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Famous singer and songwriter Bob Marley once sang, "If you know your history, then you know where you're coming from. Then you wouldn't have to ask me, who the heck do I think I am."
I can relate to that.
For one thing, I was a history major (Asian history, to be specific) at the University of Pennsylvania. History fascinates me, whether it's political, military, cultural, sports or what have you.
It also teaches me. Knowing the history of the hockey, the history of Americans within the game and my own family history tells me who the heck I am.
I take enormous pride in the fact that my grandfather, Bill Stewart Sr., was a trailblazer for Americans in hockey from many different standpoints: NHL referee, Stanley Cup winning NHL coach, U.S. national team coach in the late 1950s and a key builder of the American team that went to win the gold medal at the 1960 Olympics.
My grandfather was the first U.S. born and trained referee in the NHL, officiating from 1927 to 1937 and again from 1939 to 1941. Bill Stewart Sr. and Bill Chadwick (the first American referee to be inducted in the Hockey Hall of Fame) officiated in the Stanley Cup Finals long before the league expanded in 1967. There have only been two Americans to do it since.
In between his NHL refereeing stints, my granddad became the first American NHL coach to win the Stanley Cup, leading the Chicago Blackhawks to the championship in 1937-38. Here's something else that a lot of people don't know: he had eight American players on his roster in that Cup winning season.
The media dubbed my granddad
"the Miracle Man" for his accomplishment in leading a big-time underdog team to the NHL's ultimate prize.
Remember, this happened nearly 42 years before the 1960 Olympic gold medal in Squaw Valley and almost 62 years before the Miracle on Ice gold Olympic gold medal in Lake Placid.
Bill Stewart Sr., who died in 1964, was inducted into the U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame in 1982; one year before I embarked on my second career as a referee. I do not pretend that my own legacy as the first American to be both a player and referee in the NHL matches my grandfather's accomplishments, but I am proud that I got to follow in his footsteps to the best of my ability.
Having been a player trying to break into the NHL before the Miracle in Lake Placid, I can tell you that it was exponentially harder in those days for American players get opportunities. Unless you were a special case like Mark Howe -- a phenomenal talent on top of being a member of hockey royalty -- or otherwise a clear star-caliber talent like Robbie Ftorek, it was that much harder to get noticed if you were an American player.
American role players like myself and Paul Holmgren very literally had to fight for our opportunities to rise up to the top level and earn respect. We had to be that much tougher, and work that much harder just to get a look. The mindset that NHLers (players, coaches, GMs, officials, etc) HAD to be Canadians was very much in existence in the pre-Lake Placid culture. Even when you did make it, an American player was something of a curiosity piece in those days.
I remember one time when I was a member of the Quebec Nordiques, we were going customs at the airport. The customs agent didn't believe I was a player on the team.
"Impossible," he said dismissively. "All the Nordiques are French Canadians."
"Not the tough ones," I said. "They had to find a Boston guy for that."
Many new trails have been blazed since the 1980 Miracle on Ice for American players, coaches and GMs. At the same time, there is still a
long way to go in leveling the playing field for American referees and linesmen. When it comes to hiring and promoting officials in the NHL, it still matters where the boat docked for someone's ancestors.
I hope to live to see the day when that can be looked back on as the old days, too. We're not there yet, my friends. Have a good weekend!
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Recent Blogs by Paul Stewart
Selling the Call: My Issues with the NHL Replay System
Good Morning, Montreal! Know of a Good Dry Cleaner?
Lion Tamers, Staged Fights and Bissonnette
Gettin' Your Kicks
Hockey in the Great Outdoors
New Years, Broken Whistles and the Ol' Goal-in-the-Pants Trick
From Body by Dunkin' to Body by Smitty
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Paul Stewart holds the distinction of being the first U.S.-born citizen to make it to the NHL as both a player and referee. On March 15, 2003, he became the only American-born referee to officiate in 1,000 NHL games.
Today, Stewart is an officiating and league discipline consultant for the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL) and serves as director of hockey officiating for the Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC).
The longtime referee heads Officiating by Stewart, a consulting, training and evaluation service for officials, while also maintaining a busy schedule as a public speaker, fund raiser and master-of-ceremonies for a host of private, corporate and public events. As a non-hockey venture, he is the owner of Lest We Forget.
Stewart is currently working with a co-author on an autobiography.
Blogger •Former NHL Referee • 
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