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As most of you know, I am a child of Dorchester and Jamaica Plain in Boston. I went to college at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia (and later played briefly for the Philadelphia Firebirds, based out of the old Civic Center). I spent the most rewarding and enjoyable years of my minor league playing career in Binghamton, NY, my World Hockey Association playing career in Cincinnati and my NHL playing days in Quebec City. As an NHL referee, I loved going to New York, Los Angeles and everywhere in between.
Nevertheless, Chicago holds a special place in my heart. I always loved visiting the city for all it has to offer and got a big charge out of the atmosphere at the old Chicago Stadium as well as the newer United Center. I also have some family history tied to the Blackhawks (or, as it used to be rendered, Black Hawks).
On Thursday evening at The United Center, I took a stroll under the stands toward the Bulls' and Blackhawks' locker rooms. I have been in this arena many times but never walked near the Hawks' room. The officials' dressing room was closer to the zamboni pit and there was never a need to go to where the players dressed.
I was amazed to see the sides of the walls abutting the team's double doors that had the teams who had won the Cup for Chicago during their long history. In the picture above, I am standing next to the inscriptions for the ' 38 Black Hawks, who won the Stanley Cup that year. I am proudly pointing to my grandfather's name. Bill Stewart Sr., dubbed "the Miracle Man," was the coach and general manager off the underdog team when they stunned the Montreal Canadiens and Toronto Maple Leafs and won the Cup.
The team had nine American-born players on the roster, plus its American coach/GM. The owner at the time was Maj. Frederic McLaughlin. For all his many character flaws, miserable disposition and propensity for changing coaches on a whim, he was also immensely patriotic and was very much on board with giving Americans a chance to crack what was virtually an all-Canadian league.
In my family, we are all proud of this accomplishment by Grampy, as he was the first American coach to win a Stanley Cup. He was also a longtime NHL referee (four Stanley Cup Finals officiated, making him the only person in NHL history to coach a Cup champion and also officiate in the Final), coach and builder for the U.S. national hockey team, a Major League Baseball umpire (four World Series, four All-Star Games; four was his magic number, I suppose), Major League Baseball scout (Washington Senators) and a former minor league baseball pitcher who was the first player in pro baseball to voluntarily enlist to serve in World War I.
Even though Grampy only spent a season and a quarter with the Black Hawks, the story of the "miracle" run to the Stanley Cup and the city that so embraced him and his team are special to me. I am grateful to the Wirtz family for their class and appreciation for hockey history to honor him and the accomplishment of his long-ago team from before the family took ownership of the team.
The photo above is an inside view of the Hawks' dressing room with their logo on the carpet in the center of the dressing area. If you step on it, it costs you a $5 fine. The Black Hawk logo (not changed to a single word until 1986) was the design utilized by Maj. McLaughlin's Army division in France during World War I. The University of North Dakota also had this design until the PC Police made them change it, but I digress. It certainly is an impressive design.
Just inside the door are glass cases holding team pictures, a replica of the Stanley Cup that they won in their year and a vintage ring awarded to each team member back in the day. My grandfather's is the middle Cup picture and there is a display of their ring..
I hope you enjoyed this inside look at one of the best NHL dressing rooms in the league; someplace that most might not get to see and appreciate. It's certainly not my first NHL dressing room. but, this was a first for me to be in the Hawks' room. That, however, brings up a memory that I regret.
In the summer of 1980, after I left the Nordiques, Chicago general manager Keith Magnuson offered me a contract. I turned it down, because I took time away from hockey to try to save my first marriage. In hindsight, that was a mistake. I've made a few.
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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 first American-born referee to officiate in 1,000 NHL games.
Today, Stewart serves as director of hockey officiating for the ECAC.