Stu Hart Stewart Edward " Stu " Hart , CM ( May 3 , 1915 – October 16 , 2003 ) was a Canadian amateur wrestler , professional wrestler , promoter and trainer . Hart founded Stampede Wrestling , a promotion based in Calgary , Alberta and associated wrestling school " The Dungeon . " The patriarch of the Hart wrestling family , Stu was the father of many wrestlers , most notably Bret and Owen Hart . Along with Bret and Owen , Hart ' s trainees included future world champions Chris Jericho , Edge , Christian , Mark Henry , and Chris Benoit . Early life . Hart played football for the Edmonton Eskimos in the 1938 and 1939 seasons . Stu Hart began amateur wrestling when he joined the YMCA in Edmonton in 1929 . By 1937 he won a gold medal in the welterweight class from the Amateur Athletic Union of Canada . His amateur career peaked in May 1940 when Hart won the Dominion Amateur Wrestling Championship in the light heavyweight category . It must have been a bittersweet win for Hart as by that time the Phoney War had ended in Europe , and World War II had erupted . This led to the cancellation of the Olympics ending one of Hart ' s greatest dreams . Hart did enlist in the Canadian Navy and served as the Director of Athletics . Hart was trained in catch wrestling as a young boy by a bunch of older boys . They used to ' streim every day , but Stu kept coming back . Stu once said " his head would be blue by the time they let go of him " . Stu taught this ' shoot style ' to all who trained under him in the 1980s and 1990s with the thought that teaching his students real submission moves would make their pro wrestling style sharper . Career . It was during his service that Stu was introduced to professional wrestling . After recovering from a car accident , Stu competed in various exhibition matches to entertain the troops . In 1946 , while receiving training from Toots Mondt , Hart debuted in New York and embarked on a long , eventful career , at one point wrestling a tiger and a grizzly bear . In 1948 , Hart established Stampede Wrestling , which was responsible for developing many second generation wrestling superstars . Three years later , he purchased a mansion in Patterson Heights , Calgary . The Hart House is now considered a historical site for the many famous figures that had passed through its doors . Its basement , known as the Dungeon , provided training grounds with an extensive legacy all its own . A coach and mentor to countless young athletes , and a generous supporter of community life in Calgary , Hart , a loyal benefactor to more than thirty charitable and civic organizations including the Shriners ' Hospital for Crippled Children and the Alberta Firefighters Toy Fund was appointed on November 15 , 2000 to the Order of Canada . He was investitured on May 31 , 2001 . Family . For 53 years he was married to U . S . born Helen Smith ( February 16 , 1924 - November 4 , 2001 ) and together they had and raised twelve children in the Hart mansion . Many of his children went on to become wrestlers or were otherwise involved in wrestling . The couple have thirty - six grandchildren and three great - grandchilden ( Teddy Annis ' s son Bradley , Kristin Neidhart ' s son Locklin and Jade Hart ' s daughter Kyra ) Tommy Billington ' s three children , Bronwynn , Marek and Amaris are also included in his list of grandchildren and Bronwynn ' s daughter Miami is also referred to as one of his great - grandchildren . Death . Hart was admitted to Rockyview General Hospital on October 3 , 2003 for an elbow infection and then developed pneumonia . He also suffered from ailments associated with diabetes and arthritis . He had a stroke and died 13 days later at the age of 88 . In 2005 the City of Saskatoon announced that a street in the city ' s new Blairmore Suburban Centre development will be named Hart Road in Stu Hart ' s honor . On March 27 , 2010 , Hart was posthumously inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame .