October 27, 2003 Observer Newsletter: Deaths of Stu Hart and Road Warrior Hawk

The death of Stu Hart at the age of 88 brings a lot of reflections. Hart’s life was wrestling, and it made him a real-life mythical legend of Canada’s Wild West. While he was neither an international drawing card on his own, nor one of the top-level promoters when it came to drawing gigantic houses, he probably influenced the history of the business, both in and out of the ring, more than all but a few men in history. With the death of Lou Thesz and Freddie Blassie over the past 18 months, Hart was the last of those larger than life historical figures in wrestling whose knowledge of the real insides of the business dated back to the turn of the last century.

Hart passed away on 10/16 at Rockyview General Hospital in Calgary, where he had been for 13 days. This came about a week after son Bret was privately told that Stu would never be able to return home, because he would always need around-the-clock care due to diabetes and other ailments.

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