Gary Hart

NOTE: I will be in Las Vegas for the 2008 CAC on June 9-11 at the Riviera and hope to see all of you there that can attend. I will be in charge of the annual "Destroyer's Cribbage Tournament." Details can be had at www.caulifloweralleyclub.org.--Percival

A couple of months ago, the world of wrestling lost a true friend. He was honest with all the guys he managed and made them a great living. He was a friend backstage to many, but not many knew of his humble beginnings.

He was born Gary Williams on January 24, 1942, and his debut into the wrestling wars began in 1963. A few years prior to that, he was involved with being a second for Fred Kohler's promotion in Chicago.

He had actually met Billy Goelz when he was just 15 and began to train for a career that would last over 30 years. At the old Marigold Arena, a second was needed one night for Angelo Poffo as Bronko Lubich had left for the Carolinas. Gary was so well liked that Angelo involved him in the ring as a tag team partner and then later brought him in as a manager.

Gary was so well trained that he later was brought into Detroit to wrestle in the newly formed Big Time Wrestling, promoted by Frances Fleser. Gary became the manager for George Steele under a mask as “The Student.” His popularity was so overwhelming that he caused riots wherever they went on a nightly basis.

Gary and “The Student” stayed in the Detroit area for a couple of years until he got a call from Promoter Eddie Graham, offering him a spot in Florida. Beside his managerial duties, he also helped with booking talent into the Sunshine state. He also traveled to the Texas area during the hot summer months and worked for the Dallas promotion.

In 1973, while I was in Amarillo as manager of the Patriot (Bobby Hart), Gary was brought in to wrestle against me. I will always remember that night because he made me a champ in front of a sellout crowd, as only he could do. He tormented me verbally before the start of the match and was given a standing ovation. He made an instant good guy out of himself, and I had fans starting to climb into the ring before we laid a hand on each other.

The match ended with Gary going back to Dallas the better wrestler, but not the wiser, as The Patriot charged the ring and made quick order of busting up Hart's wrestling lesson on my body. I was handed a disqualification and a $1,000 fine by the referee. Hart was carried from the ring by the fans that, a few minutes before, were trying their best to hit me as I passed them going back to my locker room.

Gary was not the toughest guy in the world, but he could hold his own. An example of that was the plane crash in 1974 when Buddy Colt misjudged the landing strip at Tampa and plunged into the murky waters of Tampa Bay. Bobby Shane was killed in that crash, and Gary suffered a broken leg, a broken wrist and lost sight in his right eye.

The Tampa Tribune gave an interesting write up about the conditioning of wrestlers. They pointed out the facts following the crash, and that later led to national headlines about a wrestler named Gary Hart swimming over a mile with a broken leg and numerous other problems.

Shortly afterwards, Gary moved to Atlanta and began yet another stage of his career in the development of many young upstarts in the business and also, at the same time, became head booker for Ted Turner's Championship Wrestling.

Many of the names that Hart managed included Roddy Piper, Bruiser Brody, Chris Adams, One Man Gang, Big John Studd, Bob Orton Jr., The Great Muta, Kevin Sullivan and Abdullah The Butcher. Later in his career in Texas, he managed Brian Adias, Dusty Rhodes (whom Gary gave the name “THE AMERICAN DREAM”), Terry Funk, Dingo (later Ultimate) Warrior, Dick Slater, The Spoiler and Killer Tim Brooks.

During World Class' golden era, Hart was also a manager in the Georgia and Mid-Atlantic regions of the NWA, joining these two areas exclusively in 1983 shortly after the start of the Freebirds-Von Erichs feud when he left World Class due to a pay dispute. Hart returned to Texas in the summer of 1984 and, following a short hiatus in 1986, stayed with the federation until 1988. Hart was also a promoter and manager in San Antonio for Texas All-Star Wrestling, the successor of Joe Blanchard's Southwest Championship Wrestling group, and featured most of the SCW wrestlers, as well as a handful of World Class names (including Chris Adams, Scott Casey and Bruiser Brody).

Shortly after the folding of WCCW, Hart continued to manage Al Perez in the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA)'s Jim Crockett Promotions in 1988, along with Larry Zbyszko. In 1989, he managed the stable known as the J-Tex Corporation, which included Terry Funk, Dick Slater, Buzz Sawyer, The Dragonmaster and The Great Muta. They feuded primarily with Ric Flair and Sting, but Ole and Arn Anderson later teamed up with Flair and Sting to even the sides up (and thus bringing back The Four Horseman briefly). J-Tex disbanded in early 1990.

Hart retired in 1999, but he made a surprise return in Major League Wrestling during the promotion's Reloaded Tour on January 9-10, 2004. Hart appeared following the main event (on January 9) pitting Low-Ki against Homicide, where the three laid out several wrestlers from the locker room as well as MLW president Court Bauer.

During the tour, Hart's son Chad (who was trained by Chris Adams, Skandor Akbar and Gary Hart) debuted and wrestled on both events. On January 10, Chad Hart attacked Terry Funk immediately after his barbed-wire "I Quit" match with Steve Corino. It would prove to be MLW's final show, as the promotion folded in February of the same year.

Gary was a member of the Cauliflower Alley Club and made many trips to its reunions. Each time he saw me, he would come over and give me a big hug and shake my hand while telling me thanks for helping his early career out in Detroit with Big Time Wrestling.

Gary died from a heart attack on March 16, 2008 at his home in Euless, Texas after returning from an autograph session in Pennsylvania that day. His sons had picked him up at DFW airport earlier and had returned to his home to share a meal when they found him on the floor.

Gary ... you were an inspiration to the wrestling world, you led so many careers to heights that only you could imagine doing, and you did it with grace, dignity and attitude. Thank you for being my friend.

Rest in Peace, Gary Richard Williams, a/k/a "Playboy" Gary Hart.

Percival A. Friend, Retired
The Epitome of Wrestling Managers

2003 BWC Hall of Fame Inductee
2004 CAC Hall of Fame Inductee
2006 LWA Hall of Fame Inductee
2007 TCCW Hall of Fame Honoree