Stewart shined as two-sport standout at Menominee

Editor’s note: The Menominee High School Athletic Hall of Fame Class of 2024 induction ceremony takes place May 4 at the Pullman House in Menominee. Tickets are on sale at the Superintendent’s office at Blesch School and the Principal’s office at the high school for $35. Each week, the EagleHerald will spotlight one of the 12 inductees. This week’s feature is on Gary Stewart, Class of 1988.

MENOMINEE — There is a fine line between cockiness and confidence, and Gary Stewart was never afraid to straddle them both.

“I sort of have a reputation for being cocky. I guess that’s kind of true,” he told Menominee Herald-Leader sports editor Dan Kitkowski as a senior at Menominee High School in 1988. “It’s a bad habit, but it comes from having an older brother — I’ve had to fight back.”

A two-sport star, Stewart’s bulldog mentality lent itself well to the blue-collar ethos that Menominee Maroon athletics is renowned for. On both the football field and the basketball court, Stewart’s gritty play led to a cavalcade of accolades and records during his time at MHS.

On May 4, Stewart will add another accomplishment to his sterling resume when the 1988 graduate is inducted into the Menominee High School Athletic Hall of Fame as part of the Class of 2024.

The induction ceremony takes place at the Pullman House in Menominee.

Numerous superlatives have been bandied about to describe Stewart: Omnipresent. Sparkplug. Intense.

“I think he’s misunderstood,” recalled former Menomninee boys basketball coach Bill Schwanz in a Herald-Leader profile on Stewart in 1988. “It (his style of play) is his way of spreading confidence to his teammates. He’s a fiery competitor that hates to lose.”

On the hardwood, Stewart occupied the point guard position and was the heart and soul of Schwanz’s basketball squads during his junior and senior years.

While a capable scorer (he averaged 13.3 points per game as a senior), Stewart’s trademark was hard-nosed defensive play coupled with unbridled court vision.

“He’s a big part of what kind of game we end up playing,” Schwanz said. “He’s the secret as to whether we will be successful.”

He set the Menominee High School record for assists with 126 in 1987, a mark that he promptly broke the following year with 130 dimes, which is still the MHS school record over 30 years later.

As a senior, Stewart was an All-ABC Conference First Team selection in addition to collecting All-U.P. Class AB Second Team honors.

“I’m glad he’s on our side,” Schwanz told Kitkokwski in 1988. “It would be awful tough to coach against him.”

While Stewart’s basketball exploits are well-known, the six-foot swiss army knife was also a two-way standout for Menominee football coach Ken Hofer, himself a member of the Menominee High School Athletic Hall of Fame.”

“He was an exceptional player that did a lot of wonderful things for the Menominee Maroon football team,” mused Hofer, who coached Stewart in 1986 and 1987.

Stewart played tailback in the Maroons’ signature single-wing offense and served as a ball-hawking defensive back, setting the MHS school record for most interceptions in a game with three against De Pere Abbot Pennings in 1987.

He was an All-U.P. Class ABC defensive back as a junior and was both an All-ABC Conference and All-U.P. Class ABC quarterback the following season.

For his career, Stewart ran for 775 yards, threw for another 1,410 and accounted for 18 total touchdowns while committing just one turnover in two seasons.

Perhaps most important, Stewart was simply a winner.

His football teams went a combined 14-4 with back-to-back ABC Conference titles.

Stewart helped guide Menominee to an overall record of 29-12 in basketball and scored a game-high 27 points against Stephenson to clinch the Maroons’ ABC league crown in 1988.

Stewart graduated from Menominee High School in 1988 and attended Northern Michigan University, becoming a dangerous wide receiver for the Wildcats.

He was named NMU’s Most Valuable Receiver in three consecutive seasons (1990-92), leading the Wildcats in receiving yards all three years.

Stewart, who was voted the team’s Most Improved Player in 1991, set the NMU single-game record with 245 yards receiving, a mark that was surpassed Vincent Mayfield (255) in 2005.

He was a Midwest Intercollegiate Football Conference (MIFC) All-Conference First Team choice at wide receiver in 1990 and was a Hansen’s Football Gazette All-American in 1991.

After graduating from NMU with a Bachelor’s Degree in Physical Education in 1993, Stewart attended the Canadian Football League combine in Jackson, Michigan and had a tryout with the CFL’s Toronto Argonauts.

“He was an excellent athlete and an excellent student,” Hofer said. “We’re talking about a young man that always made the effort to improve himself.”