Bob Leonard of Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada has worn many hats in the wrestling world. He’s been promoter and publicist, journalist and photographer, ring announcer, referee, and occasional TV color commentator over his 50 year run. "I guess I’ve done everything but wrestle, and I came perilously close to doing that once," he says, relating how he was almost pressed into service as a masked man in a battle royal during a refereeing stint in New Brunswick.

Bob’s interest was first drawn by matches televised across Canada from Toronto’s Maple Leaf Gardens in the 1950's. He saw his first live event in Regina in early 1956, watching top-flight talent like George Gordienko, Luther Lindsay, Ray Villmer and Jim "Riot Call" Wright on one of Stu Hart’s weekly cards there. And that night, the die was cast.

George Scott began Bob’s introduction to the inside world of wrestling in 1957, as Saskatchewan reporter for Canada’s first mat magazine. The enterprise was short-lived, but Bob transferred his writing abilities to "Ring" magazine’s all-too-brief wrestling section, then "Ring Wrestling" when Nat Loubet introduced the all-mat publication. He also penned a monthly column and features for "The Wrestler" magazine of London, England for ocer 10 years, and contributed to the Stanley Weston family of magazines and others.

Words without pictures told only half the story of wrestling in western Canada, though. Bob took up the ringside camera early in the 1960's, to illustrate his articles with peak-action images of Stampede Wrestling events. Today, he has thousands of images that document the atmosphere and personalities of Stampede Wrestling rings over nearly 30 years.

    
 Bob is flanked by boxing's heavyweight kings Gene Tunney, left, and Jack Dempsey  in this 1963 photo.

 

Bob worked closely with Stu Hart over many years, and in many roles. He handled ring announcing in Regina and at other venues across the Stampede Wrestling territory from the mid-1960's until 1989, and refereed for a couple of years in Saskatoon, another of Stu’s major towns. Publicity was a key factor in the promotional mix, and Bob handled it for years in Regina, and at Stu’s annual "World Championship Wrestling" events at the renowned Calgary Stampede. Ed Whalen had Bob as his color commentator a number of times on "Stampede Wrestling From Calgary", the TV show that was seen across Canada and in far-flung locations such as Saudi Arabia and the Caribbean.

            
      The inimitable Sky Low Low acknowledges the crowd as Bob introduces him.

                                     

WWF came calling in 1987, and Bob co-promoted their shows in Regina and Saskatoon until 1993, handling all the local details of their fairly frequent tours. And when Stu’s sons Bruce and Ross revived Stampede Wrestling in 1999, he handled all aspects of the Saskatchewan end of tours for much of the next year.

Bob was inducted as a charter member of the Stampede Wrestling Hall of Fame on December 15, 1995, at a huge live event held to mark Stu Hart’s 80^th birthday. The Hall recognizes 45 wrestlers and five builders from the promotion’s 41-year history.
      
Andre the Giant pours for Bob, during a Stampede Wrestling stop in 1977.   Looks like somebody was thirsty!

 

His camera images have re-emerged on the printed page in recent years, as a mainstay of books authored by Greg Oliver, Dave Meltzer and Heath McCoy. Bret Hart’s autobiography, due for release this fall, will feature plenty of Bob’s photos of Bret’s early career and other Stampede stars of the era.

Bob is now looking at combining the lore and legend of Stampede Wrestling with his photography in his own book. "Stu Hart’s own character, his unique philosophy of professional wrestling, gave rise to one of the most storied promotions ever," he says. "The 41-year saga of Stampede Wrestling should not be forgotten."