Dick Stewart - 1947-2018
When Dick Stewart arrived at Rutgers in the fall of 1965, he was a member of what was considered to be the deepest and most talented recruiting class in Bill Foster's tenure as head coach. Dick and his fellow recruits certainly lived up to that billing, compiling a 57-21 won-lost record, winning over 70% of their games. Two of those teams participated in the National Invitational Tournament at a time when less than 40 college basketball teams played in the post season compared to over 100 today. In Dick's sophomore season, the 1967 team, one of Rutgers greatest teams, captured national attention by defeating two ranked teams in the NIT, ultimately finishing third in the tournament. Although the 1969 team lost in the first round of the NIT, they set what was then a Rutgers record by winning 16 consecutive games in route to a 21-4 mark, defeating arch rivals Princeton and Army in the process. Dick Stewart's career stats prove beyond any shadow of a doubt that he was an integral part of that success. A starter from his first game as a sophomore, Dick would start all but two games of his college career and was chosen team captain as a senior. Averaging just under 5 points a game in his first season, Dick doubled that output as a junior and tripled it as a senior, scoring 16.3 points a game in his final season.
Rutgers vs. New Mexico - 1967 NIT - Madison Square Garden
As impressive as his stats are, however, we need to go deeper to really understand and appreciate Dick Stewart's contributions to Rutgers basketball. His first season on the varsity (1966-67) was a year that began with great expectations for the team. Four of five starters returned from a squad that had just missed an NIT bid the prior year and the team figured only to be stronger with the addition of a group of talented sophomores. But during the pre-season, especially in a scrimmage at Yale, it became clear the starting lineup needed more ball handling, passing and defense if the team was to meet those high expectations. Fortunately, the team had Dick Stewart, who, as manager Neil Shuster remembered, "was willing to do what was necessary for the team to win." Even though he had never played a varsity game, Dick was asked to fill the need by doing things like passing, screening, playing defense and rebounding none of which were glamorous or earned much attention. And to make the challenge even greater, Dick almost always operated at a severe height disadvantage sometimes as much as 6-8 inches. But as Rutgers All-American Bob Lloyd recently noted, Dick "never backed down from anyone or anything" and "was a key contributor to the success of Rutgers 1967 NIT run."
Rutgers vs. Bucknell - 1968
The loss of Lloyd and Jim Valvano to graduation after that magical season put Rutgers into a rebuilding mode the following year which included Dick transitioning to the back court, his natural position. After a slow 3-6 start, the 1968 team won 11 of its last 15 games setting the stage for the 1968-69, a season that is probably not fully appreciated because of an opening round loss in the NIT. Now a senior and team captain, Dick needed to play a different role on a team that had struggled to score the year before. Dick's 16.3 points per game in 1968-69 demonstrates he met that new challenge and then some, but looking at the season in more detail gives an even clearer picture of the magnitude of his accomplishment. Eight times in that season Dick scored more than 20 points including a career high 30 on college basketball's biggest stage at Madison Square Garden. Added to that were six games of 16 points or more and Dick was limited to single digits on only five occasions, twice when he was suffering from a severe wrist injury. Sadly and ironically both the 1967 and 1969 NIT losses occurred after Dick was injured, although characteristically he refused to miss any playing time or make excuses.
With Coach Bill Foster and Bob "Greek" Greacen
Dick's willingness to do whatever was necessary to help his teams win was a crucial part of Rutgers' success during those years, but there is another factor that makes it even more significant, something that can't be seen in the statistics. Listed as 6'2", Dick had a slender build, but as a sophomore, he found a way to more than hold his own against far bigger, more physical opponents. Similarly his scoring prowess his senior season came even though he wasn't a natural born shooter or blessed with exceptional offensive moves, but again, he found a way not just to meet his team's needs, but to do so in extraordinary fashion. To do something like that once is commendable, to do it twice is the ultimate tribute to who Dick Stewart was as a player and a person. It's reminiscent of something baseball executive Pat Gillick once said - "Talent is important, but what is more important is mental toughness, character, passion and the desire to win. These are things that cannot be measured." Perhaps they can't be measured, but there is no better illustration of them than Dick Stewart's basketball career at Rutgers. His performance reflects credit on himself and set an example for everyone who has worn a Rutgers uniform ever since. May he rest in peace.
