Norman Lim Kwong (born Kwong Lim Yew; ; October 24, 1929 – September 3, 2016) was a Canadian professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

player who played for the

Calgary Stampeders The Calgary Stampeders are a professional Canadian football team based in Calgary, Alberta. The Stampeders compete in the West Division (CFL), West Division of the Canadian Football League (CFL). The club plays its home games at McMahon Stadium a ...

and

Edmonton Eskimos The Edmonton Elks are a professional Canadian football team based in Edmonton, Alberta. The club competes in the Canadian Football League (CFL) as a member of the league's West Division and plays their home games at Commonwealth Stadium. The E ...

of the

Canadian Football League The Canadian Football League (CFL; , LCF) is a Professional gridiron football, professional Canadian football league in Canada. It comprises nine teams divided into two divisions, with four teams in the East Division (CFL), East Division and f ...

(CFL). He was also an active businessman and politician being part owner of the

Calgary Flames The Calgary Flames are a professional ice hockey team based in Calgary. The Flames compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division (NHL), Pacific Division in the Western Conference (NHL), Western Conference. The ...

and serving as the 16th

lieutenant governor of Alberta The lieutenant governor of Alberta () is the representative in Alberta of the monarch. The lieutenant governor is appointed in the same manner as the other provincial viceroys in Canada and is similarly tasked with carrying out most of the mona ...

from January 2005 to May 2010. The son of Chinese immigrants from

Taishan, Guangdong Taishan (), postal map romanization, alternately romanization of Chinese, romanized in Cantonese as Toishan or Toisan, in local dialect as Hoisan, and formerly known as Xinning or Sunning (), is a county-level city in the southwest of Guangd ...

, Kwong was the first Canadian professional football player of Chinese heritage. In addition, Kwong was also the first person of Chinese heritage to serve as lieutenant governor of

Alberta Alberta is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province in Canada. It is a part of Western Canada and is one of the three Canadian Prairies, prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to its west, Saskatchewan to its east, t ...

. As a former

vice-regal A viceroy () is an official who reigns over a polity in the name of and as the representative of the monarch of the territory. The term derives from the Latin prefix ''vice-'', meaning "in the place of" and the Anglo-Norman ''roy'' (Old Frenc ...

representative of Alberta, he was styled "

The Honourable ''The Honourable'' (Commonwealth English) or ''The Honorable'' (American English; American and British English spelling differences#-our, -or, see spelling differences) (abbreviation: ''Hon.'', ''Hon'ble'', or variations) is an honorific Style ...

" for life. Kwong was the third Canadian of Chinese heritage to be appointed as a vice-regal in Canada, after David Lam and

Adrienne Clarkson Adrienne Louise Clarkson ( zh, c=伍冰枝; ; born February 10, 1939) is a Canadian journalist and stateswoman who served as the 26th governor general of Canada from 1999 to 2005. Clarkson arrived in Canada with her family in 1941, as a refuge ...

. Kwong's life and legacy are the focus of a Heritage Minute short film, made in Calgary in late 2023, and released on February 13, 2024.

Early life

Kwong was born to a Chinese immigrant family in

Calgary Calgary () is a major city in the Canadian province of Alberta. As of 2021, the city proper had a population of 1,306,784 and a metropolitan population of 1,481,806 making it the third-largest city and fifth-largest metropolitan area in C ...

, Alberta, on October 24, 1929. His father, Charles Lim Kwong, immigrated to Canada in 1907 and had to pay the

head tax A poll tax, also known as head tax or capitation, is a tax levied as a fixed sum on every liable individual (typically every adult), without reference to income or resources. ''Poll'' is an archaic term for "head" or "top of the head". The sen ...

, and his mother, Lily Lee, immigrated with her family in 1912. Their marriage was arranged by their parents. They lived in

British Columbia British Columbia is the westernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Situated in the Pacific Northwest between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains, the province has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that ...

at first. Still, they moved to Calgary because anti-Chinese discrimination was less severe there, and Charles could open his own business, the Riverside Cash and Carry Store. Norman (Lim Kwong Yew) was the fifth of six siblings. They were lucky to have both parents in Canada, as family reunion was restricted at the time for

Chinese Canadians Chinese Canadians are Canadians of full or partial Chinese people, Chinese ancestry, which includes both naturalized Chinese immigrants and Canadian-born Chinese. They comprise a subgroup of East Asian Canadians which is a further subgroup of ...

and many children grew up with one parent.

Sports career

In 1947, Canada's ''

Chinese Exclusion Act The Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882 was a United States Code, United States federal law signed by President Chester A. Arthur on May 6, 1882, prohibiting all immigration of Chinese laborers for 10 years. The law made exceptions for travelers an ...

'' was repealed for contravening the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is the Earth, global intergovernmental organization established by the signing of the Charter of the United Nations, UN Charter on 26 June 1945 with the stated purpose of maintaining international peace and internationa ...

Universal Declaration of Human Rights The Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) is an international document adopted by the United Nations General Assembly that enshrines the Human rights, rights and freedoms of all human beings. Drafted by a UN Drafting of the Universal D ...

. Chinese Canadians were given citizen rights for the first time, and barriers for Chinese in professional sports also came down. After playing

Canadian football Canadian football, or simply football, is a Sports in Canada, sport in Canada in which two teams of 12 players each compete on a field long and wide, attempting to advance a Ball (gridiron football), pointed oval-shaped ball into the opposi ...

at Western Canada High School, Kwong went on to play for the

from 1948 to 1950 and, after a trade, the

from 1951 until his retirement in 1960. Nicknamed the "China Clipper" (a reference to the speedy

clipper A clipper was a type of mid-19th-century merchant sailing vessel, designed for speed. The term was also retrospectively applied to the Baltimore clipper, which originated in the late 18th century. Clippers were generally narrow for their len ...

ships), Kwong was the first Chinese Canadian to play on a professional Canadian football team. A powerful fullback, in 11 years of recorded statistics Kwong rushed for 9,022 yards for an average of 5.2 yards per carry and scored 93 touchdowns. He won the

Grey Cup The Grey Cup () is both the championship game of the Canadian Football League (CFL) and the trophy awarded to the victorious team playing in the namesake championship of professional Canadian football. The game is contested between the winners ...

four times during his career (

1948 Events January * January 1 ** The General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) is inaugurated. ** The current Constitutions of Constitution of Italy, Italy and of Constitution of New Jersey, New Jersey (both later subject to amendment) ...

, 1954, 1955, and

1956 Events January * January 1 – The Anglo-Egyptian Sudan, Anglo-Egyptian Condominium ends in Sudan after 57 years. * January 8 – Operation Auca: Five U.S. evangelical Christian Missionary, missionaries, Nate Saint, Roger Youderian, E ...

). Kwong was a Western Conference all-star

running back A running back (RB) is a member of the offensive backfield in gridiron football. The primary roles of a running back are to receive American football plays#Offensive terminology, handoffs from the quarterback to Rush (American football)#Offense ...

and three-time winner of the

Eddie James Memorial Trophy The Eddie James Memorial Trophy is a trophy awarded to the leading rusher in the West Division (CFL), West Division of the Canadian Football League. Unlike other CFL trophies, there is no equivalent for the East Division (CFL), East Division. Thi ...

, in 1951, 1955, and 1956. He was named the Schenley Most Outstanding Canadian in 1955 and 1956. He was named Canadian Athlete of the Year in 1955. He was inducted into the

Canadian Football Hall of Fame The Canadian Football Hall of Fame (CFHOF) is a not-for-profit corporation, located in Hamilton, Ontario, that celebrates achievements in Canadian football. It is maintained by the Canadian Football League (CFL). It includes displays about the CFL, ...

in 1969,

Canada's Sports Hall of Fame Canada's Sports Hall of Fame (; sometimes referred to as the Canadian Sports Hall of Fame) is a Canadian sports hall of fame and museum in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. Dedicated to the history of sports in Canada, it serves as a hall of fame and mu ...

in 1975, the Edmonton Eskimos' Wall of Honour in 1983, the Alberta Sports Hall of Fame in 1980, and the Calgary Stampeders' Wall of Fame in 2012 (as a builder of that sports organization). In November 2006, he was one of very few of his contemporaries to be voted one of the

's Top 50 players of the sport's modern era by Canadian sports network TSN. Kwong set the CFL record for the most yards rushing by a Canadian in a season with 1,437 in the 1956 season. This record held for 56 years, being broken by Jon Cornish only in 2012, though Kwong accomplished his record in fifteen games, rather than eighteen for Cornish. He was president and general manager of the Calgary Stampeders from 1988 to 1991, leading the team to a loss in the Grey Cup final in 1991. Between 1980 and 1994, Kwong was a part owner of the

, having been one of the original group of six Calgary businessmen who bought and moved the NHL's Atlanta Flames hockey team to Calgary in 1980. The Calgary Flames won the

Stanley Cup The Stanley Cup () is the championship trophy awarded annually to the National Hockey League (NHL) playoff champion. It is the oldest existing trophy to be awarded to a professional sports franchise in North America, and the International Ic ...

in 1989, making him one of five people whose name is on both the Grey Cup and the Stanley Cup. The feat would later be matched by

Wayne Gretzky Wayne Douglas Gretzky ( ; born January 26, 1961) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player and former head coach. He played 20 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) for four teams from 1979 to 1999. Nicknamed "the Great One ...

, who in an interesting symmetry to Kwong's achievement has his name on the Stanley Cup four times as a player and on the Grey Cup once as an owner.

Public service career

Kwong's public stature from sports helped him move on to politics and government. In 1971 he ran for the Alberta Progressive Conservative party in Calgary-Millican. In this election, the PCs ended

Social Credit Social credit is a distributive philosophy of political economy developed in the 1920s and 1930s by C. H. Douglas. Douglas attributed economic downturns to discrepancies between the cost of goods and the compensation of the workers who made t ...

's 36-year hold on power, winning all but five seats in

. However, Kwong himself was defeated by longtime incumbent Arthur J. Dixon who won by a 1,600 vote

plurality Plurality may refer to: Law and politics * Plurality decision, in a decision by a multi-member court, an opinion held by more judges than any other but not by an overall majority * Plurality (voting), when a candidate or proposition polls more ...

. In 1988 Kwong was made a member of the

Order of Canada The Order of Canada () is a Canadian state order, national order and the second-highest Award, honour for merit in the system of orders, decorations, and medals of Canada, after the Order of Merit. To coincide with the Canadian Centennial, ce ...

and served as the national chairman of the Canadian Consultative Council on

Multiculturalism Multiculturalism is the coexistence of multiple cultures. The word is used in sociology, in political philosophy, and colloquially. In sociology and everyday usage, it is usually a synonym for ''Pluralism (political theory), ethnic'' or cultura ...

. Kwong was appointed Lieutenant-Governor of Alberta on January 20, 2005, replacing Lois Hole, who died in office on January 6, 2005. Kwong welcomed

Queen Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 19268 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until Death and state funeral of Elizabeth II, her death in 2022. ...

in June 2005 on a visit commemorating

's first 100 years in

Canadian Confederation Canadian Confederation () was the process by which three British North American provinces—the Province of Canada, Nova Scotia, and New Brunswick—were united into one federation, called the Name of Canada#Adoption of Dominion, Dominion of Ca ...

. During a private audience, the Queen presented Kwong with the insignia of a Knight of Justice in the Most Venerable Order of the Hospital of St John of Jerusalem. Kwong swore

Ed Stelmach Edward Michael Stelmach (; born May 11, 1951) is a Canadian politician who served as the 13th premier of Alberta, from 2006 to 2011. The grandson of Ukrainian immigrants, Stelmach was born and raised on a farm near Lamont and fluently spea ...

into office as the 13th Premier of Alberta on December 14, 2006. Kwong's term concluded on May 11, 2010, and he was succeeded by Don Ethell.

Personal life

Kwong married Mary Lee on March 26, 1960, and together they had four sons: Gregory, Bradley, Martin, and Randall. He died in his sleep on September 3, 2016, at the age of 86. He was survived by his wife, four sons, and ten grandchildren.

Arms

Honours

UK Queen Elizabeth II Golden Jubilee Medal ribbon

* In 2006 Kwong received an

Honorary Degree An honorary degree is an academic degree for which a university (or other degree-awarding institution) has waived all of the usual requirements. It is also known by the Latin phrases ''honoris causa'' ("for the sake of the honour") or '' ad hon ...

Doctor of Laws A Doctor of Laws (LL.D.) is a doctoral degree in legal studies. The abbreviation LL.D. stands for ''Legum Doctor'', with the double “L” in the abbreviation referring to the early practice in the University of Cambridge to teach both canon law ...

from the

University of Alberta The University of Alberta (also known as U of A or UAlberta, ) is a public research university located in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. It was founded in 1908 by Alexander Cameron Rutherford, the first premier of Alberta, and Henry Marshall Tory, t ...

References

External links

Lost Years (Episode 2) CBC TV, August 27, 2011 & March 3, 2012

CBC News - Jan 19 2005: Ex-footballer Normie Kwong Alberta's new lieutenant-governor

Office of the Lieutenant Governor

"Calgary Flames"
''The Canadian Encyclopedia''.

* ttps://web.archive.org/web/20060427015443/http://www.histori.ca/minutes/minute.do?id=14249 Historica Minute: Normie Kwong
"Norman Kwong"
''The Canadian Encyclopedia''.
Canada's Sports Hall of Fame profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kwong, Norman 1929 births 2016 deaths 21st-century Canadian politicians Calgary Flames owners Calgary Stampeders players Calgary Stampeders team presidents Canadian football fullbacks Canadian Football Hall of Fame inductees Canadian Football League Most Outstanding Canadian Award winners Canadian football people from Calgary Canadian football running backs Canadian people of Chinese descent Canadian sportspeople of Chinese descent Canadian sportsperson-politicians Edmonton Elks players Knights of Justice of the Order of St John Lieutenant governors of Alberta Members of the Alberta Order of Excellence Members of the Order of Canada Politicians from Calgary Progressive Conservative Association of Alberta candidates in Alberta provincial elections Stanley Cup champions Western Canada High School alumni