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
United States Navy. In these pre-war seasons, he primarily played as an outfielder. After the war, Stewart was signed by the
Chicago White Sox in December 1918, but he suffered an arm injury falling down a flight of stairs while working as a census taker, and was sent to the minor leagues in May 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 with the
Nashua Millionaires, and 1928 in
Waterbury, Connecticut. Stewart was also a
manager during three seasons: 1927 with the Nashua Millionaires, 1928 in Waterbury, and 1931 in
Springfield, Massachusetts. He was also a
scout for the
Boston Red Sox in 1926 and 1927. In 1929, he played summer baseball for
Falmouth in the
Cape 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."
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 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 , and was the crew chief for the three-game pennant playoff between the
New York Giants and the
Brooklyn Dodgers. During the
1948 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 runner Phil Masi was on second base with one out.
Cleveland Indians' pitcher
Bob Feller attempted to
pick off Masi at second base, and shortstop
Lou Boudreau appeared to tag Masi out; however, Stewart called Masi safe. 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 after
Associated Press photographs of the play were published. 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. 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==