Art Stewart

{{Use mdy dates|date=November 2021}} {{Short description|American baseball executive and scout (1927–2021)}} {{for|the producer|Art Stewart (producer)}} {{Infobox person | name = Art Stewart | image = Art Stewart.JPG | alt =  | caption = | birth_name = Arthur Stewart | birth_date = {{Birth date|1927|2|6}} | birth_place = [[Chicago]], [[Illinois]], U.S. | death_date = {{Death date and age|2021|11|11|1927|2|6}} | death_place = | occupation = [[Baseball]] [[Scout (sport)|scout]] | organization = {{ubl|[[New York Yankees]]|[[Kansas City Royals]]}} }} '''Arthur Stewart''' (February 6, 1927 – November 11, 2021) was an American [[baseball]] front-office executive and [[Scout (sport)|scout]]. He began his [[Major League Baseball]] (MLB) scouting career with the [[New York Yankees]] in 1953. He later joined the [[Kansas City Royals]] in 1969, becoming its scouting director in 1984, before serving as senior advisor to the general manager from 1997 until his death.<ref name="MLB obit"/>

==Early life== Stewart was born in [[Chicago]] on February 6, 1927.<ref name="MLB obit">{{cite news|title=Royals mourn passing of scout Art Stewart|url=https://www.mlb.com/news/royals-scout-art-stewart-dies|first=Anne|last=Rogers|date=November 11, 2021|work=MLB.com|publisher=MLB Advanced Media|access-date=November 13, 2021}}</ref> His father died when he was four years old. Stewart turned down minor league contracts offered by [[George Sisler]] and [[George Moriarty]], opting to coach [[Semi-professional sports|semi-pro]] baseball instead. Twenty-eight players coached by Stewart eventually signed professional contracts, drawing the attention of the [[New York Yankees]].<ref name=MSHOF>{{cite web|title=Art Stewart|url=https://mosportshalloffame.com/inductees/4878/|access-date=November 13, 2021|publisher=Missouri Sports Hall of Fame}}</ref>

== Career == ===New York Yankees=== Stewart was hired as a territorial [[scout (sports)|scout]] by the Yankees in 1953.<ref name="MLB obit"/><ref>[http://nl.newsbank.com/nl-search/we/Archives?p_product=KC&p_theme=kc&p_action=search&p_maxdocs=200&p_topdoc=1&p_text_direct-0=0EAF48E2638DEAE0&p_field_direct-0=document_id&p_perpage=10&p_sort=YMD_date:D&s_trackval=GooglePM The Art of scouting Royals' Stewart has amassed talent, lots of stories], By JOE POSNANSKI, Published on 2000-12-03, Page D1, Kansas City Star, The (MO), Search The Kansas City Star Archive</ref> He was trained by Yankee scout [[Lou Maguolo]].<ref>{{Cite book |title=The Good Stuff: Columns about the Magic of Sports |last=Posnanski |first=Joe |date=2001 |publisher=Kansas City Star Books |location=Kansas City, MO}}</ref> He scouted, suggested and signed many players for the Yankees. Working as the organization's Midwest scouting supervisor,<ref name="MLB obit"/> the first player Stewart discovered and steered to the Yankees was pitcher [[Jim Bouton]], who had not attracted any interest from major league teams while in high school.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=lubWDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA30|title=Bouton: The Life of a Baseball Original|publisher=University of Nebraska Press|date=May 1, 2020|last=Nathanson|first=Mitchell|page=30|isbn=9781496217707}}</ref> Bouton eventually played seven seasons with the Yankees and was selected an [[1963 Major League Baseball All-Star Game|All Star in 1963]], the year when he [[Win–loss record (pitching)#Winning pitcher|won]] 21 games.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/b/boutoji01.shtml|title=Jim Bouton Statistics and History|work=Baseball-Reference.com|publisher=[[Sports Reference|Sports Reference LLC]]|access-date=November 14, 2021}}</ref>

===Kansas City Royals=== Stewart served in multiple roles for the [[Kansas City Royals]] after joining the MLB expansion franchise in 1969.<ref name="MLB obit"/><ref name=titles>{{cite web|url=http://www.baseballamerica.com/today/execdb/showperson.php?idx=StewaAr01&fname=Art&lname=Stewart|title=Titles of Art Stewart|publisher=www.baseballamerica.com|access-date=August 10, 2008}}</ref> He was appointed as director of scouting in 1984 and served in that capacity until 1997,<ref name="MLB obit"/><ref name=titles/> while having the responsibility of Player Development from 1986 to 1987.<ref name=titles/> He later became the senior special assistant to general manager in 1998, before serving as senior advisor to the general manager until his death.<ref name=titles/><ref name=royals.mlblogs>{{cite web|url=http://royals.mlblogs.com/archives/2008/01/royals_hof_clas.html|title=Royals Hall of Fame Class of 2008: Art Stewart|publisher=royals.mlblogs.com|access-date=August 6, 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081002040513/http://royals.mlblogs.com/archives/2008/01/royals_hof_clas.html|archive-date=October 2, 2008|url-status=dead}}</ref> Seventy players that Stewart drafted went on to play in MLB. They include [[Bo Jackson]], [[Kevin Appier]], [[Brian McRae]], [[Mike Sweeney]], [[Johnny Damon]], [[Joe Randa]] and [[Carlos Beltrán]].<ref name=pressrelease1/><ref name="MLB bio">{{cite web|title=Art Stewart – Senior Advisor to the General Manager|url=https://www.mlb.com/royals/team/front-office/art-stewart|work=MLB.com|publisher=MLB Advanced Media|access-date=November 13, 2021|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20211113230040/https://www.mlb.com/royals/team/front-office/art-stewart|archivedate=November 13, 2021}}</ref>

Stewart was the longest tenured Royals associate at the time of his death, having served 52 seasons with the organization.<ref name=AP>{{cite news|title=Longtime Royals baseball scout Art Stewart dies at 94|url=https://apnews.com/article/mlb-sports-dayton-moore-carlos-beltran-new-york-yankees-28b161f517c71553c4a84af49f3a9f7b|first=Dave|last=Skretta|date=November 11, 2021|access-date=November 13, 2021|work=Associated Press}}</ref> He was inducted into the Kansas City Royals [[Baseball Hall of Fame]] on June 28, 2008,<ref name=pressrelease2>{{cite web|url=http://kansascity.royals.mlb.com/news/press_releases/press_release.jsp?ymd=20080613&content_id=2907121&vkey=pr_kc&fext=.jsp&c_id=kc|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110519183646/http://kansascity.royals.mlb.com/news/press_releases/press_release.jsp?ymd=20080613&content_id=2907121&vkey=pr_kc&fext=.jsp&c_id=kc|url-status=dead|archive-date=May 19, 2011|title=Art Stewart Royals Hall of Fame induction ceremony set for June 28|work=[[MLB.com]]|access-date=August 10, 2008}}</ref><ref name=pressrelease1>{{cite web|url=http://losangeles.dodgers.mlb.com/news/press_releases/press_release.jsp?ymd=20080129&content_id=2359107&vkey=pr_kc&fext=.jsp&c_id=kc|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110615130736/http://losangeles.dodgers.mlb.com/news/press_releases/press_release.jsp?ymd=20080129&content_id=2359107&vkey=pr_kc&fext=.jsp&c_id=kc|url-status=dead|archive-date=June 15, 2011|title=Art Stewart selected to Royals Hall of Fame|work=[[MLB.com]]|access-date=August 5, 2008}}</ref> becoming the 23rd member of the elite group.<ref name=royals.mlblogs/> That same year, he was conferred the Midwest Scout of the Year Award by the Scout of the Year Foundation.<ref name="MLB obit"/> He was later inducted into the [[Missouri Sports Hall of Fame]] as a contributor in 2016.<ref name=MSHOF/>

==Author== Stewart co-authored a book, ''The Art of Scouting'', with Kansas City newspaper writer Sam Mellinger in 2014.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Stewart |first1=Art |title=The Art of Scouting : seven decades chasing hopes and dreams in major league baseball |date=2014 |publisher=Ascend Books |location=Olathe, KS |isbn=9780991275618 |quote=Contributors: George Brett, Sam Mellinger}}</ref> In an interview with Dick Kaegel of MLB.com on October 17, 2014, as the Royals advanced to their first World Series appearance since 1985, Stewart recounted a story from his [[Chicago]] childhood: "When I was 8 or 9 years old, playing ball as a kid, my mother said, 'You know, you're going to be in professional baseball someday.' I said, 'What do you mean, Mom?' She said, 'Because you were born on Feb. 6, [[Babe Ruth]]'s birthday, in 1927, the same year that he hit 60 home runs.' She was right. Talk about scouting!"<ref>{{cite news|title=Scouting Royals has been an Art form|url=https://www.mlb.com/news/longtime-scout-art-stewart-has-seen-it-all-with-royals/c-98871676|first=Dick|last=Kaegel|date=October 17, 2014|work=MLB.com|publisher=MLB Advanced Media|access-date=November 13, 2021|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20211113234324/https://www.mlb.com/news/longtime-scout-art-stewart-has-seen-it-all-with-royals/c-98871676|archivedate=November 13, 2021}}</ref>

==Personal life== Stewart married his first wife, Donna Wakely, during the 1960s. They met at a baseball game while he was scouting and remained married for almost 50 years until her death in 2008.<ref name=Mellinger>{{cite news |last=Mellinger |first=Sam |date=November 11, 2021|title=My tribute to Art Stewart, a friend and KC Royals baseball icon who lived his best life |url=https://www.kansascity.com/sports/spt-columns-blogs/sam-mellinger/article255733916.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211111211855/https://www.kansascity.com/sports/spt-columns-blogs/sam-mellinger/article255733916.html |archive-date=November 11, 2021 |newspaper=[[The Kansas City Star]] |access-date=November 13, 2021}}</ref> Together, they had one child, Dawn.<ref name="MLB obit"/> He later married Rosemary, to whom he was originally [[Engagement|engaged]] to in 1959. They reunited at the Lutheran church in his hometown where they had first met almost 50 years before.<ref name=Mellinger/> They resided in [[Racine, Wisconsin]], during his later years and remained married until his death.<ref name="MLB bio"/><ref name="MLB obit"/> He died on November 11, 2021, at the age of 94.<ref name=AP/><ref name="MLB obit"/>

== References == {{Reflist}}

[[Category:1927 births]] [[Category:2021 deaths]] [[Category:Kansas City Royals executives]] [[Category:Kansas City Royals scouts]] [[Category:Major League Baseball executives]] [[Category:New York Yankees scouts]] [[Category:Sportspeople from Chicago]]