Stu Hart

Hart was born in Saskatoon in 1915 to Edward and Elizabeth Stewart Hart. He was mainly of Ulster Scot descent on his father's side and had Scottish and English ancestry from his mother's side of the family.

His childhood was impoverished; as a boy, Stu Hart lived in a tent with his family on the prairie in Alberta, living off the land, milking cows and wild game that Stu took down with his slingshot. As a child Hart and his sisters were often mistreated at school by both fellow students and teachers since it was well known that they were from such a poor family. Hart was also berated and treated with disdain for being lefthanded, something seen as deviant at the time. Like most lefthanded children at the time, he was forced to work with his right, and as a result he became ambidextrous. In 1928, his father was arrested for failure to pay back taxes, while the Salvation Army sent Stu, his mother, and two sisters, Sylvester and Edrie to live in Edmonton. Due to his destitute childhood and youth Hart did not experience a dramatic shift in life quality or mentality during the Great Depression which affected most others around him in Edmonton.

Other sport ventures and military service

While Hart was mainly a lover of submission wrestling he was also an outstanding all-around athlete who played virtually every sport available, excelling at football, baseball and fastball notably. Hart played professionally for the Edmonton Eskimos from 1937 to 1939 as a center and was considered a standout performer at the time. Hart had initially been slated for the 1941 season as well but had to decline due to other commitments which prevented him from joining at that time. He coached a women's fastball team in Edmonton during the late 1930s as well as being the captain of a popular baseball team called Hart's All Stars. The players of Hart's All Stars consisted of sheet-metal workers from Edmonton whom he trained.

On Christmas Eve 1941 Hart was almost killed in a bicycle accident which broke both his elbows and thumbs and hurt his back severely. The injuries risked ending Hart's athletic career. The accident happened while he was on the way to be with his father Edward to celebrate Christmas with the family when a fire truck drove behind him and forced Hart to swerve to the side where he was hit by another car which propelled him thirty feet forward on the road and scraped off a large portion of his skin in the process. He spent several months at the Royal Alexandra Hospital in Edmonton recovering. In the spring, still hospitalized, Hart was visited by Al Oeming, a young neighbour who had been drafted into the Royal Canadian Navy for World War II and after being released from the hospital Hart decided to enlist. Hart enlisted in the Navy and was appointed to the position of Director of Athletics. In early 1943, Hart was put in for a transfer from the Nonsuch in Edmonton to regular service in Cornwallis, Nova Scotia. Physically, he had fully recovered from his injuries and had hoped to see genuine sea duty afterward, but the Navy appeared to be more interested in him as an athletic director than as a regular enlisted seaman. By later 1943 the Navy had him wrestling mostly to amuse the other servicemen, instead of purely competitively. He performed regularly before thousands of other enlisted men in drill halls. Several of the men he worked with would end up being employed by Hart when he became a promoter later in life.

Hart spent much of his free time during World War II performing and organizing different sports events to raise funds to the war effort. As an active sailor and director of athletics Hart was the leader of all the sports teams available and a member of them as well, most notably the fastball team and the wrestling team. Hart originally wanted to leave the Navy when the war was over but the organization considered him to be a great asset both as a trainer as well as a showpiece, persuading him to stay. Later he asked to be let go several times but each time was told to stay. Hart was finally given his discharge from the Navy in early 1946.

Hart was close friends with fellow wrestler Luther Jacob Goodall, better known by the name Luther Lindsay. Goodall was one of the few men who bested him in the infamous "Dungeon" and Hart reportedly carried a picture of him in his wallet until his passing in 2003. Goodall's death in 1972 affected Hart tremendously. Hart's son Keith described them as being as close as brothers. Hart was also a good friend of wrestling promoter Jack Pfefer, whom he asked to be the godfather of his son Ross, as well as Calgary Mayor Rod Sykes and ice hockey player Brian Conacher. All of the wrestling belts that Hart used for his promotions were handmade by himself. Making championship belts was one of Hart's many domestic skills.

Hart allegedly wrote the foreword to the controversial book Under the Mat which was written by his youngest daughter, Diana Hart. His son Bret has questioned the legitimacy of it, and has stated that if Hart did write the foreword, his daughter probably did not let him read the book beforehand.

Family

Hart married a New Yorker, Helen Smith (born February 16, 1924 – died November 4, 2001), the daughter of Olympic marathon runner Harry Smith on December 31, 1947. They were introduced through each other by Paul Boesch. Stu and Helen were married for over 53 years until Helen's death at the age of 77.

Stu and Helen raised their twelve children in the Hart mansion, Smith, Bruce, Keith, Wayne, Dean, Ellie, Georgia, Bret, Alison, Ross, Diana and Owen. Hart was a non-denominational Christian, however, he had all his children baptized by a local Catholic priest. The couple have around thirty-six biological grandchildren and several great-grandchildren, three of whom, his oldest grandson Teddy Annis's son Bradley and his oldest granddaughter Tobi McIvor's two oldest daughters Amanda and Jessica, were born during Hart's lifetime. Tom and Michelle Billington's three children, Bronwyne, Marek and Amaris are also often included in the list of his grandchildren, therefore Bronwyne's daughter Miami is also often referred to as one of his great-grandchildren. Many of his grandchildren went on to become wrestlers or were otherwise involved in wrestling.

In 1949, Hart and his wife Helen who was pregnant with their second child, Bruce were in a car accident on their way home from a wrestling match, Hart was unscathed, although he did break the car's steering wheel on impact, however his wife Helen suffered several injuries and had to be held in a hospital for a long time, leading them to leaving their oldest child, Smith, with Helen's parents Elizabeth and Harry Smith for two years.

According to his son Ross, Hart was severely affected and badly aged by being bereaved of his youngest son Owen in 1999 and by becoming a widower in 2001.

Because of his extensive work as a coach and mentor to many young athletes as well as over thirty years of charitable work in his hometown, Stu Hart was appointed a Member of the Order of Canada on November 15, 2000. He was honoured with an investiture on May 31, 2001, in Ottawa.