Bill Stewart (sports official)

For the former NHL player and New York Islanders coach, see Bill Stewart (ice hockey).

Bill Stewart
Stewart in his umpiring attire
Born	(1894-09-20)September 20, 1894 Fitchburg, Massachusetts
Died	February 14, 1964(1964-02-14) (aged 69) Boston, Massachusetts
Occupation(s)	NHL referee MLB umpire
Awards	1938 Stanley Cup US Hockey Hall of Fame

William Joseph Stewart (September 20, 1894 – February 14, 1964) was an American coach and sports official who was a referee in the National Hockey League (NHL) and an umpire in Major League Baseball (MLB). In 1938, as head coach of the Chicago Black Hawks, he led the team to a championship, becoming the first U.S.-born coach to win the Stanley Cup. He is an inductee of the United States Hockey Hall of Fame.

Early years

Born in Fitchburg, Massachusetts, Stewart grew up in Boston, Massachusetts, and competed in baseball, hockey, track, and wrestling in high school.

Sports career

Baseball player, manager, and scout

In 1913, Stewart became a minor league baseball player with Worcester in the New England League, and in 1917 while with Montreal he was the first International League player to enlist for World War I service, joining the Navy. In these pre-war seasons, he primarily played as an outfielder.

After the war, Stewart was signed by the Chicago White Sox, but he suffered an arm injury falling down a flight of stairs while working as a census taker in Boston, and was unable to remain with the team in 1919. As he was, apparently, on a major league roster yet never appeared in a major league game, Stewart is an example of a "phantom ballplayer."

In the 1920s, Stewart played parts of several seasons in the minor leagues, including three seasons as a pitcher: 1922 in Syracuse, New York, 1927 in Nashua, New Hampshire, and 1928 in Waterbury, Connecticut.

Stewart was also a manager during three seasons: 1927 in Nashua, 1928 in Waterbury, and 1931 in Springfield, Massachusetts. He was also a scout for the Boston Red Sox during 1926–27.

Ice hockey coach and referee

During baseball offseasons in the 1910s and 1920s, Stewart generally coached Boston-area college and high school hockey teams.

In 1928, Stewart became the NHL's first U.S.-born referee, and served in that capacity until 1941, excepting his two seasons as coach of the Chicago Black Hawks; 1937–38 (when the team won the Stanley Cup) and 1938–39.

Coaching record

Team	Year	Regular season						Post season
		G	W	L	T	Pts	Division rank	Result
CHI	1937–38	48	14	25	9	37	3rd in American	Won Stanley Cup
CHI	1938–39	21	8	10	3	19	7th in NHL	Fired
Total		69	22	35	12	56

Baseball umpire

In 1930, Stewart became an umpire in the Eastern League, and later officiated in the International League and New York–Pennsylvania League.

Stewart was an umpire in the National League (NL) from 1933 to 1954, and officiated in four World Series (1937, 1943, 1948, 1953) and four All-Star Games (1936, 1940, 1948, 1954), calling balls and strikes for the last contest. He also was the home plate umpire for Johnny Vander Meer's second consecutive no-hitter in 1938, and was the crew chief for the 1951 three-game pennant playoff between the New York Giants and the Brooklyn Dodgers.

Stewart worked 714 consecutive games from the time he entered the NL until September 1938, when he was stricken with appendicitis. He resigned from the NL umpiring staff in January 1955 after not being promoted to league supervisor, a position he claimed had been promised him by commissioner Ford Frick when he had been NL president; new league president Warren Giles instead announced that the position would not be filled.

Later years

After retiring as an umpire, Stewart continued to work as a scout for the Cleveland Indians and Washington Senators.

Stewart coached the U.S. national hockey team in 1957, posting a 23-3-1 record, but the team was barred by the State Department from participating in the World Championships following the Soviet invasion of Hungary.

In 1964, Stewart died at age 69 at the Veterans Administration Hospital near his home in the Jamaica Plain section of Boston after suffering a stroke two weeks earlier.

Stewart was inducted into the United States Hockey Hall of Fame in 1982. His grandson Paul also became an NHL player and referee.

Further reading

• Rothenberg, Matt. "#Shortstops: Bill Stewart's Career as an Official Swept Through MLB, NHL". baseballhall.org. Retrieved June 2, 2018.

External links

• U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame
• Umpiring record at Retrosheet

• Career statistics from Baseball Reference (Minors)
• "Bill Stewart". Find a Grave. Retrieved 2009-02-19.