Dave Stewart

Smoke.

That’s what they called him.

He was respected and admired, but first he was humiliated and discarded.

Down to his last chance, Dave Stewart had a stunning rebirth in his hometown and became a four-time 20-game winner, a two-time ALCS MVP, a World Series MVP, and a three-time World Series champion.

But before all that, he was Smoke.

David (“Dave”) Keith Stewart was born February 19, 1957, in Oakland, California. His father, David, a longshoreman, and his mother, Nathalie (Dixon), who worked in a cannery, raised him, his brother, and five sisters in East Oakland, one of the city’s poorest and roughest neighborhoods.

The community may have been tough, and street life may have been tempting, but Stewart and his friends “stayed with our own dreams because we had strong family backgrounds,” he said. “My parents had strong values of right and wrong.”1 Despite the stability he had at home, he admitted he “was a menace as a kid. A fighter, a rebel without a cause. They couldn’t contain me.”2

Sports provided a positive outlet for him. Like his father, Stewart was a diehard San Francisco Giants fan.3 But after his father died when Stewart was in high school, he switched his loyalties to the hometown A’s, who played in the Coliseum, a stadium not far from his neighborhood. One day A’s superstar Reggie Jackson caught Stewart sneaking into the ballpark.4 He recalled that Jackson warned him that he could get himself in trouble, and “said if I wanted some tickets, he would give them to me.”5 He took up Jackson’s offer, often washing Jackson’s car in exchange for tickets.6

Stewart played youth baseball with fellow future big leaguers Rickey Henderson, Lloyd Moseby, and Gary Pettis.7 He also played with future major leaguer Tack Wilson, who gave Stewart a lasting nickname. Stewart, a catcher, could gun the ball down to second base from his knees, a sight that made Wilson yell, “Throw that ball down there, Smoke!”8

The nickname stuck.

Stewart was a multi-sport star at St. Elizabeth High School in Oakland. He averaged 16 points per game as forward for the basketball team, and was an All-American in both baseball and football.9 He was most talented on the gridiron, and had more than two dozen football scholarship offers to choose from when he graduated in 1975.10 After the Dodgers made him their 16th round draft pick that year, however, he chose baseball because it had a lower chance of injury. Even with a muscular 6’2” frame, he didn’t think he was big enough for football.11

Stewart had been a catcher in high school, but the Dodgers—seeing the 95 mph heat that “Smoke” could generate—had other plans.12 When Stewart arrived at Class-A Bellingham, Wash., with his catching gear, his manager, Bill Berrier, told him that the club was going to make him a pitcher. Stewart firmly replied that he wouldn’t do it. Berrier then asked how he got to Bellingham. Stewart responded that he flew from Oakland to Portland and then took another plane to Bellingham. Berrier then informed him that he’d be going home on a bus if he decided pitching wasn’t for him.13

He stayed.

Stewart’s lack of pitching experience showed in 1975 and 1976, as he toiled for the Dodgers’ Northwest League and Midwest League Class-A affiliates in Bellingham and Denver. He put up ERAs of 5.51 his first year and 6.90 his second, and he walked 123 batters in 109 innings during those two seasons. In his third year, though, he dominated the Class-A Midwest League for Clinton, Iowa, going 17-4 with a 2.15 ERA. Promoted to the Class-AAA Albuquerque Dukes of the Pacific Coast League at the end of the year, he pitched solidly in one start.

Stewart spent most of 1978 season in the Class-AA Texas League with the San Antonio Dodgers. He pitched well enough to get called up to the Dodgers in September. He made his big-league debut on September 22, 1978, throwing two scoreless innings of relief.14

In 1979 and 1980, Stewart was back in Albuquerque, but in 1981, he was finally a big-leaguer again—barely. He was the last player added to the Dodgers’ roster, beating out veteran Don Stanhouse.15 When the 1981 season was interrupted by a players’ strike, Stewart paid his bills by working in a nuts and bolts factory.16

He was effective for Los Angeles in 1981, appearing 32 times in relief and posting a 2.49 ERA as the Dodgers made the playoffs. Stewart got shelled Division Series, but he redeemed himself in the World Series, pitching 1⅔ scoreless innings and helping Dodgers beat the Yankees for the World Championship.

In 1982 and 1983, Stewart pitched mainly out of the bullpen for the Dodgers and didn’t distinguish himself. In August 1983, the Dodgers traded him to the Texas Rangers with Ricky Wright for Rick Honeycutt and $200,000. The Rangers gave Stewart eight starts and he responded with a 5-2 record and an impressive 2.14 ERA. It seemed like he’d found his footing as a big leaguer, but that early promise quickly vanished.

His troubles started in spring training in 1984 when Stewart confessed that he had known his former Dodgers teammate, pitcher Steve Howe, was using cocaine. Worse, he admitted he had lied about it when questioned by his teammates and Los Angeles manager Tommy Lasorda.17 Reflecting later on his decision to shield Howe, he said, “I probably hurt him more than I helped him. It was a mistake.”18

Stewart didn’t pitch well enough in 1984 to make anyone forget the controversy. In 32 appearances (27 starts) for the Rangers, he went 7-14 with a 4.73 ERA. Things got worse in the offseason when he was arrested on lewd conduct charges after being caught by police with a prostitute in Los Angeles.19 Still, he showed his character—and a lot of courage—by showing up at a baseball writers dinner two days after his arrest to accept a “good guy” award that he had won. At the event, he said, “I am human, just as you are human. And good guys make mistakes.”20

Stewart’s downward spiral continued in 1985. He pitched poorly for the Rangers, who gave up on him and shipped him to Philadelphia for Rich Surhoff in mid-September. He did not pitch well in four relief appearances for the Phillies, and he needed offseason surgery to remove bone chips from his right elbow. If there was one positive during this time, it was that he started an intensive daily martial arts routine that gave him mental toughness. “I learned how to focus on pain or tough situations and block them out,” he said. “The discipline of the martial arts is the number one thing that started to turn me around as a pitcher.”21

Where that turnaround was going to take place was unclear as the 1986 season approached. The Phillies arranged to sell Stewart’s rights to the Tokyo Giants, and the Japanese club offered him a two-year contract. The deal fell apart, however, because Stewart was still on probation for his arrest, which prevented him from leaving the country for a lengthy period.22 So he started the 1986 season back in the Philadelphia bullpen—and he was terrible. By early May the Phillies had seen enough. They released him to clear a roster spot for Ron Roenicke.23

Traded in 1983, embroiled in a drug story in 1984, arrested and traded in 1985, released a month into 1986, Stewart had reached rock bottom. Following his release, he sat in a dark room for three days and didn’t eat.24

He had a good reason to be depressed: No big-league teams wanted his services. The Orioles floated a minor league offer. The Tigers and Blue Jays sniffed around but passed. The Angels passed, too, because their manager, Gene Mauch, thought Stewart was inconsistent and didn’t have anything but a fastball.25 Given his track record, it was a fair assessment.

In desperation, Stewart asked his hometown A’s for a tryout. The Athletics agreed but, as Oakland’s general manager Sandy Alderson recalled, “I can’t say our expectations were substantial, because they weren’t.”26 When Stewart’s audition was over, the A’s said, “We’ll get back to you.”27

What the A’s came back with was an offer to send him to Triple-A Tacoma. He took it, and just a week later he was called up to the A’s. The right-hander made his Oakland debut with a three-inning relief stint on May 29. He was then given one start before being moved back to the bullpen, where he proceeded to put up a 5.82 ERA in eight appearances. He knew he was pitching himself out of the majors. “I was being used strictly as a mop-up man,” he recalled. “To finally come home and pitch that badly, I was embarrassed. I was ready to go home, hang it up. I was losing my sense of pride.”28 His teammate, Dusty Baker, talked him into gutting it out, advising Stewart that he owed it to himself to give it his best shot.29

“I swallowed hard,” Stewart said. “Then Tony’s call came to start.”30

“Tony” was Tony La Russa, hired to manage the A’s in the middle of the 1986 season after the club fired Jackie Moore. Needing a starter for a nationally televised game against Boston on July 7, the skipper tabbed Stewart, who pitched fairly well, giving up four runs over six innings to get the win. During the game Stewart threw a handful of forkballs, a pitch his old Rangers manager Doug Rader had ridiculed.31 But Oakland pitching coach Dave Duncan had a different opinion: He thought Stewart’s forkball was outstanding. Duncan told him to use it more—a lot more.32

Taking Duncan’s advice, Stewart instantly became a much better pitcher. He still had a blazing fastball, but now he could disrupt hitters’ timing with his slow, tumbling forkball. By late July he was a full-time member of the A’s rotation, and in his final 13 starts he tossed four complete games and posted a 3.41 ERA. The journeyman had finally established himself as a solid big-leaguer.

And he was just getting started.

The 1987 through 1990 seasons were the apex of Stewart’s career. In each of those four years he won at least 20 games and pitched at least 250 innings. He twice led the majors in starts and innings pitched, topped the AL in complete games twice, finished in the top four on the AL Cy Young ballot four times, and was the unquestioned ace of Oakland teams that won three American League championships and one World Series.

A memorable vision from those seasons was Stewart’s ferocious, intimidating glare on the mound, the brim of his cap pulled low over his fiery eyes. Opposing players called it the Death Stare. “The first time I saw it, it really affected me,” said opposing hitter Joe Carter, who had to call time and step out of the batter’s box. “I didn’t want him to throw at my head. It really got to me.”33

In 1987 Stewart paced the majors with 20 wins and finished third in the AL Cy Young voting. He followed that up with a powerhouse campaign in 1988, going 20-12 with a 3.23 ERA and leading the AL with 14 complete games and both leagues with 275⅔ innings pitched. Stewart’s dominant pitching helped propel the A’s to 104 wins and the American League championship, but their season ended with a heartbreaking loss to the Dodgers in the World Series.

No one could stop the A’s in 1989, as they plowed through the American League. Stewart won 21 games and was the AL’s starting pitcher in the All Star Game.34 In October, he won the first and final games of the ALCS as the A’s cruised past the Blue Jays in five games. Stewart then led the A’s to a sweep of the San Francisco Giants in the World Series. He started the Series with a shutout in Game One, causing Giants first baseman Will Clark to say, “We ran into a buzzsaw in Dave Stewart.”35 After an earthquake interrupted the Series, Stewart returned in Game Three with a winning effort (seven innings, five hits, three runs, eight strikeouts) to stake Oakland to a 3-0 series lead. The A’s completed a sweep the next night and Stewart was named World Series MVP.

He was a champion on the diamond, but his impact off the field was just as significant. He was involved in an array of charitable endeavors in Oakland, including sponsoring numerous youth sports teams, serving on the Oakland Boys Club board, spurring efforts to restore Oakland slums, and launching a foundation that matched corporations with youth charities.36 One observer described Stewart as “a one-man charity” who “funds almost every worthwhile project in town.”37 And A’s president Wally Haas said, “I’ve never seen a man give as much in terms of his time, his money, and of himself.”38

In addition to his charitable work, Stewart also made himself available to fans. Before every home game he wasn’t starting, he interacted with as many fans as possible. “It bothers me that I can’t talk to all of them,” he said. “Heck, all I have to do is pitch every fifth day and work out for a couple hours on the other days, so what’s wrong with spending an hour or so with the fans? It’s the least I can do.”39

He also showed honor when dealing with the media with the A’s, starting in1986, when he was the low man in the bullpen. In May, A’s designated hitter and team misogynist Dave Kingman showed his objections to female reporters in the clubhouse by sending a live rat in a box to Sacramento Bee A’s beat writer Susan Fornoff before a game in Kansas City. A’s players were privately divided on Kingman’s behavior. Management ordered him to apologize and pay a $2,500 fine or face a year-long suspension, and fired manager Jackie Moore for his failure to control the team. Kingman refused to apologize, so the fine was raised to $3,500 — from his $600,000 annual salary.

A few days later, when the A’s returned home, Stewart, at his locker, speaking loudly enough for others to hear, told Fornoff, “Hey, I’m really sorry about what happened to you in Kansas City. I was new around here, so I didn’t really know what was going on. But that wasn’t right. I’m sorry.” Fornoff was close to tears at hearing such public support from an A’s player.40

Stewart’s community service and strength of character didn’t go unnoticed in the A’s clubhouse. Teammate and future Hall of Famer Dennis Eckersley said, “Respect is the first word anyone uses about Stew.”41 Duncan added, “Dave Stewart is not just a hell of a pitcher, he’s a hell of a man.”42 La Russa insisted,“[Stewart] is as fine a human being as anybody I’ve ever been around, on or off the field.”43

Stewart’s efforts in Oakland earned him the Roberto Clemente Award for community service.44 It was one of many honors he received in 1990, perhaps the finest season of his career. He posted a 22-11 record with a 2.56 ERA, was honored as AL Pitcher of the Month in April and September, led the AL in complete games, and topped the majors in shutouts, starts, and innings pitched.

On August 1, he threw a 129-pitch, 11-inning shutout against the Mariners, but the highlight of Stewart’s 1990 campaign was the no-hitter he tossed in Toronto against the Blue Jays on June 29. After walking the first two batters of the game, he set down 25 consecutive Blue Jays before a ninth inning walk. Under pressure as he tried to finish a no-hitter, Smoke Stewart fired nothing but fastballs.45 With his final heater he got Tony Fernandez to loft a soft fly to center field, sealing what Stewart called “the highlight of my career.”46

Basking in the glow of his no-hitter, he said, “Winning 20 ball games, that’s something because they don’t have to vote on 20 wins. But I thought after winning a World Series and an MVP that you couldn’t top that. This does.”47

Stewart’s reputation made it easier for the Blue Jays to accept being dominated by him. Toronto manager Cito Gaston said, “No one ever likes to be no-hit. But I guess when it’s a guy who has a lot of class, it makes it easier to handle.”48

The right-hander became a 20-game winner for the fourth consecutive season with a complete game victory over the Twins on September 14, 1990. In typical Stewart fashion, he earned the win without resorting to trickery. “I like when he pitches because he goes out there and challenges you,” said Minnesota’s Gary Gaetti. “Dave Stewart just says here’s my best stuff, let’s see what you can do with it.”49

The A’s finished the 1990 season atop the AL Western Division for the third straight year, earning the right to face the Boston Red Sox in the playoffs. Although A’s teammate Bob Welch would go on to win the AL Cy Young award that year after a 27-win campaign, the A’s put Stewart on the mound for Game One of the ALCS. He matched up against Roger Clemens, another battle in a rivalry that always brought out the best in Stewart. “You can tell Stew gives it a little extra when he faces Clemens,” said Eckersley. “Like he has something personal going.”50 Mike Norris added, “It’s a personal vendetta, no doubt about it.”51 Of Clemens, Stewart would only say, “You have to respect him as a pitcher, no matter what you think of him as a person.”52

Stewart beat Clemens in Games One and Four with identical eight-inning, four-hit, one-run pitching lines to earn the ALCS MVP award as Oakland swept Boston. The win put the A’s in the World Series for the third straight year, this time matched up with the Cincinnati Reds. Stewart lasted only four innings in the opening game, but he pitched valiantly in Game Four (nine innings, one earned run) trying to keep Oakland’s season alive. It wasn’t enough, though, as the Reds swept the A’s.

The loss ushered in the end of an era.

Stewart’s run of 20-win seasons ended in 1991 and his ERA ballooned to 5.18. Physical problems were partly to blame—a rib injury halted his iron man streak of 166 consecutive starts53 and his left knee required off-season surgery54—but he never made excuses. “I never talk about any injury, never, NEVER,” he said. “Isn’t anyone’s business but mine. To me, you play until you can’t play.”55

The next season wasn’t any easier. Stewart pitched all of 1992 with tendinitis in his right elbow.56 The pain led to him throwing less than 200 innings for the first time in six years. Still, the A’s returned to the postseason after a one-year hiatus and their ace summoned another burst of October brilliance, pitching well in two starts against Toronto in the ALCS, including a complete game victory in Game Five. It wasn’t enough, though, as the Blue Jays took the series in six games.

Toronto went on to win the World Series. Two months later, they added free agent Stewart to their roster with a two-year $8.5 million contract.57 It wasn’t the outcome he was hoping for. “I had visions of ending my career as an Oakland A,” he said. “I’m really disappointed that the measures weren’t taken to keep me in an Oakland A’s uniform.”58

Injuries limited Stewart to 26 starts for Toronto in 1993, but he charged down the backstretch, going 4-0 with a 2.51 ERA during his final five starts. Back in the playoffs again, the old October warhorse beat the Chicago White Sox twice in the ALCS, including in the clinching Game Six. His heroics netted him his second ALCS MVP award. He didn’t pitch well in the World Series against the Phillies, but the Blue Jays won the title nonetheless, giving him his third championship ring — three with three different teams.

Stewart was an established October hero, but he was 37 years old and losing steam by the time the 1994 season started. His ERA that year was 5.87 and he gave up more hits and homers per inning than any previous season in his career. The following spring, after a long players’ strike was finally resolved, he returned home to Oakland, signing a free agent contract with the A’s. La Russa was thrilled to have him back. “Stew likes tough assignments; he doesn’t run from pressure or responsibilities,” the A’s skipper said. “It sets an example for the other guys, and that’s a huge plus.”59

Stewart’s leadership ability was as strong as ever, but his arm wasn’t. After he put up a 6.89 ERA in 16 starts, La Russa moved him to the bullpen. Stewart took the demotion in stride, saying “I’m not doing the job, so I’m open to change.”60 A few days later, however, he decided to make an even bigger change—he retired. “I’m a starter and the history I’ve established is as a starter and that’s how I want to be remembered,” he explained.61 “It’s real, real important for me to stand tall … like a soldier, a warrior, a chief,” he said. “I’ve always wanted to be the solution to the problem, not the problem.”62

After his announcement, Stewart’s colleagues expressed their admiration for him. La Russa said Stewart “is exactly what all of us want major-leaguers to be.”63 Teammate Mark McGwire called Stewart “the classiest guy I’ve ever been associated with.”64

For Stewart, the transition was a recognition of reality. “Anybody who gets a chance to play this game has to know it’s a dream,” he said. “Now the dream is over. I have to step back to real life.”65

Post-retirement life presented him with a number of opportunities: special assistant for the A’s and Padres; pitching coach for the Padres and Brewers; assistant general manager and director of player personnel for the Blue Jays; player agent; and general manager of the Arizona Diamondbacks. With the Padres, he was pitching coach for the 1998 National League pennant-winners. In the midst of all that, he met Lonnie Murray, who was doing development work for a nonprofit for which Stewart was a board member.66 The pair married and had son, Tarik. (Stewart also has two other children—Adrian and Alyse—with his former wife, Vanessa.)

As during his playing career, Stewart’s path in retirement eventually led him back to Oakland. He now shares his knowledge and insights as a pre-game and post-game analyst on A’s television broadcasts. The A’s, in turn, have honored him in three major ways. First, in recognition of his substantial philanthropy and community service in Oakland, the team created the Dave Stewart Community Award—an honor given annually to recognize the community service of an A’s player. Second, he was enshrined as one of the inaugural members of the Athletics’ Hall of Fame. And third, the A’s announced in August 2019 that they will be retiring Stewart’s number 34. He became the sixth former Oakland star to receive that honor and the first who was not already a member of the baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown.67

Upon learning that his jersey would be retired, Stewart said, “For my community and where I come from and the things that I’ve experienced growing up as a kid here in the Bay Area, it’s huge for me. It’s just huge.”68

Back in his little league days, the kid they called Smoke couldn’t have dreamed of a better story: The hometown kid who became a hometown hero.

Last revised: December 16, 2020

Acknowledgments

This biography was reviewed by Malcolm Allen and David H. Lippman and fact-checked by Chris Rainey.

Sources

In addition to the sources cited in the Notes, the author also consulted www.baseball-reference.com.

Notes

1 Peter Gammons, “A Hero Lives Here,” Sports Illustrated, November 6, 1989.

2 Ron Fimrite, “The A’s New Stew Can Do,” Sports Illustrated, October 5, 1987.

3 Tom Weir, “Stewart’s career comes full circle,” USA Today, October 12, 1989: C3.

4 Weir, “Stewart’s career comes full circle.”

5 “Stewart Was A Giants Fan Until He Hopped The Fence,” Fort Lauderdale Sun Sentinel, October 16, 1989: 1A.

6 Joe Donnelly, “Stewart’s Comeback Earns A’s,” Newsday, October 5, 1988.

7 “Seasoning spices up career of Stewart,” USA Today, September 9, 1987: 3C.

8 Fair Game, Sandy Koufax Transformed Dave Stewart From a Catcher to a World Series MVP Pitcher, October 25, 2019 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6iGQrjBIgKE (last accessed November 9, 2020).

9 Robert E. Hood, “Most Valuable Pitcher,” Boys Life, August 1991, pp. 18-20.

10 Fimrite, “The A’s New Stew Can Do.”

11 “Dave Stewart Interview, Part II,” April 1, 2016, https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2016/04/dave-stewart-interview-part-ii.html (last accessed November 9, 2020).

12 Fimrite, “The A’s New Stew Can Do.”

13 Fair Game (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6iGQrjBIgKE)

14 In the game, Stewart got his first career strikeout against Jim Beswick, whose entire career consisted of 20 at-bats in 1978.

15 Dave Anderson, “Released Is Not Deceased,” New York Times, April 27, 1981: C10.

16 Michael Martinez, “Stewart Lowers Speed And Is Rolling Again,” New York Times, August 25, 1987: A15.

17 Fimrite, “The A’s New Stew Can Do.”

18 Fimrite, “The A’s New Stew Can Do.”

19 Fimrite, “The A’s New Stew Can Do.”.

20 Fimrite, “The A’s New Stew Can Do,” And “Lady in the Locker Room,” by Susan Fornoff, Sagamore Publishing, 1993.

21 Ken Picking, “One for all — all for one; Stewart: From retread to renown,” USA Today, May 24, 1989: 1C.

22 Bill Conlin, “’Smoke’ Doesn’t Clear, Stewart Rejoins Phils,” Philadelphia Daily News, February 1, 1986: 35.

23 Bill Conlin, “Stewart put On Waivers; Roster At 24,” Philadelphia Daily News, May 10, 1986: 38. (Roenicke ended up hitting .247 for the Phillies in 1986 and .167 in 1987. He was done in the majors after hitting .135 for the Reds in 1988.)

24 Peter Gammons, “The A’s Ace Of An Ace,” Sports Illustrated, May 16, 1988.

25 Gene Wojchiechowski, “Another Ex-Dodger Finds Niche,” Los Angeles Times, August 9, 1987: 3.

26 Wojchiechowski, “Another Ex-Dodger Finds Niche.”

27 Wojchiechowski, “Another Ex-Dodger Finds Niche.”

28 Picking, “One for all –all for one; Stewart: From retread to renown.”

29 Weir, “Stewart’s career comes full circle.”

30 Picking, “One for all — all for one; Stewart: From retread to renown.”

31 Picking, “One for all — all for one; Stewart: From retread to renown.”

32 See Joe Donnelly, “He’s Made It Big A Few Years Late,” Newsday, July 19, 1989 (saying Duncan wanted Stewart to throw 25 or more forkballs per game); and Angelo Cataldi, “Stewart: From Castoff To Ace,” Philadelphia Inquirer, May 17, 1988: D1 (describing Duncan as instructing Stewart to throw at least 30 forkballs per game).

33 Michael Farber, “Stewart’s other face; This one is private,” Montreal Gazette, October 12, 1993.

34 This turned out to be Stewart’s only All-Star Game selection, and it was not a career highlight. He gave up three hits, two walks, and two runs in his one inning of work.

35 Marc Topkin, “Stewart leads A’s to win in Game 1,” St. Petersburg Times, October 16, 1989: 4C.

36 Mike Downey, “Stewart Homes In on His Second Chance,” Los Angeles Times, October 10, 1988: 16; “Dave Stewart Helping Children in Oakland,” Los Angeles Times, April 10, 1988: 11.

37 Patrick McGuire, “Major League Giving,” Baltimore Sun, September 1, 1991: 8.

38 Hood, “Most Valuable Pitcher.”

39 Howard Scripps, “Nice Guy — Stewart Goes To Bat For Oakland, Fans,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, June 12, 1988: F3.

40 Fornoff, Susan: “Lady in the Locker Room,” Sagamore Publishing, 1993.

41 Gammons, “A Hero Lives Here.”

42 Cataldi, “Stewart: From Castoff To Ace.”

43 Donnelly, “Stewart’s Comeback Earns A’s.”

44 “Stewart awarded for service,” USA Today, July 10, 1990: 4C.

45 Steve Fairnaru, “Color Blind On The Mound? Race Question Nags At Stewart,” Boston Globe, August 15, 1990: 69.

46 Leonard Koppett, “No-Hitter Oddity: Fans Get 2-in-1 Deal,” New York Times, July 1, 1990: A3 (the headline refers to the fact that Stewart and Fernando Valenzuela threw no-hitters on the same day).

47 Koppett, “No-Hitter Oddity: Fans Get 2-in-1 Deal.”

48 “Pitchers Perfect,” Austin American Statesman, July 1, 1990: C6.

49 Jeff Lenihan, “A’s Stewart closes in on No. 20,” Minneapolis Star Tribune, September 15, 1990: 1C.

50 “It doesn’t get any better: Stewart tips Clemens 1-0,” Chicago Tribune, April 30, 1990: 5.

51 “It doesn’t get any better: Stewart tips Clemens 1-0.”

52 “It doesn’t get any better: Stewart tips Clemens 1-0.”

53 Jim Henneman, “Injury will end Stewart’s iron man streak,” Baltimore Evening Sun, May 9, 1991: B8.

54 Rod Beaton, “Stewart knee-deep in optimism,” USA Today, February 25, 1992: C3.

55 Beaton, “Stewart knee-deep in optimism.”

56 Mark Maske, “Athletics’ Stewart Learns to Work With What He’s Got,” Washington Post, September 13, 1992: D9.

57 “Dave Stewart talks to Larry Millson,” Toronto Globe and Mail, December 21, 1992.

58 “Dave Stewart talks to Larry Millson.”

59 Tom Hardicourt, “Athletics’ Stewart settles into familiar surroundings,” Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, April 23, 1995: C8.

60 Larry Stone, “A’s relieve Stewart of starting duties,” San Francisco Examiner, July 21, 1995: D1.

61 “Oakland’s Stewart Retires After 16 Years,” Los Angeles Daily News, July 24, 1995: S4.

62 Anne M. Peterson, “Stewart ‘stands tall’, retires from Athletics,” Austin American Statesman, July 24, 1995: C5.

63 Peterson, “Stewart ‘stands tall’, retires from Athletics.”

64 Rich Rupprecht, “Crowd At Stewart’s Ceremony,” Santa Rosa Press Democrat, July 24, 1995: C3.

65 Bruce Jenkins, “Stewart’s Sad Farewell Ends Era For The A’s,” San Francisco Chronicle, July 25, 1995: 3C.

66 Nick Plecoro, “GM Stewart and wife navigate unique situation,” Arizona Republic, March 29, 2016: C7.

67 Jeff Faraudo, “A’s to Retire Stewart’s Jersey: Oakland-born Pitcher Was A’s Ace in the Late 1980s,” San Jose Mercury News, August 26, 2019: 3C.

68 Alex Hall, “A’s announce Dave Stewart’s jersey will be retired,” San Francisco Examiner, August 25, 2019.