Stan Schwartz is a Canadian former

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 ...

executive and coach. He served in various capacities with 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 ...

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), beginning his tenure with the team in 1976, as an assistant coach. He later served as the team's president from 1996 to 2003. Schwartz 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 2017.

Life and career

Born in southern

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 ...

, near

Medicine Hat Medicine Hat is a city in Southern Alberta, southeast Alberta, Canada. It is located along the South Saskatchewan River. It is approximately east of Lethbridge and southeast of Calgary. This city and the adjacent Town of Redcliff, Alberta, R ...

, Schwartz played football at

Mount Royal College Mount Royal University (MRU) is a public university in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. Originally “Mount Royal College,” Mount Royal University was granted university status in 2009 by the provincial government. The university has an average class s ...

and the

University of Calgary {{Infobox university , name = University of Calgary , image = University of Calgary coat of arms without motto scroll.svg , image_size = 150px , caption = Coat of arms , former ...

. In 1969, he became an assistant coach at Ernest Manning High School in Calgary. In 1970, Schwartz began his teaching career, working with the

Calgary Board of Education Calgary School District No. 19 or the Calgary Board of Education (CBE) is the public school board in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. As a public system, the CBE is required to accept any students who meet age and residency requirements, regardless of ...

. Afterwards, he moved to the United States, coaching football at and receiving a master's degree from

Indiana State University Indiana State University (ISU) is a public university in Terre Haute, Indiana, United States. It was founded in 1865 and offers over 100 undergraduate majors and more than 75 graduate and professional programs. Indiana State is classified ...

. Schwartz spent time coaching other sports as well, including high school football, wrestling, track and field, junior football, and bantam. He was particularly involved in wrestling, coaching a city high school championship team and serving as an assistant coach for the Alberta Junior Olympic Teams. Schwartz also built football practice equipment for Calgary high schools. In 1976, Schwartz became an assistant coach with

, a position he served in for eight years. After leaving the position, he became the manager of

McMahon Stadium McMahon Stadium ( ) is a Canadian football stadium in Calgary, Alberta. The stadium is owned by the University of Calgary and operated by the McMahon Stadium Society. The stadium is located between the downtown core and the University of Calgar ...

, the Stampeders' home stadium. During his time in the position, the stadium served as the venue for the opening and closing ceremonies of the

1988 Winter Olympics The 1988 Winter Olympics, officially known as the XV Olympic Winter Games () and commonly known as Calgary 1988 were a multi-sport event held from February 13 to 28, 1988, with Calgary, Calgary, Alberta as the main host city. This marks the m ...

. In 1995, he returned to the Stampeders, becoming the organization's vice president and general manager of administration. The following year, he became the Stampeders' team president. In September 2003, he was replaced by Mark McLoughlin and formally announced his resignation from the position in October. During his tenure as the team's president, the Stampeders won two

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 ...

championships (in

1998 1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''. Events January * January 6 – The ''Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for Lunar water, frozen water, in soil i ...

and

2001 The year's most prominent event was the September 11 attacks against the United States by al-Qaeda, which Casualties of the September 11 attacks, killed 2,977 people and instigated the global war on terror. The United States led a Participan ...

), with Calgary also serving as the host of the 88th Grey Cup in 2000. He then served as a general partner for the team from 2005 to 2012, and later as an executive vice president and consultant in various roles until 2016.

Awards and recognition

In 2005, Schwartz was inducted into the

Alberta Sports Hall of Fame The Alberta Sports Hall of Fame is a hall of fame and museum in Red Deer, Alberta, Canada, dedicated to the preservation and history of sports within the province. It was created in 1957 by the Alberta Amateur Athletic Union (AAAU). The museum w ...

. Schwartz was honoured with the Hugh Campbell Distinguished Leadership Award in 2009. He was later inducted into the

as a builder in 2017. Schwartz's contributions to high school football in the Calgary area have led to trophies being named after him. The Calgary Senior High School Athletic Association (CSHAA) has awarded the "Stan Schwartz Award" annually to the "top Calgary high school volunteer football coach" since 2000. Later, in 2009, the Stampeders introduced the "Stan Schwartz – Heart of a Champion Award" to student-athletes competing in CSHAA competitions.

References

{{Canadian Football Hall of Fame members 1940s births Living people 20th-century Canadian sportsmen 21st-century Canadian sportsmen Alberta Sports Hall of Fame inductees Calgary Dinos football players Calgary Stampeders coaches Calgary Stampeders general managers Calgary Stampeders team presidents Canadian Football Hall of Fame inductees Canadian sports executives and administrators Indiana State Sycamores football coaches Indiana State University alumni Mount Royal University alumni Players of Canadian football from Alberta Sportspeople from Medicine Hat Wrestling coaches