A few days ago, the world lost a good man. He was a father to 12 siblings. He was the husband to Helen for over 53 years. He was a Mason. He was decorated with the Order of Canada. The Cauliflower Alley Club honored him with the Iron Mike Award.

Stu Hart was born May 3, 1915, and, in his early years, he played for the Edmonton Eskimos. In the 1940's, he wrestled in the Northeast area for Toots Mondt, a very successful promoter. His claim to fame was that he was a legitimate athlete, having had a good career in the amateurs before turning pro.

In 1948, he started Big Time Wrestling and eventually changed the name to Stampede Wrestling, which covered a huge territory in Canada. Wrestlers from far and wide would fight for the right to come and compete against the world's best. Stu spared no expense in bringing the top talent for his fans to watch. Weekly crowds in overflow attendance would jam the various arenas to see the matches.

A lot of big name stars got their biggest boosts by coming to the Calgary territory. Men like Harley Race, Dory Funk Jr., Archie "The Stomper" Gouldie, Black Angus Campbell, Les Thornton, The Great Antonio, Dick "Bulldog" Brower, Gene Kiniski and Brian Pillman … just to name a few.

Along with these greats came some of the sons of Stu and Helen Hart. Bruce, Owen and Bret all had their start in the Calgary dynasty. Under the watchful eye of Stu, they all became superstars in the world of professional wrestling.

Stu sold the promotion to Vince McMahon in 1984 and thus ended Stampede as we knew it. Currently, Bruce and Ross Hart are renewing the Stampede name and have some great talent, including some of the grandchildren of Stu and Helen.

I had the opportunity to wrestle in the old Stampede territory in the mid 60's and, in 1970, went and secured the contract of Black Angus Campbell and took him to Kansas City. It was an honor to be in Calgary and to be hosted by the Hart family. The true warmth and camaraderie they gave each and every one of us are memories that I will take to my grave.

Stu tried a couple of times to entice me into the basement area of his mansion on the hill, but I was too smart for that. I had heard blood-chilling tales of how he would hook you into a hold and then twist and turn your torso in ways that it should not have been. Your screams could be heard throughout the home, as the master of the mats would have his way with you until he was ready to release the hold.

In 2001, I had the opportunity to sit with this giant of our business and quietly chat about the old days and people that we knew in the ring. Stu looked through the barrage of photos I had carried to the Cauliflower Alley Club reunion and would often stop and get a tear in his eye as he saw guys that had gone on to that big ring in the sky. He would make comments about how tough they were or how tough they thought they were.

We spent about four hours that day just talking and taking pictures with everybody that came by to pay homage to the ultimate promoter, wrestler and human that ever graced the four corners of a ring.

Stu might be gone from us, but his legacy will live on in our hearts. He has been reunited with Helen in Heaven, and they will live on forever.

My prayers go out to the entire Hart family.

Rest in Peace, my friend.