Norman Kwong | |
|---|---|
林佐民 | |
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| 16th Lieutenant Governor of Alberta | |
| In office January 20, 2005 – May 11, 2010 | |
| Monarch | Elizabeth II |
| Governors General | |
| Premier | |
| Preceded by | Lois Hole |
| Succeeded by | Donald Ethell |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Kwong Lim Yew[1] (1929-10-24)October 24, 1929 Calgary, Alberta, Canada |
| Died | September 3, 2016(2016-09-03) (aged 86) Calgary, Alberta, Canada |
| Political party | Progressive Conservative |
| Spouse | [2] |
| Profession |
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| Signature |  |
| Football career | |
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| No. 15, 95 | |
| Position | Running back |
| Personal information | |
| Height | 5 ft 7 in (1.70 m) |
| Weight | 170 lb (77 kg) |
| Career history | |
| 1948–1950 | Calgary Stampeders |
| 1951–1960 | Edmonton Eskimos |
| Awards and highlights | |
| |
Canadian Football Hall of Fame (Class of 1969) | |
Norman Lim KwongCM AOE (bornKwong Lim Yew;Chinese:林佐民; October 24, 1929 – September 3, 2016) was a Canadian professionalfootball player who played for theCalgary Stampeders andEdmonton Eskimos of theCanadian Football League (CFL). He was also an active businessman and politician being part owner of theCalgary Flames and serving as the16thlieutenant governor of Alberta from January 2005 to May 2010.
The son of Chinese immigrants fromTaishan, Guangdong, Kwong was the first Canadian professional football player of Chinese heritage. In addition, Kwong was also the first person of Chinese heritage to serve as lieutenant governor ofAlberta. As a formervice-regal representative of Alberta, he was styled "The Honourable" for life. Kwong was the thirdCanadian of Chinese heritage to be appointed as a vice-regal in Canada, afterDavid Lam andAdrienne Clarkson.
Kwong's life and legacy are the focus of aHeritage Minute short film, made in Calgary in late 2023, and released on February 13, 2024.[3]
Kwong was born to a Chinese immigrant family inCalgary, Alberta, on October 24, 1929. His father, Charles Lim Kwong, immigrated toCanada in 1907 and had to pay thehead tax, and his mother, Lily Lee, immigrated with her family in 1912.[4] Their marriage was arranged by their parents. They lived inBritish Columbia at first. Still, they moved to Calgary because anti-Chinese discrimination was less severe there, and Charles could open his own business, theRiverside Cash and Carry Store. Norman (Lim Kwong Yew) was the fifth of six siblings. They were lucky to have both parents in Canada, as family reunion was restricted at the time forChinese Canadians and many children grew up with one parent.[4]
In 1947, Canada'sChinese Exclusion Act was repealed for contravening theUnited Nations'Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Chinese Canadians were given citizen rights for the first time, and barriers for Chinese in professional sports also came down.[4]
After playingCanadian football atWestern Canada High School, Kwong went on to play for theCalgary Stampeders from 1948 to 1950 and, after a trade, theEdmonton Eskimos from 1951 until his retirement in 1960. Nicknamed the "China Clipper" (a reference to the speedyclipper ships), Kwong was the first Chinese Canadian to play on a professional Canadian football team. A powerfulfullback, in 11 years of recorded statistics Kwong rushed for 9,022 yards for an average of 5.2 yards per carry and scored 93 touchdowns. He won theGrey Cup four times during his career (1948, 1954, 1955, and1956). Kwong was aWestern Conference all-starrunning back and three-time winner of theEddie James Memorial Trophy, in 1951, 1955, and 1956. He was named theSchenley Most Outstanding Canadian in 1955 and 1956. He was named Canadian Athlete of the Year in 1955. He was inducted into theCanadian Football Hall of Fame in 1969,Canada's Sports Hall of Fame in 1975, the Edmonton Eskimos'Wall of Honour in 1983, theAlberta Sports Hall of Fame in 1980, and the Calgary Stampeders'Wall of Fame in 2012 (as a builder of that sports organization). In November 2006, he was one of very few of his contemporaries to be voted one of theCanadian Football League'sTop 50 players of the sport's modern era by Canadian sports networkTSN. Kwong was the first Canadian-born player to rush for 1,000 yards in a season (1,250 in 1955) and set the CFL record for the most yards rushing by a Canadian in a season with 1,437 in the 1956 season.[a] This record held for 56 years, being broken byJon Cornish only in 2012,[5] though Kwong accomplished his record in fifteen games, rather than eighteen for Cornish.[6]
He was president and general manager of the Calgary Stampeders from 1988 to 1991, leading the team to a loss in the Grey Cup final in 1991. Between 1980 and 1994, Kwong was a part owner of theCalgary Flames, having been one of the original group of six Calgary businessmen who bought and moved the NHL's Atlanta Flames hockey team to Calgary in 1980.[7] The Calgary Flames won theStanley Cup in 1989, making him one of five people whose name is on both the Grey Cup and the Stanley Cup. The feat was later matched byWayne Gretzky, who in an interesting symmetry to Kwong's achievement has his name on the Stanley Cup four times as a player and on the Grey Cup once as an owner.
Kwong's public stature from sports helped him move on to politics and government.In 1971 he ran for theAlberta Progressive Conservative party inCalgary-Millican. In this election, the PCs endedSocial Credit's 36-year hold on power, winning all but five seats inCalgary. However, Kwong himself was defeated by longtime incumbentArthur J. Dixon who won by a 1,600 voteplurality.
In 1988 Kwong was made a member of theOrder of Canada and served as the national chairman of the Canadian Consultative Council onMulticulturalism. Kwong was appointedLieutenant-Governor of Alberta on January 20, 2005, replacingLois Hole, who died in office on January 6, 2005. Kwong welcomedQueen Elizabeth II toAlberta in June 2005 on a visit commemoratingAlberta's first 100 years inCanadian Confederation. During a private audience, the Queen presented Kwong with the insignia of a Knight of Justice in theMost Venerable Order of the Hospital of St John of Jerusalem.
Kwong sworeEd Stelmach into office as the13th Premier of Alberta on December 14, 2006. Kwong's term concluded on May 11, 2010, and he was succeeded byDon Ethell.
Kwong married Mary Lee on March 26, 1960, and together they had four sons: Gregory, Bradley, Martin, and Randall.[2][8] He died in his sleep on September 3, 2016, at the age of 86.[9] He was survived by his wife, four sons, and ten grandchildren.[10]
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| Ribbon | Description | Notes |
| Order of Canada (CM) |
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| Order of St. John (K.StJ) |
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| Alberta Order of Excellence (AOE) |
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| 125th Anniversary of the Confederation of Canada Medal |
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| Queen Elizabeth II Golden Jubilee Medal |
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| Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal |
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| Alberta Centennial Medal |
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| International | |
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| National | |
