Dave Stewart (baseball)
A fierce competitor who dominated the mound for four straight years, winning 20 games each season and World Series rings with three different teams.
Born 1957 (age 69)·American baseball player and executive·Birthday: February 19·Baby Boomers
Biography
Dave Stewart's baseball journey reads like a testament to resilience. Drafted as a teenager by the Dodgers, he bounced between teams as a reliever before finding his destiny in Oakland. Under the tutelage of manager Tony La Russa and pitching coach Dave Duncan, Stewart transformed into the most intimidating starter of the late 1980s. His signature scowl and devastating forkball became symbols of an Athletics dynasty. He was the World Series MVP in 1989, a pitcher who thrived under the brightest lights. After his playing days, he built a second act as a front-office executive and agent, applying the same fierce intelligence that defined his career on the field.
Baby Boomers
1946–1964
The largest generation in history at the time. Shaped by postwar prosperity, the Vietnam War, the sexual revolution, and Watergate. They questioned every institution their parents built — then ran them.
Dave was born in 1957, placing them squarely in the Baby Boomers. The events that shaped this generation — postwar prosperity, civil rights, Vietnam, and the counterculture — shaped the world they entered and the choices available to them.
#1 When Dave Was Born
The biggest hits of 1957
#1 Movie
The Bridge on the River Kwai
Best Picture
The Bridge on the River Kwai
#1 TV Show
Gunsmoke
Dave's Life & Times
The world at every milestone
1957Born
Sputnik launches the Space Age
Gas: $0.31/galHome: $10,550Min wage: $1.00/hrPresident: Dwight D. Eisenhower"All Shook Up" — Elvis PresleyBest Picture: The Bridge on the River Kwai
1962Started school
Cuban Missile Crisis brings the world to the brink
Gas: $0.31/galHome: $12,800Min wage: $1.15/hrPresident: John F. Kennedy"Stranger on the Shore" — Acker BilkBest Picture: Lawrence of Arabia
1970Became a teenager
First Earth Day; The Beatles break up
Gas: $0.36/galHome: $17,000Min wage: $1.60/hrPresident: Richard Nixon"Bridge over Troubled Water" — Simon & GarfunkelBest Picture: Patton
1973Could drive
US withdraws from Vietnam; Roe v. Wade decided
Gas: $0.39/galHome: $22,100Min wage: $1.60/hrPresident: Richard Nixon"Tie a Yellow Ribbon Round the Ole Oak Tree" — Tony Orlando & DawnBest Picture: The Sting
1975Could vote
Fall of Saigon ends the Vietnam War
Gas: $0.57/galHome: $27,600Min wage: $2.10/hrPresident: Gerald Ford"Love Will Keep Us Together" — Captain & TennilleBest Picture: One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest
1978Turned 21
First test-tube baby born
Gas: $0.63/galHome: $35,300Min wage: $2.65/hrPresident: Jimmy Carter"Shadow Dancing" — Andy GibbBest Picture: The Deer Hunter
1987Turned 30
Black Monday stock market crash
Gas: $0.90/galHome: $72,400Min wage: $3.35/hrPresident: Ronald Reagan"Walk Like an Egyptian" — The BanglesBest Picture: The Last Emperor
1997Turned 40
Princess Diana dies in Paris car crash; Harry Potter published
Gas: $1.23/galHome: $104,100Min wage: $5.15/hrPresident: Bill Clinton"Candle in the Wind 1997" — Elton JohnBest Picture: Titanic
2007Turned 50
iPhone released; Great Recession begins
Gas: $2.80/galHome: $172,600Min wage: $5.85/hrPresident: George W. Bush"Irreplaceable" — BeyonceBest Picture: No Country for Old Men
2017Turned 60
#MeToo movement; solar eclipse crosses the US
Gas: $2.42/galHome: $195,000Min wage: $7.25/hrPresident: Donald Trump"Shape of You" — Ed SheeranBest Picture: The Shape of Water
2026Age 69 today
Gas: $3.91/galPresident: Donald Trump
Key Achievements
- Won 20 or more games in four consecutive seasons (1987-1990) with the Oakland Athletics.
- Named the 1989 World Series Most Valuable Player after leading the Oakland A's to a championship.
- Won World Series titles with three different franchises: the Los Angeles Dodgers (1981), Oakland Athletics (1989), and Toronto Blue Jays (1993).
- Pitched a no-hitter against the Toronto Blue Jays on June 29, 1990.
Did You Know?
His nickname 'Smoke' came from his high-velocity fastball.
He famously wore a black wristband during games as a tribute to his father, who worked in a steel mill.
After the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake delayed the World Series, he volunteered at evacuation centers in Oakland.
He founded the Dave Stewart Foundation, which provides scholarships to underserved students.
“Pressure is something you put on yourself. If you're not prepared for it, then you feel it.”
