Stars of Tigerland Ian Stewart
Ian Harlow Stewart (30 July 1943- ) Played for 78 games for the Richmond Tigers between 1971 and 1975, after moving from St Kilda in what was at the time described as the swap of the century. He arrived at punt rd having already establishing himself as one of the stars of the game, winning back-to-back Brownlow medals in 1965 and 1966 and a premiership with the Saints in 1966. In 1971 a trade happened, one the likes of had never been seen before. The Tigers would swap their captain Billy Barrot for the Saints Ian Stewart, and boy did this deal set the cat amongst the pigeons.
This trade really stunned a lot of people and the raging debate centred on who got the best end of the deal. A large group of extremely irate Tigers fans vented their anger/frustration in an not very pretty scene at the club's AGM. Billy was still one of the most popular players at the Tigers and his on-field performances were still of a high standard, so why did the deal happen ?. Swapping Bill for Ian. Barrot was the younger of the two and many believed that the Saints had hoodwinked the Tigers. Ian in Yellow and Black
Ian was given jumper number 2, made famous by another dual Brownlow Medalist Roy Wright, right from the start of the 1971 season Ian was on fire his performances were like the Stewart of old and it wasn't long before there was talk of him walking off with another. The 1971 Brownlow Medal count was one of the closest in VFL/AFL history. With one round of votes remaining, any of eight players could have won the medal; Stewart, Hawthorn's star full-forward Peter Hudson, St Kilda's John McIntosh and Essendon captain Barry Davis were tied on 18 votes, while Fitzroy's Alex Ruscuklic, Footscray's Gary Dempsey, Geelong's Bill Ryan and St Kilda captain Ross Smith were also in contention with 16 votes each. But with the final vote of the evening, VFL administrative director Eric McCutchan announced that Stewart had polled three votes to win the medal outright. This made him the fourth player to win three Brownlow medals, and the first player to win the award at two clubs.
Ian was one of the Tigers star players in the 1971 semi final victory over Collingwood, the victory set up a confrontation with his old club St Kilda in the preliminary final, with the Tigers favourites to win and go into the Grand Final. The game was played in the rain with the Saints gaining some revenge for the lopsisded deal by keeping Ian quiet and running out victors by five goals. Ian suffered a few injuries during the 1972 finals series and played in the grand final not fully fit, he was selected on the bench for the Tigers. Coming on at half time with the Tigers trailing by 45 points, he played well picking up 9 kicks. The 1973 things were much better although Ian was still suffering from injuries again but this time Ian was one of the tigers stars in their three finals wins, his performance in the 1973 grand final was outstanding and underlined his courage and class. In the third quarter, Ian suffered a leg injury which severely impacted his mobility, but the interchange rule had not yet been introduced, so he was moved to a forward pocket. From there, he kicked two goals to keep Richmond on track for their eighth premiership. He finished the game as one of Richmond's best, with 18 disposals, five marks and three goals. To date, Stewart is the only VFL/AFL footballer to have won a Brownlow medal and a premiership at two different clubs.
In 1974 Ian announced his retirement from football twice, the first time was on the Thursday before the opening match of the season, but he quickly changed his mind when the Tigers lost to Hawthorn. He rejoined the club in time to play in the centre for their Round 2 match against Fitzroy, after playing six more matches, including the infamous "Battle of Windy Hill" against Essendon, in which he kicked five goals, and his 200th VFL match in Round 10 against South Melbourne, Ian wrote a letter to Richmond secretary Alan Schwab, announcing his decision to retire permanently (well nearly). Ian wrote in his letter that he had come to the decision after long and deep consideration, he felt that he couldn't cope with the demands of the game anymore, and didn't want to spoil the good reputation he had built while at Richmond Tigers. His decision shocked the Tigers officials. The Tigers were powerful enough to go on to another premiership without him. Then Stewart decided to come back for 1975, but he managed only five games before injury again forced him to quit for good this time, aged 31.
