Ron Stewart 1961-62 Parkhurst #6

Number 6 in the 1961-62 Parkhurst hockey card set belongs to Ron Stewart of the Toronto Maple Leafs. Not quite Hockey Hall of Fame material, Stewart is as close as it gets and deserves an honourable mention. Ron won a Memorial Cup and three Stanley Cup championships as a player, while winning the Calder Cup in the American Hockey League as a head coach.

Ron Stewart 1961-62 Parkhurst #6

The 1961-62 Parkhurst Ron Stewart hockey card is valued as a common card and occurred at the halfway point of his National Hockey League career. The Ron Stewart rookie card appears as number 94 in the 1952-53 Parkhurst set and is also valued as a common card.

The back of the 1961-62 card celebrates Stewart’s 1960-61 NHL season. He played in just 51 of Toronto’s 70 regular season games, scoring 13 goals and assisting on 12 for 25 points. Ron sat just eight minutes in the penalty box all season. However, teammate Dave Keon was awarded the Lady Byng Trophy with just three minor penalties over the full 70 game schedule. In the playoffs, Stewart played five games and scored one goal.

Ron Stewart – Junior Hockey

Ron played in the OHA from 1949-50 to 1951-52 with the Toronto Marlboros, Barrie Flyers, Guelph Biltmores and Windsor Spitfires. He switched to the Flyers from Toronto midway through the 1951-52 season and joined the Biltmores for the 1951-52 playoffs. Stewart played just two games with the Spitfires, also in that 1951-52 season.

Stewart helped the Biltmore Mad Hatters win the Robertson Cup as OHA playoff champions. The team advanced to the Memorial Cup finals against the Regina Pats. Guelph easily won the Canadian junior hockey title, sweeping Regina in four games. On that Guelph team were future New York Rangers greats Andy Bathgate, Harry Howell and Dean Prentice.

Ron Stewart – NHL

Stewart played 1,353 regular season games in the National Hockey League between 1952-53 and 1972-73. Over that time, he scored 276 goals and assisted on 253 for 529 points. Ron also played 119 games in the Stanley Cup playoffs, adding 35 points. His 1,353 NHL games still ranks him 44^th on the all-time list.

Over his career, Stewart played for the Maple Leafs, Boston Bruins, St. Louis Blues, New York Rangers, Vancouver Canucks and New York Islanders. He was a three time Stanley Cup champion with Toronto from 1961-62 to 1963-64.

In June, 1965, Ron valued highly by the Boston Bruins. Toronto sent Stewart to the Bruins for Andy Hebenton, Orland Kurtenbach and Pat Stapleton. By the 1967 NHL Expansion Draft, Boston had devalued Stewart enough to leave him unprotected. The St. Louis Blues took him down in the 15^th round, 90^th overall.

Ron Stewart – Coach 

Stewart’s coaching career was short but fairly sweet. In 1973-74, immediately after retiring as a player, Ron took over the head coaching duties for the Portland Buckaroos of the WHL. The Buckaroos placed fourth in the six team league over the regular season. In the playoffs, Portland reached the finals before falling in five games to the Phoenix Roadrunners. Interestingly, on the team was Andy Hebenton, one of the players Stewart was traded to Boston for back in 1965.

The following year, 1974-75, Ron took over the head coaching job for the Springfield Kings of the American Hockey League. In February, the team changed its name back to the Indians. The Springfield Indians placed fourth in the five team AHL Northern Division but would have placed first in the Southern Division and therefore finished fourth overall in the ten team league. Stewart’s squad once again reached the playoff finals and Springfield captured the Calder Cup championship over the New Haven Nighthawks in five games.

Stewart spent one year as a head coach in the National Hockey League. In 1977-78, he coached the Los Angeles Kings. L.A. placed third in the strong Norris Division with the Triple Crown Line just starting to come together. In the best of three preliminary round, the Kings were swept in two by the Toronto Maple Leafs.