Referee Magazine: a Lot to Live up To
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''"1 i).'I i:l-ii, / \., ,\ \,\ Bill Stewart can remember his grandpa's stories. Bill Chip McDonald, the son of Paul's and Bill ilI's sister, heard them time and again.Stories of big games,great Patricia Anne, is the fifth officiating Stewart to skate at athletes,magical stadiums. Sports are a big part of the the Boston Garden. He is an NCAA Division I hockey family tradition. But u'hile lots of families hand down linesman and a Division II and III referee in the East stories of legendarv athletic events witnessed, the Coast Athletic Conference- when he's not selling Stewart familv hands down stories of participation, concrete for the Boston Sand & Gravel Company. beginning with Grandpa Stewart, "BillSr.," who was a National Hockey League (NHL) referee and a National BILL SR.: THE GRANDFATHER. With a resume League (N.L.) baseball umpire. spanning two centuries and four generations, the Back when Bill Sr.,William joseph Stewart, made Sier,r'arts'sporting history owes much to Bill Sr. his debut as the first American-born NHL referee, $ 61 He was the hard-nosed product of Fitchburg, just fans behind goals were protected by wire mesh and W Mass., a tough mill town outside the Montreal Maroons skated against the New York V Boston. Born to a silversmith in 1895,Bill Americans. Over half a century later, his grandson I Sr. had a multifaceted athletic career Paul is the lone man among the League's top arbiters . u'hich included a stint as a pitcher with who has worn both a player's sweater and the referee's the infamous1979 Chicaeo White Sox. distinctive orange armbands. His services, according to Bill III, grossed The acorns off Bill Sr.'s family tree haven't fallen far 5650 from the team's tight-fisted owner/ from their roots. Bill jr. called college football and ice Charles Comiskev.Stewart was hockey games (7948-74),andhe umpired baseball fro$i' dispatched to the minor leagues 1948until his 1987death from congestive heart failure. (Louisville) in mid-season, where he was William Joseph Stewart III describes himself as "a 13-11with a2.77ERA;he neverdid tossa victim of birth. I was the first-born son of the only son pitch in "the show," yet his demotion proved lucky. of Bill StewartSr.," he explains. "When I was born, the He was untainted by baseball's worst scandal, when doctor ran to a phone to call my grandfather to tell him eight of the so-called "Black Sox" allegedly conspired he had a grandson. I was 'William the Third,' to throw the World Series to Cincinnati. automatically. I've always been called 'Three'or Hopes of a return to play big league baseball ended 'Third."' when, while working as a census taker, he slipped off Bill ilI, Paul's older brother, is an NCAA Division I- of a porch and shattered his arm. Stewart bounced AA college football official rt'hen he's not skating at the around the minors before hanging up his cleats after NCAA Division I ice hocker-level. His "dav job" is as a the summer of 1.928. probation officer i.r'orkingon Boston'sstreet gang r.rnit. Between the playing seasons,Bill Sr. worked for Here are brief bios of Bill Sr.and his officiatingdescendants. \f illiam loseph Stewart ltl, 45, Dedham, Mass.Crandson. Informationincludes each survivingperson's age, hometonn {:<:i':.t chiei probation officer, Dorchester District Court. relationshipto Bill Stewart Sr., occupation and ofiiciatinq Fo'^rer hrqh school and college hockey cnach. Umpired (1 (1 background. ba.ehall' l 9:4-BB),football 974-present)and hockey 976- William foseph Stewart Sr. (1895-1964). Multi-sport coach present).\\rorked NCAA Division lll football playoff games in and official. Coached severalprep and college [66[s1'z1s;mr' 1986, BB and 91 ; 1987 NCAA Division lll hockey also coachedthe 1937-38 Chicaso Blackhawksto the Stanlev championshipgame and a quarter-finalplayoff game during Cup, indicative of the National Hockey League (\HL the 1994 NCAA Division I hockeytournament. championship. He worked 12 years as an NHL referee, Paul Gerard Stewart, 40, Boston.Crandson. NHL referee includingthe first hockey game played in the BostonCarden. tNo. 22); worked his first NHL game Mar.27, 1987, in Boston, and 22 yearsas a major leaguebaseball umpire (N.1. 1933- afterworking four seasonsin hockey'sminor leagues;now has 54), including four All-Stargames and five World Series.Also rlorked 29 NHL playoff games. Former high school hockey played professionalbaseball; spent the first half of the 19.19 coach; played professionalhockey in the WHL and NHL. seasonwith the ChicagoWhite Sox,but saw little game action. Chip McDonald, 27, Roslindale,Mass. Creat-grandson. Wilf iam foseph Stewart lr. (1919-1987\.Son. High school Salesman,Boston Sand & Cravel Company. High school and i teacher, coach and athletic director. He officiated amatetlr college hockey official; earlier this year he worked the final I sportsincluding the top levelsof college hockey,football and prep hockey game played in the Boston Carden. College I baseball (1954 NCAA lce Hockey playolfs, 1971 NCAA assignments are primarily in the East Coast Athletic Division I CollegeBaseball World Series). Conference, where he normally works as a Iinesman in Division I gamesand as refereein Division ll and lll games. : 3O Rerenrc September1995 I alr,vavsso tough. A focused officiai and George Brown (the father of Boston Celtic founder rvasn't clinician, he'd play to a standing room Walt&) as the assistant general manager of the Bosion accornplished each winter in Boston, where fellow umpires Arena. Bill's hockey officiating started in that building crowd to hear Bill Sr.'s updated analysis of the as a last-minute replacement for a scheduled referee' were anxious rule. Soon he was working the best college and semipro balk realize that in 1938,when Cincinnati's matches in the area, eventually moving to the top of Few people Vander Meer claimed a place in baseball the sport, the NHL. Johnny pitching back-to-back no-hit games, Bill Sr' Even as his hockey officiating career br"riit history by umpire fot both games.The second game momentum, Bill Sr. coached, once leading three was the plate original, the first night game played in hockey teams (Radcliffe College \\'omel1, \lilton *us uttoih"t Field. The teams used yellow baseballs for Academy boys and MIT men) sin'rultaneouslv He Ebbets visibility; one is carefully secured in Bill III's even coached the Chicago Blackhan'ks dr'rring a short better break in his 12-seasonNHL officiating stint Tl-rat trophy case. happened during the1937-38 season and continued BILL THE FATHER. William Joseph Stewart Jr', until January 7939. JR.: III's dad, was born two days after the 1919 The'Hawks job came about in part due to team Bill World Seriesended. Growing up Bill jr' owner Major Mclaughlin's desire to hire Americans' .^ plaved both football and baseball' He spent A second factor: Mclaughlin's admiration of Stewart's k summers either playing ball or traveling fortitude when the ref was called on the carpet for a EP Y with his dad. "He used to meet mY controversial call by then-NHL president Frank grandfather on the road," Bill III says, Calder. Grumbled Stewart, "If Mr. Calder wants my perhaps explaining both why Bill Sr.'s job he can have it, but I made the decision and the career became a familY and decision stands!" Passion how Bill became the key figure in Bill Stewart Sr.'s 1938 'Hawks squad won the Jr. establishing the tradition' "He'd meet second of three Stanley Cups in that franchise's at the end of the hockev season and history despite finishing the regular season with an my grandfather tire baseball bag. He traveled r'r'ith his father, undisiinguished 14-25-9record. Yet in the finals, when gii'e nim trairrs,during vacations'" It's easy to imagine Stewart'J skaters faced the Toronto Maple Leafs, on the u'orship the boy felt for his umpire-dad, Chicago won the championship series three games to the hero n'ith the opportunity to learn about umpiring' one. Two days later Bili Sr. rvas umpiring a \\'hite Sor- along Cubs exhibition baseball game (his 21 )'ears of professional umpiring included 21 seaso_nsin the i.t.t-.). Vla*ay through the following NHL season the . Blackhawks '?eleased" the coach and, at the start o*f the 1939-40season, Bill Sr. reclaimed his whistle' According to Bill [I, several years before Bill Sr' coached the Blackhawks, he was responsible for the only forfeited game in NHL history. "He made a call and ('Hawks coach) Tommy Gorman called him over to the bench to argue," explained Bill III' "Words were exchanged and Gorman sucker-punched him' My grandfither chased him into the east lobby' Afterward, f,e had (Boston's) Cooney Weiland shoot the puck into the empty net for a 1-0 win." Gorman may have been lucky the ref was running on skates. Ln7909, Bill Sr. won two gold medals in the Greater Boston track meet, one for running the 220 in 24 seconds flat. Years later, in 1936,Stewart \\'as a third-year N.L. umpire. An irate fan in St' Louis one afternoon, bent on lumped out of the grandstand jaw fan swung, missed, and tnriittg Stewart's The From1964, Bill Jr. whistles for an end to theGhaos duting a highschool woke up 10 minutes later in the Cardinal dressing contest,one of manygames he worked at the Boston Galden' ,oorn - victim of a Stewart uppercut. But Bill Sr' (photo: Bo$on Ahbe/Chailes CarcY) September1995 Rerenee31 J Thirty years after that first trip to a foo-tball game/ less than a year after Bill Jr.'s death, Bill IIi's first TheStewart 'Know' TheorY Division I college football assignment was on that emotional Handed down through four generations, each same field in Oiono, Maine.