Ron Stewart

Ron Stewart
Born	July 11, 1932 Calgary, AB, CAN
Died	March 17, 2012 (aged 79) Kelowna, BC, CAN
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

Ronald George Stewart (July 11, 1932 – March 17, 2012) was a professional ice hockey player in the National Hockey League (NHL) from 1952 to 1973, as well as an NHL coach.^[1]

Early career

After growing up in Alberta,^[2] 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.^[3]

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.^[4]

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 from falling on top of Stewart's bent knee. At Long Beach Memorial Hospital, Sawchuk's gallbladder was removed and he had a second operation on his damaged and bleeding liver. The press described the incident as "horseplay," and Sawchuk told the police that he accepted full responsibility for the events. At New York Hospital in Manhattan, another operation was performed on Sawchuk's bleeding liver. He never recovered and died shortly thereafter from a pulmonary embolism on May 31, 1970 at the age of 40. The last reporter to speak to him, a little over a week before his death, was Shirley Fischler (wife of Stan Fischler), who went to see him in the hospital as a visitor, not identifying herself as a reporter. Sawchuk told her the incident with Stewart "was just a fluke, a complete fluke accident." Fischler described him as "so pale and thin that the scars had almost disappeared from his face."^[5] A Nassau County grand jury exonerated Stewart and ruled that Sawchuk's death was accidental.^[6]

Coaching

After retiring from play, Stewart coached, most notably working with the Rangers in 1975-1976 and the Los Angeles Kings in 1977-1978.^[7]

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.^[8]

Career statistics

				Regular season						Playoffs
Season	Team	League		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
1951–52	Windsor Spitfires	OHA		2	0	1	1	0		—	—	—	—	—
1951–52	Toronto Marlboros	OHA		21	9	10	19	0		—	—	—	—	—
1951–52	Barrie Flyers	OHA		29	13	18	31	0		—	—	—	—	—
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	New York Rangers	NHL		55	7	7	14	19		6	1	1	2	2
1967–68	St. Louis Blues	NHL		19	7	5	12	11		—	—	—	—	—
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

1. "Legends of Hockey - Ron Stewart". National Hockey League Players Association. Retrieved 2013-09-15.
2. 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.
3. Hornby, Lance; Sun, Toronto. "Leafs' Cup winner Ron Stewart dies". Toronto Sun. Retrieved 2016-03-14.
4. "Legends of Hockey -- NHL Player Search -- Player -- Ron Stewart". www.hhof.com. Retrieved 2016-03-14.
5. Shirley Fischler, "Last Interview," Hockey Illustrated (Nov. 1970), pp. 21-23.
6. 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.
7. "Legends of Hockey -- NHL Player Search -- Player -- Ron Stewart". www.hhof.com. Retrieved 2016-03-14.
8. Hornsby, Lance (2012-03-22). "Leafs Cup winner Ron Stewart dies". Toronto Sun. Retrieved 2012-03-22.

External links

• Ron Stewart's career statistics at EliteProspects.com
  
• Ron Stewart's career statistics at The Internet Hockey Database
• Ron Stewart's biography at Legends of Hockey
• Ron Stewart's player profile at NHL.com