Gogie Stewart

Gordon Selkirk Stewart... soccer family (son Ross Stewart, nephew Peter Stanley)... married to wife Doris (they had five sons)... worked as a safety officer at a pulp mill in Prince George, BC... suffered from Alzheimer's disease for the last five years of his life... he was 74 years old when he passed away on 12 May 2003...

posthumously honoured by the Canada Soccer Hall of Fame as a player... honoured by the BC Sports Hall of Fame and posthumously honoured by the Soccer Hall of Fame of British Columbia... as part of Canada Soccer’s Centennial in 2012, recognised in the Best XI from 50 Years (1912-1962)...

represented Canada in FIFA World Cup Qualifiers in 1957, of note the first-ever Canadian team to feature in the competition... represented Canada on the four-week tour to the Soviet Union and United Kingdom in 1960... made four international “A” appearances in 1957 with Canada Soccer's National Team… was part of the All Canada side selected to face touring side Lokomotiv Moscow in 1956... was part of British Columbia and Vancouver all-star teams selected to face international touring teams from 1949 to 1961...

a three-time Canada Soccer Football Championship winner (Challenge Trophy in 1950, then Carling’s Red Cap Trophy and Challenge Trophy in 1955 and 1960)... a six-time Pacific Coast League winner (1952-53, 1956, 1957, 1959, 1960-61, 1964-65)... an 12-time all-star selection in a 14-year span from 1948 to 1961 (including All Canada selections in 1956, 1957 and 1960)... over the course of one decade, he was the Pacific Coast League’s seventh-highest scorer in the 1950s with 55 goals scored... he retired as the Canada Soccer Championship’s second-highest goalscorer (28 goals)... he was Westminster Royals’ top goalscorer across their post-War Pacific Coast League history (52 goals scored across two stints with the organisation, from 1950-51 to 1957 and from 1959 to 1961-62)...

in lacrosse, a two-time Mann Cup winner (1949, 1956)... retired as the second-best goalscorer in Canada Soccer’s Championship with 28 goals scored from 1948 to 1960 (second place behind Jock Coulter’s 41 goals)...

wrote Austin Delany in 1948, Stewart “looks and walks like two farmers plugging behind a plow, but is a deceptive ball of exuberance who can score”... as noted in a 1950 all-star program, “possesses very good ball control, is good dribbler - a powerful shot to back it up”... wrote the Vancouver Province in 1950, “when he strikes form no winger can touch im; crosses beautiful ball, very powerful shot to back up outfield play”... wrote Austin Delany in 1951, Gogie was “an outside left and the best hereabouts when he plays there”... wrote Bob Harrison in 1951, “Gogie Stewart is clever beyond reason; a man I would rather have with me than against me”... as noted in a 1951 all-star program, one of the cleverest soccer players around with brilliant ball control; hits a ball beautifully and possesses powerful shot; always in the pink of physical condition; an all-round athlete”... as noted in the Calgary Herald in 1955, Stewart was “just about the best Canadian to ever play soccer”... said Lou Moro in 1953, “Gogie was one of the most competitive athletes I’ve ever seen. He had a very fiery nature and gave you 150 percent in every game. At times, I thought he was a little too fiery, but there’s no question that he was a winner in every sport he played”... as noted by The Globe and Mail in 2003, Gogie was known for “his adept ball control, clever playmaking and powerful shot”...