Stu Hart
Real name: Stewart Edward Hart
Height: 5’11”
Weight: 230 lbs.
Date of birth: May 3, 1915
Date of death: October 16, 2003
From: Saskatoon, Saskatchewan
Pro debut: 1943
Trained by: Toots Mondt
Finishing move:
Biography
– In 1929 Stu Hart joined the YMCA in Edmonton and began amateur wrestling.
– Stu wins a gold medal in the welterweight class from the Amateur Athletic Union of Canada in 1937.
– Plays football for the Edmonton Eskimo s in 1938 and 1939.
– In May of 1940, Stu wins the dominion Amateur Wrestling Championship in the light heavyweight division.
– With World War II well underway the 1940 Summer Olympics are cancelled ending Stu s hope of competing there.
– Stu enlists in the Canadian Navy and becomes the Director of Athletics.
– It was during this time that Stu was introduced to professional wrestling and made his pro debut in New York in 1946.
– In 1948 he starts his own promotion, Big Time Wrestling based out of Edmonton.
– A move to Calgary is made in 1951 when Stu purchases what would become the famous Hart House containing what would become the even more infamous Hart Family Dungeon. The Dungeon helped mold the careers of several future stars in the business such as Chris Jericho, Edge, Chris Benoit, Ken Shamrock, The British Bulldogs, Gene Kiniski, Jushin Liger, Bret and Owen Hart and the rest of the Hart kids, plus many others.
– With the move to Calgary, Big Time Wrestling becomes known as Stampede Wrestling.
– On July 27th, 1956 Stu Hart and Luigi Macera defeat Kurt Von Poppenheim and Buddy Knox to win the Northwest Tag Team Titles.
– Wins the Northwest Tag titles again on September 26th, 1956 with Pat Meehan by defeating Mighty Ursus and Bob Wagner.
– He continues to wrestle through out the 60 s, but cuts back to occasional appearances in the 70s.
– In 1984 he sells Stampede Wrestling to Vince McMahon and the WWF.
– In 1985 WWF sells Stampede Wrestling back to Stu and his family.
– In December of 1989 Stampede Wrestling is officially shut down.
– Stu Hart is inducted into the Wrestling Observer Hall of Fame in 1996.
– In 2001 Stu Hart receives the Iron Mike Mazurki Award from the Cauliflower Alley Club.
– On May 31st 2001 Stu is made a member of the Order of Canada.
– Stu Hart is inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame on March 27th, 2010 by his son Bret Hart.
– On June 1, 2012, Hart is voted into the GERWECK.NET Hall of Fame