Ron
Stewart's bright football future became clear when he caught a pass
to win the scholastic final in his junior year at Toronto's
Riverdale Collegiate Institute. He was a standout player at Queen's
University from 1953 to 1957, where he became the first to win the
John Evans Memorial Trophy three times as the club's most valuable
player. Upon his graduation, he was the fourth highest scorer in
Queen's history, breaking many of the marks set by fellow Hall of
Famer Pep Leadley.
When Stewart moved to Ottawa to attend law school in 1958, he was
quickly signed to a contract by the Ottawa Rough Riders, with whom
he enjoyed 12 glorious seasons as a stalwart offensive player. He
championed the Rough Riders to four Grey Cup finals and three
victories, in 1960, 1968, and 1969.
One of Stewart's greatest moments came in 1960 when, in a game
against the Montreal Alouettes, he established a single game rushing
record of 287 yards, a mark which stood until 2003. Another career
highlight came in a 1969 Grey Cup game in which he extended two
passes from Russ Jackson into remarkable touchdown runs, one of
which registered as the fifth longest scoring pass in Grey Cup
history.
| Ron Stewart | Queens Univ. | ||||||||||
| Rushing | Receiving | ||||||||||
| Yr | Team | C | Yds | Avg | Lg | TD | C | Yds | Avg | Lg | TD |
| 1958 | Ott | 3 | 1 | 0.3 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 32 | 16.0 | 20 | 0 |
| 1959 | Ott | 82 | 425 | 5.2 | 31 | 2 | 15 | 150 | 10.0 | 28 | 1 |
| 1960 | Ott | 139 | 1,020 | 7.3 | 59 | 15 | 15 | 240 | 16.0 | 38 | 1 |
| 1961 | Ott | 107 | 706 | 6.6 | 72 | 5 | 11 | 137 | 12.5 | 30 | 4 |
| 1962 | Ott | 96 | 555 | 5.8 | 68 | 2 | 19 | 347 | 18.3 | 37 | 3 |
| 1963 | Ott | 103 | 523 | 5.1 | 35 | 3 | 23 | 340 | 14.8 | 45 | 5 |
| 1964 | Ott | 144 | 867 | 6.0 | 45 | 5 | 20 | 411 | 20.6 | 70 | 3 |
| 1965 | Ott | 68 | 314 | 4.6 | 16 | 2 | 16 | 162 | 10.1 | 36 | 2 |
| 1966 | Ott | 89 | 431 | 4.8 | 41 | 3 | 19 | 275 | 14.5 | 50 | 2 |
| 1967 | Ott | 64 | 488 | 7.6 | 70 | 4 | 25 | 316 | 12.6 | 51 | 1 |
| 1968 | Ott | 31 | 114 | 3.7 | 16 | 0 | 14 | 129 | 9.2 | 23 | 0 |
| 1969 | Ott | 29 | 151 | 5.2 | 26 | 1 | 14 | 148 | 10.6 | 29 | 1 |
| 1970 | Ott | 28 | 95 | 3.4 | 12 | 0 | 9 | 40 | 4.4 | 10 | 0 |
| Total | 13 | 980 | 5,689 | 5.8 | 72 | 42 | 200 | 2,695 | 13.5 | 70 | 23 |
An Eastern Conference All-Star in both 1960 and 1964, Stewart
received the Schenley Award and the Lionel Conacher Award as
Canada's most outstanding male athlete in 1960. In both 1960 and
1967, he was awarded the Walker Trophy as the Ottawa Club's MVP, and
the Jeff Russel Memorial Trophy as the most outstanding player in
the CFL's Eastern Division.
Upon his retirement in 1970, Stewart was only one of three native
Canadian players who was not a kicker to score more than 400 points.
In honour of his achievements on the field, the Rough Riders retired
his #11 sweater and, in 1977, he was inducted into the Canadian
Football Hall of Fame.