Ron Stewart
Ronald George Stewart (July 11, 1932 – March 17, 2012) was a Canadian professional ice hockey player in the National Hockey League (NHL) from 1952 to 1973, as well as a coach. He spent the first half of his career with the Toronto Maple Leafs, and won the Stanley Cup three times from 1962 to 1964. The latter part of his playing career was spent with the Boston Bruins, St. Louis Blues, New York Rangers, Vancouver Canucks, and New York Islanders. He would later coach the Rangers for half of a season, and spent a full season as coach of the Los Angeles Kings.
| Ron Stewart | |||
|---|---|---|---|
 | |||
| Born |
July 11, 1932 Calgary, Alberta, Canada | ||
| Died |
March 17, 2012 (aged 79) Kelowna, British Columbia, Canada | ||
| Height | 6 ft 1 in (185 cm) | ||
| Weight | 197 lb (89 kg; 14 st 1 lb) | ||
| Position | Right Wing | ||
| Shot | Right | ||
| Played for |
New York Islanders New York Rangers Vancouver Canucks St. Louis Blues Boston Bruins Toronto Maple Leafs | ||
| Playing career | 1952–1973 | ||
Early career
After growing up in Alberta,[1] Stewart moved to Ontario as a teen to participate in the Ontario Hockey Association, then the top ranked junior league. He won the Memorial Cup in 1952 with the Guelph Biltmores.[2]
NHL player
Stewart played thirteen seasons for the Toronto Maple Leafs, taking part with them in three Stanley Cup championships in the early 1960s. After his time in Toronto, he spent two seasons with the Boston Bruins (1965–1966, 1966–1967). He was chosen by the St. Louis Blues in the 1967 NHL Expansion Draft, before being traded to the New York Rangers in that same season. He spent part of the 1971–1972 season with the Vancouver Canucks, but returned briefly to the Rangers. He spent his final year, 1972-1973, with the New York Islanders.[3]
Death of Terry Sawchuk
After the 1969–1970 season ended, Stewart and Rangers teammate Terry Sawchuk, both of whom had been drinking, argued over expenses for the house they rented together on Long Island, New York. Sawchuk suffered severe internal injuries during the scuffle. Sawchuk told the police that he accepted full responsibility for the events. Sawchuk never recovered and died shortly thereafter from a pulmonary embolism on May 31, 1970 at the age of 40. A Nassau County grand jury exonerated Stewart and ruled that Sawchuk's death was accidental.[4]
Coaching
After retiring from play, Stewart became a coach. He was the head coach of the Rangers for the start of the 1975–76 season, but after a record of 15 wins, 20 losses and 4 ties in 39 games, was fired. His next NHL job was with the Los Angeles Kings for the 1977–78 season. He had a record of 31 wins, 34 losses and 15 ties over the season, and was not brought back for the next season.[5]
Retirement
Stewart spent his latter years in British Columbia and Arizona. He had three children by his first wife, Barbara. He died of cancer in 2012.[6]
Career statistics
| Regular season | Playoffs | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | League | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | ||
| 1949–50 | Toronto Marlboros | OHA-Jr. | 30 | 2 | 5 | 7 | 41 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 8 | ||
| 1950–51 | Toronto Marlboros | OHA-Jr. | 53 | 22 | 23 | 45 | 49 | 13 | 6 | 8 | 14 | 31 | ||
| 1951–52 | Toronto Marlboros | OHA-Jr. | 21 | 9 | 10 | 19 | 57 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1951–52 | Barrie Flyers | OHA-Jr. | 29 | 13 | 18 | 31 | 43 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1951–52 | Guelph Biltmores | OHA-Jr. | — | — | — | — | — | 11 | 7 | 7 | 14 | 4 | ||
| 1951–52 | Guelph Biltmores | MC | — | — | — | — | — | 12 | 10 | 7 | 17 | 10 | ||
| 1952–53 | Toronto Maple Leafs | NHL | 70 | 13 | 22 | 35 | 29 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1953–54 | Toronto Maple Leafs | NHL | 70 | 14 | 11 | 25 | 72 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1954–55 | Toronto Maple Leafs | NHL | 53 | 14 | 5 | 19 | 20 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| 1955–56 | Toronto Maple Leafs | NHL | 69 | 13 | 14 | 27 | 35 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | ||
| 1956–57 | Toronto Maple Leafs | NHL | 65 | 15 | 20 | 35 | 28 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1957–58 | Toronto Maple Leafs | NHL | 70 | 15 | 24 | 39 | 51 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1958–59 | Toronto Maple Leafs | NHL | 70 | 21 | 13 | 34 | 23 | 12 | 3 | 3 | 6 | 6 | ||
| 1959–60 | Toronto Maple Leafs | NHL | 67 | 14 | 20 | 34 | 28 | 10 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 2 | ||
| 1960–61 | Toronto Maple Leafs | NHL | 51 | 13 | 12 | 25 | 8 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | ||
| 1961–62 | Toronto Maple Leafs | NHL | 60 | 8 | 9 | 17 | 14 | 11 | 1 | 6 | 7 | 4 | ||
| 1962–63 | Toronto Maple Leafs | NHL | 63 | 16 | 16 | 32 | 26 | 10 | 4 | 0 | 4 | 2 | ||
| 1963–64 | Toronto Maple Leafs | NHL | 65 | 14 | 5 | 19 | 46 | 14 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 24 | ||
| 1964–65 | Toronto Maple Leafs | NHL | 65 | 16 | 11 | 27 | 33 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | ||
| 1965–66 | Boston Bruins | NHL | 70 | 20 | 16 | 36 | 17 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1966–67 | Boston Bruins | NHL | 56 | 14 | 10 | 24 | 31 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1967–68 | St. Louis Blues | NHL | 19 | 7 | 5 | 12 | 11 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1967–68 | New York Rangers | NHL | 55 | 7 | 7 | 14 | 19 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | ||
| 1968–69 | New York Rangers | NHL | 75 | 18 | 11 | 29 | 20 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | ||
| 1969–70 | New York Rangers | NHL | 76 | 14 | 10 | 24 | 14 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| 1970–71 | New York Rangers | NHL | 76 | 5 | 6 | 11 | 19 | 13 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | ||
| 1971–72 | Providence Reds | AHL | 18 | 6 | 5 | 11 | 2 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1971–72 | Vancouver Canucks | NHL | 42 | 3 | 1 | 4 | 10 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1971–72 | New York Rangers | NHL | 13 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 8 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 0 | ||
| 1972–73 | New York Rangers | NHL | 11 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1972–73 | New York Islanders | NHL | 22 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 4 | 10 | 5 | 7 | 12 | 6 | ||
| NHL totals | 1353 | 276 | 253 | 529 | 560 | 119 | 14 | 21 | 35 | 60 | ||||
Coaching record
| Team | Year | Regular season | Post season | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| G | W | L | T | Pts | Finish | Result | ||
| New York Rangers | 1975–76 | 39 | 15 | 20 | 4 | (34) | 4th in Patrick | (fired) |
| Los Angeles Kings | 1977–78 | 80 | 31 | 34 | 15 | 77 | 3rd in Norris | Lost in Preliminary Round |
| Total | 119 | 46 | 54 | 19 | ||||
See also
- List of NHL players with 1000 games played
References
- Goldstein, Richard (2012-03-28). "Ron Stewart, N.H.L. Star With Role in Fatal Fight, Dies at 79". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2016-03-14.
- Hornby, Lance; Sun, Toronto. "Leafs' Cup winner Ron Stewart dies". Toronto Sun. Retrieved 2016-03-14.
- "Legends of Hockey -- NHL Player Search -- Player -- Ron Stewart". www.hhof.com. Retrieved 2016-03-14.
- John A. Drobnicki, "Sawchuk, Terrance Gordon ('Terry')," in The Scribner Encyclopedia of American Lives, Thematic Series: Sports Figures (Scribner's, 2002), Vol. 2, pp. 335-336.
- "Legends of Hockey -- NHL Player Search -- Player -- Ron Stewart". www.hhof.com. Retrieved 2016-03-14.
- Hornsby, Lance (2012-03-22). "Leafs Cup winner Ron Stewart dies". Toronto Sun. Retrieved 2012-03-22.
External links
- Biographical information and career statistics from NHL.com, or Eliteprospects.com, or Hockey-Reference.com, or Legends of Hockey, or The Internet Hockey Database
| Preceded by Emile Francis |
Head coach of the New York Rangers 1975–76 |
Succeeded by John Ferguson, Sr. |
| Preceded by Bob Pulford |
Head coach of the Los Angeles Kings 1977–78 |
Succeeded by Bob Berry |