10 Things You Didn’t Know About Jim Neidhart
Three words: Charles freakin' Manson...
It's heart-wrenchingly sad that, a mere 20 years or so on from the group's dominance, Bret Hart is now the only living member of The Hart Foundation, following Jim 'The Anvil' Neidhart sad passing yesterday aged just 63.
As always with wrestling deaths, this one came much too soon, robbed a man of his natural dotage and took away yet another colourful personality from the 1980s and '90s. The oxen-like Neidhart, an American football up-and-comer who transitioned into pro wrestling and was trained by Stu Hart, will be remembered for his robust ring work, energetic character and excitable laugh.
Just how well do you know the Anvil though? Sure, everyone of a certain vintage remembers his stellar run alongside Bret as the original Foundation (and his ill-fated stint with Owen as The New Foundation), but what of the man behind the goatee beard? To that point, where did that striking look come from, and who suggested it?
Some of the stories here are as over-the-top as Neidhart was himself. Perhaps that shouldn't come as a surprise for someone who lived life to the full, sometimes to excess, and once served hard time in the same prison as one of history's most notorious criminals...