Alex Stewart (born August 24, 1964) is a former Jamaican-born American football defensive end in the National Football League (NFL) for the Minnesota Vikings and Dallas Cowboys. He played

college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States. Unlike most ...

at Cal State Fullerton.

Early years

Stewart was born in the West Indies (Kingston), Jamaica on August 24, 1964. In December 1977, his family migrated to Canada to avoid the political turmoil of his native country. He eventually moved to the United States. Stewart first played high school football at Malverne High School in Malverne, New York, before transferring to play football at

Uniondale High School Uniondale High School is a public high school located in Uniondale, Nassau County, New York, U.S.A., and is the only high school operated by the Uniondale Union Free School District. As of the 2014-15 school year, the school had an enrollment of ...

in Uniondale, New York.

College career

He moved on to Nassau Community College but did not play football. He began his college career at Fresno City College for two seasons and earned J.C. Grid-Wire All-American honors. He later moved on to the University of Southern California. After the firing of head coach Ted Tollner and not playing in any games, he decided to transfer to Cal State Fullerton to play out his final year of eligibility. As a senior, he was played mostly at nose guard. After being slowed by injuries early on the year, he finished with 38 tackles and 9 sacks in eight games. He was named the North's outstanding defensive player (registering 3 sacks) at the 1988 Senior Bowl and also played in the 1989 Blue-Gray Game.

Professional career

Pre-draft measurables

At the 1989 NFL scouting combine, he ran a 4.7 40-yard dash, had a 37.5 inches vertical leap, a 10-feet-3 broad jump and recorded 27 consecutive repetitions at 225 pounds in the bench press, which outdid almost every lineman.

Minnesota Vikings

Stewart was selected by the Minnesota Vikings in the eighth round (219th overall) of the

1989 NFL Draft The 1989 NFL draft was the procedure by which National Football League teams selected amateur college football players. It is officially known as the NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting. The draft was held April 23–24, 1989, at the Marriott Marq ...

to play defensive end, which was his natural position. He was in contention for a starting spot on the defensive line, until breaking his wrist a few weeks before the season. On October 12, he was sent to the Dallas Cowboys as part of the Herschel Walker trade.

Dallas Cowboys

When he was traded to the Dallas Cowboys, he was still on the disabled list and spent his time on the

practice squad In sports, the practice squad, also called the taxi squad or practice roster, is a group of players signed by a team but not part of their main roster. Frequently used in gridiron football, they serve as extra players during the team's practices, ...

. He was waived on November 9,

1989 File:1989 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The Cypress Street Viaduct, Cypress structure collapses as a result of the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake, killing motorists below; The proposal document for the World Wide Web is submitted; The Exxo ...

, after suspicions of steroid use. After waiving Stewart, the Cowboys threatened to waive the other Vikings players that came in the Herschel Walker trade, in order to get all of the conditional draft picks. Head coach Jimmy Johnson eventually had second thoughts on the February 1 deadline and traded three future draft choices (third-round and tenth-round in

1990 File:1990 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 1990 FIFA World Cup is played in Italy; The Human Genome Project is launched; Voyager I takes the famous Pale Blue Dot image- speaking on the fragility of Humankind, humanity on Earth, Astroph ...

and a third-round in

1991 File:1991 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Boris Yeltsin, elected as Russia's first president, waves the new flag of Russia after the 1991 Soviet coup d'état attempt, orchestrated by Soviet hardliners; Mount Pinatubo erupts in the Phil ...

) to the Vikings for the right to retain the original full package of draft choices, plus Issiac Holt, Jesse Solomon and David Howard.

Houston Oilers

On April 3,

, he signed as a free agent with the Houston Oilers. A sprained knee limited his play in training camp and was eventually cut.

BC Lions

Stewart was signed by the BC Lions of the Canadian Football League in October

1995 File:1995 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: O.J. Simpson is O. J. Simpson murder case, acquitted of the murders of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman from the 1994, year prior in "The Trial of the Century" in the United States; The ...

, but was released before the start of the season.

Personal life

His brother Andrew Stewart played defensive end in the

NFL The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the major ...

for the Cleveland Browns and the Cincinnati Bengals. He also played in the CFL with the Ottawa Rough Riders (1993), BC Lions (1994–1995), Toronto Argonauts (1996–1997), Saskatchewan Roughriders (1998–1999), and Winnipeg Blue Bombers (1999).

References

External links

Despite Quick Career, Stewart Could Make Titan History
{{DEFAULTSORT:Stewart, Alex Living people 1964 births Sportspeople from Kingston, Jamaica American football defensive ends USC Trojans football players Cal State Fullerton Titans football players Fresno City Rams football players Minnesota Vikings players Dallas Cowboys players Jamaican emigrants to Canada Nassau Community College alumni Malverne High School alumni