Smith Hart

Smith Stewart Hart (November 28, 1948 – July 2, 2017) was a Canadian-American professional wrestler and a member of the Hart wrestling family. His parents were Stu and Helen Hart. Smith was the first of their twelve children, being one of their eight sons, Bruce, Keith, Wayne, Dean, Bret, Ross and Owen followed him. He wrestled for the majority of his career in Canada but also worked shortly in other countries and is best known for his time in Stampede Wrestling and for his appearances for WWE.
==Early life==
Hart was born in New York and was a dual citizen of the United States and Canada.
He was of Greek descent through his maternal grandmother and Irish through his maternal grandfather. His father was mainly of Scots-Irish descent but also had Scottish and English ancestry.
When he was less than a year old his mother, Helen Hart, suffered an automobile accident while pregnant with his younger brother Bruce. As a result, he was sent to live with his maternal grandparents, Harry and Elizabeth Smith, for almost two years.
==Professional wrestling career==
===As a wrestler===
He wrestled in his father's Stampede Wrestling promotion and in Puerto Rico's World Wrestling Council, as well as making trips to Japan, England, Germany and the Netherlands. He also helped out behind the scenes at Stampede Wrestling.
====Stampede, Japan and National Wrestling Alliance====
In 1973 Hart debuted for his father's promotion Stampede Wrestling in a tag team match with Bob Pringle against Joe Tomasso and Super Hawk in Regina. He later went on that same year to working in matches with Frank Butcher. Late that year he also tag teamed with his brother Bruce against Frank Butcher and Kim Klokeid.
In 1974 Hart began working for the Japanese promotion International Wrestling Enterprise, he first worked in a match against Katsuzo Oiyama in Sagamihara. Hart was sent to Japan primarily to train since his father wanted him to get more experience and discipline. Hart's brother Bret has stated that Hart suffered through a lot of stress and was unhappy during this period. Hart has claimed that his time in Japan caused the breakup with his then girlfriend and mother of his first child, Marla.
From 1977 to 1980 Hart wrestled in collaboration with Stampede Wrestling and the National Wrestling Alliance in matches against Gordon Ivey, Jim Custer and Steve Novak among others. In this period he also was in a three-man tag team stable together with his brothers Bruce and Keith, they wrestled and defeated Bud Osborne, John Foley and Ray Osborne.
====Stampede Wrestling and World Wrestling Council====
In late 70s Hart traveled to Puerto Rico together with his younger brother Bret. They won the WWC Caribbean Tag Team Championship together. Hart met his wife Maria while working in Puerto Rico.
In the early 1980s Hart worked for Stampede Wrestling where he mostly participated in singles matches against wrestlers such ad Otis Young, Bill Jodoin, T.G. Stone and Joe Tomasso but also in a lot of tag team matches with his brother Keith against people such as Kerry Brown and the Cuban Assassin. He also tag teamed with brother in-law Jim Neidhart regularly against Carlos Peron, José Peron, Duke Myers and Texas Red Miller. Outside of that he at times worked in three man tag teams with Dan Kroffat and Barabas were they competed with Fidel Castillo, José Peron and Carlos Peron.
Hart continued to wrestle in Puerto Rico and in Montreal in the late 1980s after Stampede Wrestling was shut down and sold to the then-WWF in 1984.
====Independent circuit====
On June 24, 2011 Hart wrestled for the Great North Wrestling promotion in a match which he lost against The Spoiler. On May 24, 2013 he returned once again to the ring at the Grange Hall arena in Lefroy, Ontario in a match for Pure Wrestling Association where he defeated Mad Braddock. He was there together with his stepson Mike who also wrestled at the event.
===Appearances for WWF/E===
At the 1994 SummerSlam event Hart and his brothers can be seen attempting to climb the cage in which Bret and Owen Hart had their match.
On March 28, 2010, Hart made an appearance at Wrestlemania 26 to help his brother Bret defeat Vince McMahon in a No Holds Barred Match. The storyline was that McMahon had paid of Smith and all the other Hart family members to betray Bret, but they all doubblecrossed him and helped Bret win the match.
Hart also appeared on WWE television at his father Stu's Hall of Fame induction together with his sibling.
===As a promoter===
On November 6, 2011 Smith brought back Stampede Wrestling in Barrie, Ontario.
In February 2013 Smith became an executive member of the Victory Commonwealth Wrestling board of directors along with "Soulman" Ricky Johnson, uncle of Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson. He has since made many appearances for the company.
In April 2014 Hart announced that David Benoit, the son of late wrestler Chris Benoit was to make his in ring debut for the Hart Legacy Wrestling promotion on July 18 in a tag team match with Chavo Guerrero. Hart claimed that Benoit had been trained by his nephew David Hart Smith. The match was later canceled in May when Chris Jericho informed Guerrero that David did not have any formal training. Hart had told different versions to the two men, to Guerrero he had said that David had received training for the match but had also told Jericho that David would not be wrestling, just involved in a storyline.
He was at one point booker for the Canadian-based Great North Wrestling company.
===Other work in wrestling===
Hart opened a "Hart Brothers Wrestling School" in Cambridge, Ontario which has trained many wrestlers including the Highlanders.
On November 19, 2013 Smith joined PWMania.com as a columnist.
==Other media==
In 2011 Hart appeared the Canadian show Dragon's Den, Season 6 Episode 4.
==Personal life and death==
On January 21, 2016, Hart announced on his Twitter and Facebook profile that he had been diagnosed with both prostate and bone cancers. He is also in the progress of writing his autobiography. Two weeks later via his Facebook, his brother Bret Hart revealed that he had prostate cancer. Smith's cancer has spread to his hip, when the disease is restricted to the prostate, the survival rate is rather high but Harts initial cancer therapy was unsuccessful and he is required to undergo chemotherapy. By February 7 2017, Hart had been diagnosed with terminal prostate cancer and given about one year left to live. On June 5, 2017, Smith Hart announced on his Facebook page that he has entered hospice care related to his cancer. On July 2, 2017, it was announced that Smith Hart had died in Calgary at the age of 68 of prostate and bone cancer.
===Family===
Hart has five children, including a stepson named Michael Herweg and two biological sons named Matthew Herweg and Chad Pointen, as well as two daughters Tobi McIvor and Satania Ecstasy "Tanya" Hart.
Hart also has six grandchildren, three granddaughters from his oldest, Tobi, named Amanda, Jessica and Isabelle, and two grandsons named Lakken and Ashwin Stelzner from his stepson Michael, who also has a stepdaughter named Havanna Stelzner.
Two of his sons, Michael and Matthew have started a career in wrestling.
===Legal issues===
In the 1978 Hart was attending the Oktoberfest in Germany together with the Dynamite Kid and his brother Bruce to represent Stampede Wrestling in an international wrestling tournament, when Hart was called out he entered the ring with a Hitler mustache and performed a Nazi salute in an attempt to play a joke on the other wrestlers.
Hart's youngest son Chad was raised by his maternal grandaunt Kathie Pointen and her husband Vern after a court found Smith to be unfit to raise Chad.
After the Hart House was sold in 2003 he refused to move out and hid inside it. He had used the family mansion as a rent house to make money and wasn't willing to give it up. Even after the doors and windows were barricaded he managed to enter through the balcony and had to eventually to be escorted out by police.
Hart was one of 96 known people on an Alberta Justice website who owe a combined $6.6 million in court-ordered Maintenance Enforcement Program (MEP) payments to spouses and children.
==In wrestling==
*Managers
**Stu Hart
=== Wrestlers trained ===
*Beef Wellington
*Colin Douglas
*Justin Rego
*Eddie Osbourne
*Elian Habanero
*Joey Knight
*The Prince of Power
*Robert Graham
*Robin Knightwing
*Rory McAllister
==Championships and accomplishments==
*World Wrestling Council
:*WWC Caribbean Tag Team Champion (1 time) - with Bret Hart
==Personal life==
Smith has five children: Tobi McIvor, Satania, Matthew Herweg-Hart, Michael Herweg-Hart and Chad Hart.
==External links==
* Profile
Category:Hart family
Category:Canadian wrestlers
Category:1948 births
Category:1973 debuts
Category:1991 retirements
Category:2017 deaths
Category:Stampede Wrestling alumni
Category:World Wrestling Council alumni
Category:Alberta wrestlers
Category:Dungeon graduates
Category:Male wrestlers
Category:Wrestlers who have died
Category:Second Generation Wrestlers
Category:Promoters
Category:Professional wrestling trainers