Norman Kwong Norman Lim " Normie " Kwong , CM , AOE ( born Lim Kwong Yew ; October 24 , 1929 ) is a former professional athlete , sports executive , and was the 16th Lieutenant Governor of Alberta . His parents immigrated from Taishan , Guangdong , China , and he is the first person of Chinese heritage to serve as lieutenant - governor of Alberta . As the former vice - regal representative in Alberta , he is styled " The Honourable " for life . Kwong is the second Chinese Canadian to be appointed as a vice regal in Canada . Sports career . After playing football at Western Canada High School , he went on to play for the Calgary Stampeders from 1948 to 1950 and , after a trade , the Edmonton Eskimos from 1951 until his retirement in 1960 . Nicknamed the " China Clipper " , Kwong was the first Chinese Canadian to play on a professional Canadian football team . A powerful fullback , in 11 years of recorded statistics Kwong rushed for 9 , 022 yards for an average of 5 . 2 yards per carry and scored 93 touchdowns . He won the Grey Cup four times during his career ( 1948 , 1954 , 1955 , and 1956 ) . Kwong was a Western Conference all - star running back and three - time winner of the Eddie James Memorial Trophy , in 1951 , 1955 and 1956 . He was named the Schenley Most Outstanding Canadian in 1955 and 1956 . He was named Canadian Athlete of the Year in 1955 . He was inducted into the Canadian Football Hall of Fame in 1969 , Canada ' s Sports Hall of Fame in 1975 , the Edmonton Eskimos ' Wall of Honour in 1983 ( where his jersey 95 was retired ) , and the Alberta Sports Hall of Fame in 1987 . In November 2006 , he was one of very few of his contemporaries to be voted one of the Canadian Football League ' s Top 50 players of the sport ' s modern era by Canadian sports network TSN . Kwong set the CFL record for the most yards rushing by Canadian in a season with 1 , 437 in the 1956 season . This record held for 56 years , being broken by Jon Cornish only in 2012 , though Kwong accomplished his record in fifteen games , rather than eighteen for Cornish . He was president and general manager of the Calgary Stampeders from 1988 to 1991 , leading the team to a loss in the Grey Cup final in 1991 . Between 1980 and 1994 , Kwong was a part owner of the Calgary Flames , having been one of the original group of six Calgary businessmen who bought and moved the NHL ' s Atlanta Flames hockey team to Calgary in 1980 . The Calgary Flames won the Stanley Cup in 1989 , making him one of few people whose name is on both the Grey Cup and the Stanley Cup . Public service career . Kwong ' s public stature from sports helped him move on to politics and government . In 1971 he ran for the Alberta Progressive Conservative party in Calgary - Millican . In this election , the PCs ended Social Credit ' s 36 - year hold on power , winning all but five seats in Calgary . However , Kwong himself was defeated by longtime incumbent Arthur J . Dixon who won by a 1600 vote plurality . In 1988 Kwong was made a member of the Order of Canada and has served as the national chairman of the Canadian Consultative Council on Multiculturalism . Kwong was appointed Lieutenant - Governor of Alberta on January 20 , 2005 , replacing Lois Hole , who died in office on January 6 , 2005 . Kwong welcomed Queen Elizabeth II to Alberta in June 2005 on a visit commemorating Alberta ' s first 100 years in Canadian Confederation . During a private audience the Queen presented Kwong with the insignia of a Knight of Justice in the Most Venerable Order of the Hospital of St John of Jerusalem . Kwong swore Ed Stelmach into office as the 13th Premier of Alberta on December 14 , 2006 . His term concluded on May 11 , 2010 , and he was succeeded by Don Ethell .