​On this day in Irvine, Ayrshire, Ross Cameron Stewart entered the world, not by diving into Loch Ness but by being very much human. Yet, his footballing journey would at times tempt fans to wonder if there was something otherworldly about his capabilities. The nickname he earned was a warm, affectionate nod to his Scottish roots and to the combative, powerful style of Didier Drogba, a comparison that fans humorously recognized as both compliment and challenge.
Stewart’s ascent into senior football began with Albion Rovers in July 2016. A season later, he made the move to St Mirren, but breaking into the first team proved elusive there. In December 2017, he went on loan to Alloa Athletic for the remainder of the season. His career then took a significant step forward in August 2018 when he signed for Ross County. It was there that Sunderland saw enough potential to take notice, with Stewart contributing 11 goals as County earned promotion after that first season. Across 63 appearances for Ross County, he tallied 15 goals, a tally that signaled his potential and prompted Sunderland to take a chance on the 6ft 2in striker.
His time with Sunderland’s first team would lead to a string of impressive numbers. He appeared 81 times for the Black Cats and found the back of the net 40 times, a 50-percent scoring rate that echoed the best periods of the club’s history and brought comparisons to the earlier era of Super Kev.
Stewart officially joined Sunderland on 31 January 2021. A month later, Kyril Louis-Dreyfus acquired a minority stake in the club. Officially, Stewart’s signing was not a direct product of Louis-Dreyfus’s ownership, yet it is fair to argue that Sunderland’s sale of Stewart to Southampton proved to be a masterstroke during Louis-Dreyfus’s era. The club’s subsequent major sales—such as Jack Clarke, Jobe Bellingham, Tommy Watson, and Eliezer Mayenda—followed suit, reinforcing the perception that Stewart’s transfer was one of the early standout profits of that period.
There will be personal memories that endure for each supporter. Ross’s decisive second goal in the 2022 League One play-off final against Wycombe Wanderers stands out as a peak moment; the season in which he finished as the league’s joint-top scorer and received the PFA Player of the Year award remains a highlight for many. For me, the image that stays clearest is that December night at the Stadium of Light, when Stewart unleashed a hat-trick against Sheffield Wednesday. The game’s chants—“We’re top of the league…”—rang out as the year closed on a high note. He would later deliver once more against the Owls, scoring the single goal of the first leg to carry a slim but vital advantage into Hillsborough.
Another memory that remains vivid centers on the Covid-interrupted period, when hopes were again pinned on a League One play-off push. We had lost the first leg away at Sincil Bank, where fans had briefly been allowed to attend, and the return leg became a tense, all-hands-on-deck affair. Stewart opened the scoring early, and I recall the surge of relief when he cemented the comeback with a strike by the 18th minute, leveling the tie on aggregate as the chant-worthy atmosphere returned to life among the lucky spectators who were present.
Ross Stewart’s career is a tapestry of memorable moments, dramatic rises, and the kind of highlight-reel goals that fans love to recall. His journey—from a promising youngster in the Scottish leagues to a standout figure in Sunderland’s ranks—remains one of football’s most engaging stories.