Editor’s note: Today is the first installment in a seven-part series profiling the Norwich Sports Hall of Fame 2012 induction class. This year’s induction banquet is scheduled for Saturday, May 12 at the Canasawacta Country Club.

By Jim Dunne

Contributing Writer

A 1954 Norwich High School graduate, John Stewart grew up a couple of houses from Alumni Field, home of Purple Tornado baseball, football, and tennis, and so was exposed at an early age to everything that had to do with sports in Norwich. Equally important to him and to all the kids who grew up in the southwest section of Norwich was the proximity of Stewart’s Store, at the corner of Elm and Conkey, where such necessities as soda pop and ice cream could be had. Since John was the son of the owners, he and his brother Kenny were the envy of the rest, who had to pay for these important sources of nutrition.