[MEDIA] Calgary Sun 10.24.03 Hart glory days relived

http://slam.canoe.ca/Slam/Wrestling/2003/10/24/235538.html

Hart glory days relived

50 years of friends recount tales of Stu 

By BILL KAUFMANN, CALGARY SUN
 
Former wrestlers Gamma Singh, left, and Bad News Allen. (Photo:
Calgary Sun)
The approaches to the Hart mansion were thick with black-clad security
guards, but hardly anyone was turned away. Half -a-century of Calgary
friends and greying terrors of the ring thronged the Patina Close S.W.
home following yesterday's funeral in a wake rife with sentimentality.

"He was like a brother to me -- we used to make a pot of coffee and
talk about the sixties," said the man once known by Stampede Wrestling
fans as the Cuban Assassin, as the house behind him filled with
visitors.

"He was very polite -- that's why he had so many friends." 

Other former grapplers from the Stampede Wrestling formed a ring
beneath the chandelier in the parlour, reliving the glory days.

'HE WAS A GOOD MAN' 

"He was a good man and one of the best promoters," said the wrestler
formerly dubbed Torkamata, who gazed around the fabled home he once
frequented.
  

"It was a long time ago, but it never changes." 

Under the gaze of photos and drawings of Stu Hart and his children,
mourners munched on Spolumbo's sandwiches and brownies washed down
with beer -- each with a story.

Former Flames trainer Jim "Bearcat" Murray said he first met Stu Hart
51 years ago when he mistakenly rode a horse into the wrestler's back
yard, startling him.

'A BIG SEND-OFF' 

"My claim to fame is I scared the hell out of Stu Hart," said Murray,
adding he'd been friends with Hart ever since.

Just minutes later, Hart family members arrived from the cemetery
service, leaving little room for mourners to manoeuvre in the
98-year-old house.

"He'd be surprised so many people gave him a big send-off," said
daughter Ellie Neidhart.

Japanese wrestler Hiroshi Yagi heard of Hart's death in a Tokyo
newspaper just four days before the funeral but didn't consider
missing it.

"Stu was like my father when I was 17 years old," said Yagi, one of
many intrepid grapplers Hart took under his wing.

Standing on the spacious front porch his father had enjoyed for
half-a-century, son Ross said the day had transcended sadness.

"He would have been extremely proud, very humbled by all of this,"
said Ross.