Stu Hart

Stewart Edward (Stu) Hart (May 3, 1915 - October 16, 2003) was a Canadian wrestler and wrestling trainer.

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 and Chris Jericho.

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

• Smith (1949-)
• Bruce (1950-)
• Keith (1951-)
• Wayne (1953-)
• Dean (1954-1990) who died of kidney failure
• Ellie (1955-), who was married to the wrestler Jim Neidhart
• Georgia (1956-)
• Bret (1957-)
• Allison (1959-)
• Ross (1961-)
• 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.
• 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.