Vaughn Morton Stewart, (January 16, 1919 — December 18, 1992) a native of

Anniston, Alabama Anniston is a city and the county seat of Calhoun County, Alabama, Calhoun County in Alabama, United States, and is one of two urban centers/principal cities of and included in the Anniston–Oxford metropolitan area, Anniston–Oxford Metropo ...

, was a collegiate and professional football player.

Football career

Stewart was named to the All-State team while playing at Anniston High School. He played

college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...

for the

University of Alabama The University of Alabama (informally known as Alabama, UA, the Capstone, or Bama) is a Public university, public research university in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, United States. Established in 1820 and opened to students in 1831, the University of ...

where he was named was honorable mention, All- SEC on the sophomore selection. Stewart played on the 1941 Crimson Tide National Championship team. At just 165 pounds, he was the smallest

center Center or centre may refer to: Mathematics *Center (geometry), the middle of an object * Center (algebra), used in various contexts ** Center (group theory) ** Center (ring theory) * Graph center, the set of all vertices of minimum eccentrici ...

to ever play football at Alabama. In 1943 he was selected as a center by the

Chicago Cardinals The professional American football team now known as the Arizona Cardinals previously played in Chicago, Illinois, as the Chicago Cardinals from 1898 to 1959 before relocating to St. Louis, Missouri, for the 1960 through 1987 seasons. Roots ca ...

of the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...

. He played nine games in 1943 for Chicago as a center and a

linebacker Linebacker (LB) is a playing position in gridiron football. Linebackers are members of the defensive team, and typically line up three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage and so back up the defensive linemen. They play closer to the line ...

before being traded to the

Brooklyn Dodgers The Brooklyn Dodgers were a Major League Baseball team founded in 1883 as the Brooklyn Grays. In 1884, it became a member of the American Association as the Brooklyn Atlantics before joining the National League in 1890. They remained in Brook ...

before the last game of the season. He played one game for the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1943 and nine games for the renamed

Brooklyn Tigers The Brooklyn Dodgers were an American football team that played in the National Football League from 1930 to 1943, and in 1944 as the Brooklyn Tigers. The team played its home games at Ebbets Field of the baseball National League's team, the Br ...

in 1944 before leaving the NFL.

After football

Stewart was the original co-chairman of the board for th
Huntsville-Madison County Athletic Hall of Fame
This hall of fame for athletes from Madison County was founded in 1989 thanks to his efforts.Huntsville-Madison County Athletic Hall of Fame site
/ref> Stewart himself was inducted into the hall of fame in 1990.Huntsville-Madison County Athletic HOF Member page for Vaughn Stewart
/ref> He died in 1992 in

Huntsville, Alabama Huntsville is the List of municipalities in Alabama, most populous city in the U.S. state of Alabama. The population of the city is estimated to be 241,114 in 2024, making it the List of United States cities by population, 100th-most populous ...

References

* Bear Bryant Museum, Tuscaloosa, Alabama 1919 births 1992 deaths Players of American football from Anniston, Alabama American football centers Alabama Crimson Tide football players Chicago Cardinals players Brooklyn Dodgers (NFL) players Brooklyn Tigers players 20th-century American sportsmen {{offensive-lineman-1910s-stub