Greg Oliver
Born (1971-02-02) February 2, 1971 (age 53)[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 Daddy Siki|Reginald "Sweet Daddy" Siki, was written by Oliver.[4]

In September 2021, it was announced that Oliver is working with Madusa Debrah Miceli on her autobiography, covering her time in wrestling and in monster trucks. It will be out in the spring of 2023 from ECW Press.[5]

Criticism

In July 2008 Bret Hart spoke about Oliver at the George Tragos/Lou Thesz Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame during the induction banquet for his father Stu Hart. 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".[6] 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.[7]

Works


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. ^ a b c d "SLAM! Wrestling Producer and author Greg Oliver". Canadian Online Explorer. Retrieved 23 June 2016.
  2. ^ "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. ^ "Sweet Daddy Siki (2017) - IMDb". IMDb.
  5. ^ "Madusa announces her memoir is coming from ECW Press".
  6. ^ Eck, Kevin (2008-07-03). "Transcript of Bret Hart's Hall of Fame speech - Baltimore Sun". baltimoresun.com. Retrieved 23 June 2016.
  7. ^ McCoy, Heath (2007). Pain and Passion: The History of Stampede Wrestling. ECW Press. p. 293. ISBN 978-1-55022-787-1.
  8. ^ "SIHR Award Winners".
  9. ^ @CACReunion (November 19, 2019). "The CAC would like to announce that the 2020 James C. Melby Historian award will be going to Greg Oliver (@gregmep)…" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  10. ^ "Bret Hart's speech from 2008 Tragos/Thesz Hall of Fame induction ceremony". 31 August 2008.
  11. ^ "Jim Melby Award | National Wrestling Hall of Fame". nwhof.org. Retrieved 23 June 2016.

External links

Authority control databases
Categories