and Owen. Hart was also renowned outside of the wrestling industry for his charitable pursuits; he was a benefactor for over 30 organizations, mostly children’s charities. He was so well respected that he was awarded the Order of Canada in May 2001. Hart died after treatment for an elbow infection saw him develop pneumonia, though his health had been failing for a long while previously. In 2005, a street was named after him in Saskatoon and he was posthumously inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2010.( REST IN PEACE)
Posted on: Thu, 16 Oct 2014 10:42:19 +0000