The Kansas City Royals today mourn the passing of Art Stewart, the longest-tenured associate in the organization, who recently completed his 52nd season with the Royals. A long-time scout, Stewart most recently served as a Sr. Advisor to the General Manager. He was 94.
“Art was truly an extraordinary human being, whom we all loved and admired for many reasons,” said Royals President of Baseball Operations Dayton Moore. “His unmatched love and appreciation for the game of baseball, recollection of players and events, combined with his special ability to tell stories will be forever cherished by all.”
“Our thoughts and prayers are with his wife, Rosemary, daughter, Dawn Mansfield, along with husband, Brian, and children, David and Mark as they mourn the passing of this very special man who meant so much to them and to our Royals family.”
Stewart held the position of Sr. Advisor to the General Manager since 2002, and Sr. Special Assistant to the General Manager from 1997-2001, after previously serving as the Director of Scouting from 1984-96. He was inducted as the 23rd member of the Royals Hall of Fame in 2008, and the Professional Scouts Hall of Fame that same year. One year earlier, he received the Roland Hemond Award for long-time service in scouting and player development.
During his tenure as Director of Scouting, the Royals were named Major League Baseball Organization of the Year by USA Today in 1984, by Baseball America in 1994 and Topps, Inc., in 1984-85 and 1994-95. Stewart drafted more than 70 players who have reached the big leagues,
including Bo Jackson, Royals Hall of Famers Kevin Appier and Mike Sweeney, as well as Brian McRae, Johnny Damon, Joe Randa and Carlos Beltrán.
He was instrumental in the origination of the Royals Dominican program, helping the club start the Salcedo Academy in the Dominican Republic. He was recognized in 1998 when the former Royals Academy building was named in his honor.
Before joining the Royals front office, he spent 16 years covering the Midwest as a Royals scout. He began his career in professional baseball in 1953 as a territorial scout for the New York Yankees and was the Midwest Scouting Supervisor from 1958-69.