Executive Vice-President/Consultant to the Executive Committee

CFL: 27th season
Stamps: 27th season

Over the past 37 years, Stan Schwartz has been involved with the Calgary Stampeders and McMahon Stadium. While he is best known as the past-president of the Calgary Stampeder Football Club and the former senior executive/manager of McMahon Stadium, his contribution to sports extends well beyond these two prestigious positions. Over the past five decades, Schwartz has committed his life work to local, provincial and national sports communities as an athlete, coach, sports administrator and sports builder.

Schwartz played high school football in Medicine Hat and at Mount Royal College and the University of Calgary. In 1970, Stan and his wife Shirley began their teaching careers with the Calgary Board of Education. In 1972, they left for graduate school, moving to Indiana State University where Stan coached football and received a Masters of Science degree in Sports Medicine. Over the years, Stan coached high school football, wrestling and track and field. In addition to his commitment to high school sports, he coached bantam and junior football. He was heavily involved as a wrestling coach, coaching a city high school championship team, participating in the World Amateur Wrestling Coaches Camp and serving as an assistant coach for the Alberta Junior Olympic Teams.

In 1976, Schwartz started his eight-year career as an assistant coach with the Calgary Stampeders. He left his coaching position with the Calgary Stampeders and became senior executive/manager of McMahon Stadium. He managed the development of Calgary’s first multi-disciplinary Sports Medicine facility for use by amateur and professional athletes. Schwartz and the McMahon Stadium staff were major players in the success of the XV Olympic Winter Games’ opening and closing ceremonies.

In 1995, Schwartz returned to the Stampeders fold as vice-president and general manager-administration. On Feb. 12, 1996, he was elevated to the post of Calgary Stampeder Football Club president, a position he held for eight years. During this time, the Stampeders staged the successful 2000 Grey Cup Game, participated in three Grey Cup championships and won the Grey Cup in 1998 and 2001. During his association with the Calgary Stampeders and the Calgary Stampeder Alumni Association, successful fundraising campaigns have contributed to the success of the Calgary amateur football programs.

Over the years he has been recognized for his participation and involvement in the sport of football. The Calgary Senior High School Athletic Association in 2000 introduced a trophy in his name in recognition of over 30 years of support of high school football. The trophy is awarded annually to the top Calgary high school volunteer football coach. In 2003, Schwartz was enshrined on the Calgary Bantam Football Wall of Fame. In 2004, he was selected as the Calgary Booster Club’s Sportsman of the Year and inducted onto the Calgary Stampeder Football Club’s Wall of Fame in the Builders category. In 2005, Stan Schwartz was inducted into the Alberta Sports Hall of Fame and Museum as a Football Builder and was the recipient of the Alberta Centennial Medal and the Alberta Centennial Salute for Sport and Recreation Award. In celebration of Alberta's centennial, the award was established to identify, honor and celebrate 100 Albertans for their outstanding contributions to the overall development of sport and recreation during the province’s first 100 years.

In 2009, Schwartz was awarded the Hugh Campbell Distinguished Leadership Award in “recognition of leadership that has strengthened the Canadian Football League, contributions that have improved our game, and an example that inspired us all.” The same year also saw the inception of the Stan Schwartz Heart of a Champion Award. Created by the Calgary Stampeder Football Club, the award is presented annually to three Calgary high school seniors who display life skills such as determination, pride, perseverance, dedication, leadership and integrity through their pursuit of excellence on the field, in the classroom and in the community.

He is involved on behalf of the Calgary Stampeder Football Club in the planning, fundraising and development of the Shouldice Park Project that includes three multi-purpose infill artificial fields with accompanying stands and amenities designed for use by community football and other sports programs.

In 2010, he was honored by being inducted into the Medicine Hat Sports Wall of Fame.

On January 20, 2012, Peter MacKay, the Minister of National Defence appointed Stan Schwartz as Honorary Colonel of 409 Tactical Fighter Squadron — Cold Lake, Alta.

Schwartz was born and raised in Southern Alberta, near Medicine Hat. Stan and his wife Shirley reside in southwest Calgary.