Greg Oliver

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Not to be confused with the rugby player Greig Oliver.
Greg Oliver
Author Greg Oliver .jpg
Born (1971-02-02) February 2, 1971 (age 50)[1]
Kitchener, Ontario
OccupationWriter, editor
LanguageEnglish
NationalityCanadian
EducationBachelor of Applied Arts
Alma materRyerson Polytechnic University
Website
oliverbooks.ca

Greg Oliver (born February 2, 1971 in Kitchener, Ontario)[1] is a Canadian sports writer. He currently resides in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.

Early life and education[]

He earned a Bachelor of Applied Arts in journalism, newspaper major, in 1993 from Ryerson Polytechnic University.[1]

Writing[]

He is the author of seven books on professional wrestling, and six books on hockey. He is also the co-founder and producer of the Slam Wrestling website, which began as a part of the Sun Media family on the Canoe.ca website. On June 1, 2020, Slam Wrestling ended its association with Postmedia and established SlamWrestling.net.[2]

Oliver has contributed to many other publications, including The Hockey News, Publishers Weekly, The Globe and Mail, The Toronto Sun, Kingston Whig-Standard, Kitchener-Waterloo Record, Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Fighting Spirit Magazine. As a teenager, he published The Canadian Wrestling Report (1985-1990).[1]

Oliver's work has been reviewed by Booklist, Quill and Quire, Publishers Weekly, Winnipeg Free Press, London Free Press, Kitchener-Waterloo Record, New York Journal of Books, and one book, Don't Call Me Goon: Hockey's Greatest Enforcers, Gunslingers, and Bad Boys, made The Globe and Mail Top 10 for non-fiction in October 2013.[3]

The 2017 documentary, Sweet Daddy Siki, about professional wrestler Reginald "Sweet Daddy" Siki, was written by Oliver.[4]

Criticism[]

In July 2008, Bret Hart, spoke at the George Tragos/Lou Thesz Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame, during the induction banquet for his father, Stu Hart, about Oliver. Upset over his ranking in one of Oliver's books – #14 in the greatest Canadian performers, behind midget wrestler Sky Low Low – Hart called Oliver a "charlatan".[5] Sports journalist Heath McCoy also criticized Oliver for his placement of Hart, asking if he was joking with that decision and saying the book was highly biased toward Ontario wrestling.[6]

Works[]

  • The Pro Wrestling Hall of Fame: The Canadians (2002) ISBN 9781550225310
  • The Pro Wrestling Hall of Fame: The Tag Teams (with Steven Johnson) (2005) ISBN 9781550226836
  • The Pro Wrestling Hall of Fame: The Heels (with Steven Johnson) (2007) ISBN 9781550227598
  • Benoit: Wrestling with the Horror that Destroyed a Family and Crippled a Sport (with Steven Johnson, Irv Muchnick and Heath McCoy) (2007) ISBN 1550228129
  • The Pro Wrestling Hall of Fame: Heroes & Icons (with Steven Johnson) (2012) ISBN 9781770410374
  • SLAM! Wrestling: Shocking Stories from the Squared Circle (Editor, with Jon Waldman) (2012) ISBN 9781550228847
  • Written in Blue and White: The Toronto Maple Leafs Contracts and Historical Documents from the Collection of Allan Stitt (2014) ISBN 9781770412156
  • The Goaltenders' Union: Hockey's Greatest Puckstoppers, Acrobats, and Flakes (with Richard Kamchen) (2014) ISBN 9781770411494
  • Don't Call Me Goon: Hockey's Greatest Enforcers, Gunslingers, and Bad Boys (with Richard Kamchen) (2015) ISBN 9781770410381
  • Duck with the Puck (with Quinn Oliver) (2015) ISBN 1499156367
  • Blue Lines, Goal Lines & Bottom Lines: Hockey Contracts and Historical Documents from the Collection of Allan Stitt (2016) ISBN 9781770412514
  • Father Bauer and the Great Experiment: The Genesis of Canadian Olympic Hockey (2017) ISBN 9781770412491
  • Gratoony the Loony: The Wild, Unpredictable Life of Gilles Gratton (2017) ISBN 9781770413375
  • Santa's Day Job (2018) ISBN 1721176314
  • The Pro Wrestling Hall of Fame: The Storytellers (From the Terrible Turk to Twitter) (with Steven Johnson) (2019) ISBN 1770415025
  • Who's The Man? Billy Van! (with Stacey Case) (2020) ISBN 9781777344009
  • Mat Memories: My Wild Life in Pro Wrestling, Country Music, and with the Mets (with John "Alexander" Arezzi) (2021) ISBN 9781770415645

Awards[]

Personal[]

He is married to author Meredith Renwick, and he worked on the book, "Duck with the Puck," with their son, Quinn Oliver. His brother, Chris Oliver, is a well-known college basketball coach and instructor.

References[]

  1. ^ Jump up to: a b c d "SLAM! Wrestling Producer and author Greg Oliver". Canadian Online Explorer. Retrieved 23 June 2016.
  2. ^ http://slamwrestling.net/index.php/slam-wrestling-producer-and-author-greg-oliver/
  3. ^ Written in Blue and White: The Toronto Maple Leafs Contracts and Historical Documents from the Collection of Allan Stitt
  4. ^ https://www.imdb.com/title/tt5690330/?ref_=nm_flmg_wr_1
  5. ^ Eck, Kevin (2008-07-03). "Transcript of Bret Hart's Hall of Fame speech - Baltimore Sun". baltimoresun.com. Retrieved 23 June 2016.
  6. ^ McCoy, Heath (2007). Pain and Passion: The History of Stampede Wrestling. ECW Press. p. 293. ISBN 978-1-55022-787-1.
  7. ^ https://twitter.com/CACReunion/status/1196853392531869696
  8. ^ "Bret Hart's speech from 2008 Tragos/Thesz Hall of Fame induction ceremony".
  9. ^ "Jim Melby Award | National Wrestling Hall of Fame". nwhof.org. Retrieved 23 June 2016.

External links[]

Retrieved from ""