Bill Stewart | |
|---|---|
 Stewart in his umpiring attire | |
| Born | (1895-09-20)September 20, 1895 |
| Died | February 18, 1964(1964-02-18) (aged 68) Boston, Massachusetts, US |
| Occupations | MLBumpire NHLreferee Chicago Black Hawkshead coach |
| Awards | 1938 Stanley Cup United States Hockey Hall of Fame |
William Joseph Stewart (September 20, 1895 – February 18, 1964)[1] was an American coach and sports official who was areferee in theNational Hockey League (NHL) and anumpire inMajor League Baseball (MLB). In1938, ashead coach of theChicago Black Hawks, he led the team to a championship, becoming the first U.S.-born coach to win theStanley Cup. He is an inductee of theUnited States Hockey Hall of Fame.
Born inFitchburg, Massachusetts, Stewart grew up inBoston, Massachusetts, and competed inbaseball,hockey,track, andwrestling in high school.
In 1913, Stewart became aminor league baseball player withWorcester in theNew England League, and in 1917 while withMontreal he was the firstInternational League player to enlist for World War I service, joining theUnited States Navy. In these pre-war seasons, he primarily played as an outfielder.
After the war, Stewart was signed by theChicago White Sox in December 1918,[2][3] but he suffered an arm injury falling down a flight of stairs while working as a census taker,[4] and was sent to the minor leagues in May 1919.[5] 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 apitcher: 1922 inSyracuse, New York, 1927 inNashua, New Hampshire with theNashua Millionaires, and 1928 inWaterbury, Connecticut.
Stewart was also amanager during three seasons: 1927 with the Nashua Millionaires, 1928 in Waterbury, and 1931 inSpringfield, Massachusetts. He was also ascout for theBoston Red Sox in 1926 and 1927.
In 1929, he played summer baseball forFalmouth in theCape Cod Baseball League. A steady pitcher, he was described as "making up for his lack of speed with plenty of control and lots of headwork."[6][7]
During baseball offseasons in the 1910s and 1920s, Stewart generally coached Boston-area college and high school hockey teams.[8] From 1925 to 1931 he was the head coach at theMassachusetts Institute of Technology.[9]
In 1928, Stewart became theNHL's first U.S.-born referee, and served in that capacity until 1941, excepting his two seasons as coach of theChicago Black Hawks;1937–38 (when the team won theStanley Cup) and1938–39.
| Team | Year | Regular season | Postseason | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| G | W | L | T | Pts | Division rank | Result | ||
| Chicago Black Hawks | 1937–38 | 48 | 14 | 25 | 9 | 37 | 3rd inAmerican | Won in quarter-finals (2–1 vs.MTL) Won in semi-finals (2–1 vs.NYA) WonStanley Cup (3–1 vs.TOR) |
| Chicago Black Hawks | 1938–39 | 21 | 8 | 10 | 3 | 19 | 7th inNHL | Fired |
| Total | 69 | 22 | 35 | 12 | 56 | 1 Stanley Cup | ||
In 1930, Stewart became an umpire in theEastern League, and later officiated in theInternational League andNew York–Pennsylvania League.[8]
Stewart was an umpire in theNational League (NL) from 1933 to 1954, and officiated in fourWorld Series (1937,1943,1948,1953) and fourAll-Star Games (1936,1940,1948,1954), calling balls and strikes for the last contest. He also was the home plate umpire forJohnny Vander Meer's second consecutiveno-hitter in1938, and was the crew chief for the1951 three-game pennant playoff between theNew York Giants and theBrooklyn Dodgers.
During the1948 World Series, Stewart made a controversial call in Game 1, which received significant press coverage. In a scoreless game in the bottom of the eighth inning.Boston Braves'pinch runnerPhil Masi was on second base with one out.Cleveland Indians' pitcherBob Feller attempted topick off Masi at second base, and shortstopLou Boudreau appeared to tag Masi out; however, Stewart called Masi safe.[10] Masi subsequently scored the only run of the game, giving the Braves a win in the first game of the series. Stewart's ruling was hotly debated in the media and by fans, especially afterAssociated Press photographs of the play were published.[11][12] Despite losing the first game, Cleveland would go on to win the series in six games. Upon his death in 1990, Masi's will revealed that he really was out on the play.[13][14]
Stewart worked 714 consecutive games from the time he entered the NL until September 1938, when he was stricken withappendicitis. 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 commissionerFord Frick when he had been NL president; new league presidentWarren Giles instead announced that the position would not be filled.
After retiring as an umpire, Stewart continued to work as a scout for theCleveland Indians andWashington Senators.[8]
Stewart coached theU.S. men's national hockey team in 1957, posting a 23–3–1 record, but the team was barred by theU.S. State Department from participating in theWorld Championships following theSoviet invasion of Hungary.[15]
In February 1964, Stewart died at theVeterans Administration Hospital near his home in theJamaica Plain section ofBoston,[16] after suffering astroke two weeks earlier.[17]
Stewart was inducted into theUnited States Hockey Hall of Fame in 1982.[15] His grandsonPaul became an NHL player and referee and like his grandfather was elected to the United States Hockey Hall of Fame in 2018.
| Preceded by | Head coach of the Chicago Black Hawks 1937–39 | Succeeded by |
