Pain and Passion : The History of Stampede Wrestling

by Heath McCoy

Book Overview

Calgary's Stampede Wrestling spawned some of the biggest wrestling stars in history, from mat kings of the past like Gene Kiniski and Superstar Billy Graham to modern idols like Bret "Hitman" Hart,... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 097367198X
• ISBN13: 9780973671988
• Release Date: January 2005
• Publisher: Canwest Books
• Weight: 1.15 lbs.

Customer Reviews

A very good book

A interesting story about the rise, fall & tragedy of stampede wrestling. It's sad that tragedy, money & greed tore this family apart.

The Best

One of the best books on wrestling - if not the best - ever written. Heath has a great writing style that keeps you interested to the last page. If you like this book also pick up "Lord of the Ring". A great book about Stu Hart and his clan.

This is the definative book on Stampede wrestling

I grew up in the deep south of the United States. Thus, wrestling wise, I grew up on Memphis, Continental, and NWA wrestling. I only knew of Stampede wrestling through the Apter magazines and was exposed to their top stars only when several came to the WWF in the mid-1980's. Recently I read the awful Ring of Hell book which was an extremely unbalanced look at Stampede wrestling. As I discussed the book on my classic wrestling audio show at Wrestling Observer's website, several of my listeners recommended this book for a more complete view of the promotion. They were right. This is a fantastically well written book taking you from beginning to end. All the greats of Stampede wrestling are covered in great detail in this book including: Bret Hart, Owen Hart, Chris Benoit, the Mongolian Stomper, Bad News Allen, Davey Boy Smith, the Dynamite Kid, Bruce Hart, Keith Hart, David Schultz, the Honky Tonk Man, Andre the Giant, and much more. Also this book features great biographical details on the patriarch of the Hart family; Stu. Heath McCoy has done the best job to date in summarizing the history of a classic wrestling promotion. If you are a fan of any of the above mentioned wrestlers or just want to know more about classic Canadian wrestling or you want to read more about one of the most dysfunctional families in wrestling history then this is a must read.

Amazing!!!

I have really become enthralled with the wrestling histories. I have been reading numerous biographies written by current and retired wrestlers, but this book really enlightened me of the history of one of the most fabled families of wrestling (the Harts), and of one of the last true territories left in North America as Vince McMahon began to take over. If you are a true fan of wrestling, and enjoy knowing the legacy of what it USED to be like, this is your book to buy!!

How the city of Calgary influenced pro-wrestling.

This is the October 2007 rerelease of one of the greatest wrestling books ever written. It was originally published two years ago, but ECW Press struck a deal to publish it once more with a brand new cover design and an additional bonus chapter focusing on various important Stampede-related developments. Author Heath McCoy brings us up-to-date on Bret Hart's WWE Hall of Fame induction, the uprising of the third generation Hart family members signing with the WWE and the horrific events that unfolded at the Benoit household on June 25, 2007 that became known as "Wrestling's Darkest Day." To wrestling fans around the world, the city of Calgary represents the home base of a promotion known for producing some of the greatest stars the industry has ever seen. Men like "Dynamite Kid" Tom Billington, "British Bulldog" Davey Boy Smith, "Bad News" Allen Coage, "Flyin'" Brian Pillman, "The Rocket" Owen Hart, and of course WWE Hall of Famer Bret "The Hitman" Hart are at the top of the list of distinguished Stampede alumni. That list is long and glorious and full of big names that, even though did not achieve mega-stardom, played a dramatic role in one of the most under-rated and often-sheltered territories in the world of pro-wrestling. The show was run by one of the most beloved men in wrestling history, the tough-as-nails patriarch of the Hart family, Mr. Stu Hart. Along with his devoted wife, Helen, Stu assembled a roster of stars that prominently featured many of his own sons. The Hart family was the "heart" of the promotion, but the endless parade of heels that came in to face the Harts (and their allies) was definitely the blood that ran through its veins. Stampede was a promotion known for its heat, its pride, and its passion. Calgary Herald writer Heath McCoy has put together the most thorough book about any single wrestling topic that I have ever come across. His dedication to the project is what makes all 296 pages (bumped to 333 pages in the 2007 rerelease) in this book so fascinating. McCoy researched Stampede's history for (I'm guessing) well over a year and pieced together everything from beginning to end hitting all points in between. I was happy to see that McCoy made a point of not stroking anybody's ego when discussing the many personalities that competed inside of the blood-stained Stampede ring. There were plenty of positive and negative things to say about all the Hart brothers. Pain & Passion isn't just the story of Stampede wrestling. It also deals with the tumultuous history of the Hart family. Towards the end of the book, I started to get the impression that "Pain & Passion" referred to the two loves of Stu's life; Wrestling & Family. The author goes all the way back to Stu's youth, growing up in the prairies, and follows him as he finds his way into the wrestling, and eventually meeting his future wife on a beach in New York. You will also read chapters about the Hart kids growing up, the death of Owen Hart, the inevita