[WWW] Slam 10.21.03 Stu Hart: A Dungeon Perspective

http://slam.canoe.ca/Slam/Wrestling/2003/10/21/232241.html

Stu Hart: A Dungeon Perspective

By 'HOTSHOT' JOHNNY DEVINE - For SLAM! Wrestling
 
CALGARY - A lot has and will be said about Stu Hart in the next few
days and weeks to come. All of it will be wonderful because there
really wasn't a bad thing you could say about someone like Stu. So as
something a little different I will try to give a student's
perspective on Stu as both a wrestler and a fan.

To those who know me, it's no secret that I have been a wrestling fan
since the age of five, when I first saw Stampede Wrestling while
visiting my father in Calgary. Stu was the owner of Stampede and every
summer for the Calgary Stampede he would have all kinds of people
brought in for the biggest show of the year. I first saw Stu riding on
a float in the parade and remember thinking "Boy is he ever BIG!"

Now skip ahead to when I joined the Dungeon in 1997 and the first time
I met Stu in person. All I could think was, "Here is this 82-year-old
man and if he wanted to I'm sure he could crush my hand with the
handshake he just gave me! And he's still big!"

I entered the Dungeon after completing a three-year contract with the
Canadian military and was lean and mean. I wore a heavy sweater that
day to hide the leanness (all 157 pounds of it). When I walked into
the kitchen, there was Stu standing with Ross Hart. I hoped I was a
passable 165 pounds so as not to look too small, but Stu shook my hand
and asked where I was from and then said "So you're, what, 157
pounds?" I thought I was at a carnival and just got suckered onto
standing on a scale! It was like a dream though. I was so happy to
have met Stu I could barely talk, and for me that is an amazing (and
rare) thing.

The next few weeks I would go up to Stu's a little early every day or
stay late after training to talk with him and hear the great stories
he had. It was great. He always had time and was never too busy or
short with us. In those first three months of training I had the
"pleasure" of being stretched by Stu a couple of times. Few of the
guys training then whined about it, because it was an honor. He may
have been 82 but he still had a grip like a vice. You didn't really
fight back against him, but you didn't want him to have complete
control over you so you tried to move yourself in such a way as to be
comfortable. That was when he had you. See, he would get you to
position yourself for him without you even knowing you did it, then
would cinch in whatever torture device stretch he had in mind. That
was when the pain would begin. It would be a somewhat gradual build up
after the initial jolt to the point that you felt like whatever
appendage he had a hold of would come off in his hands. But if you
screamed it got worse. As much as the stretching hurt, watching him
stretch someone, especially a big "tough" muscle head, was pure
comedy. He would take them to the breaking point and when they
screamed tell them to stop whining and take the stretch a little
further. He was an artist in pain. There are a hundred stories you
could get from the guys in the Dungeon but I will save those for some
other time.

When things started getting rougher for the family after Owen (RIP)
died, Stu really was the rock for the family. He was an inspiring
person naturally but adversity really brought the best out of him.
Efforts to console and comfort the family were doubled and grief
allayed to an extent by Stu's heartfelt and compassionate words and
gestures. I will not dwell on the tragedy the Hart family has suffered
but Stu was the proverbial lighthouse in a stormy sea, and even those
of us not "in" the family were drawn to him. I was lucky enough to
have a wonderful conversation with him about Owen and Davey Boy Smith,
two of my other heroes. And Stu's words made me feel better.

[]
  

It was always a treat to see Stu at the Stampede shows as you could
see him perk up when bell time hit. Afterward he would always have
kind things to say and make you feel like you were doing really well
even if your match sucked. At his 88th birthday show in May, all the
guys on the card pulled out all the stops because we all wanted to
make Stu proud of us. And I think we put on one of the best indy
wrestling cards of all time that night. Everyone wanted to impress
Stu, no matter if it was in or out of the ring. He was just one of
those remarkable people that draw folks to them like moths to a flame.
And still he always had time for everyone. Young, old, rich, poor it
didn't matter, Stu would always give his time.

Time. It's such a precious commodity. You never have enough to do the
things you need or want to do. Whenever someone is taken from you some
of your first words are invariably "I wish I had spent more time
with..." On the night before Stu died I asked Nattie Niedhart how he
was doing and she told me not too good. So I made a promise to go and
visit him the next day. I woke up Thursday morning and had some
errands to run and to hit the gym. I thought to myself "I'll do my
running around and hit the gym, then get cleaned up and make myself
presentable and go to the hospital." At around 3:30 I finished at the
gym and when I turned on my phone I had two messages telling me the
news.

I wish I had gone to the hospital first. 

I wish I had been able to say goodbye. 

I wish I had more time to spend with him. 

Most of all I wish Stu peace and a safe journey. 

God Bless you Stu, you were my hero and a tremendous role model. I
will miss you.