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Uploaded By: PRESIDENT on October 25th, 2015

Ronald George Stewart - Born July 11, 1932 in Calgary, Alberta – Died March 17, 2012 in Kelowna, British Columbia was a professional ice Hockey player and coach.

Ron Stewart played his first two seasons of junior Hockey with the Toronto Marlboros, until being traded to three different teams in his last year of OHA play. The Marlies sent Stewart to Windsor where he played only two games, then moved on to the Barrie Flyers. He was picked up by Guelph for the playoffs, and what a playoff it would be, as Stewart was exceptional in the post-season, scoring 10 goals, 7 assists as the Guelph Biltmore Mad Hatters won the Memorial Cup in 1952.

The next season saw Stewart make his NHL debut with the Leafs where he would play for thirteen straight seasons. Stewart joined the team while they were in the process of rebuilding but would see better days down the road. The Leafs and Stewart would be a part of three straight Stanley Cup championships from 1961-62 to 1963-64. During his time in Toronto, Stewart played in four All-Star Games, '55, '62, '63 and '64.

Stewart finally left the Leafs when he was traded to the Bruins in 1965, where he spent two seasons. From Boston, he was claimed by the Blues in the Expansion Draft of 1967 but was traded to the Rangers during the season. After three years in New York, Stewart was dealt to Vancouver, only to be sent back to the Rangers for their run for the Cup in 1972. New York took on Boston in the Cup finals but was downed by the combination of Orr and Esposito.

After being dealt one last time, to the Islanders in the 1972-73 season, he retired from the game as a player. Stewart stepped behind the bench to coach minor league teams and made it back to the NHL for the 1975-76 season as the coach of the Rangers and then with the L.A. Kings for 1977-78.

Stewart had a part in the death of Hockey Legend Terry Sawchuck, as 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." A Nassau County grand jury exonerated Stewart and ruled that Sawchuk's death was accidental.

Sourced from http://collectionscanada.gc.ca. Credited to Louis Jaques.

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