Former Duster and Whaler Inducted into U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame
Paul Stewart was inducted into the United States Hockey Hall of Fame on Wednesday night in ceremonies in Nashville, Tennessee. Stewart played in Binghamton for the Broome Dusters in both the North American Hockey League (NAHL) and the American Hockey League (AHL). He played in 21 NHL games with the Quebec Nordiques and saw action in the World Hockey Association with Cincinnati and Edmonton.
A hockey enforcer Stewart tangled with opponents' toughest players. He took on all challengers and racked up 273 minutes in penalties in the 1975-76 season in 46 games and 232 more the following campaign in 60 games. He went on to play 28 games with the Dusters in the AHL in parts of two seasons and an additional 15 games with the Binghamton Whalers in the AHL.
Stewart made his Hall of Fame mark by officiating. He is the only American to both play and referee in the NHL. He officiated in 1,010 regular season National Hockey League games, 49 playoff games, the 1991 Canada Cup and a pair of All-Star games.
In early 1998 Stewart was diagnosed with colon cancer. He became a spokesman for the National Hockey League's "Hockey Fights Cancer" program and has helped raise hundreds of thousands of dollars in the fight against cancer.
Stewart was inducted into the Binghamton Hockey Hall of Fame in 1999.
He is a member of the Hall's second induction class. Other inductees in the Class of '99 were Rod Bloomfield and Jacques Caron.
Also inducted into the United States Hockey Hall of Fame with Bloomfield on Wednesday night were: David Poile, long-time general manager of the Washington Capitals and Nashville Predators. He also has a Binghamton connection as he was the Cap's General Manager when they teamed up with Hartford to send their AHL players to Binghamton to play for the Whalers.