After playing for both the Calgary Stampeders and the Edmonton Eskimos professional football teams, Kwong pursued a career in politics. From 2005 until 2010, he served as Lieutenant Governor of Alberta.
Before being drafted to the Calgary Stampeders in 1948, he played football at Western Canada High School.
Over the course of his career as a football fullback, he scored over ninety touchdowns and won numerous athletic awards, including the Eddie James Memorial Trophy and the Canadian Athlete of the Year prize.
A first-generation Chinese-Canadian, he grew up in Calgary, Alberta, and later married Mary Kwong.
He and American athlete Roman Gabriel both made football history: Gabriel was the first Asian-American NFL quarterback, and Kwong was the first Chinese-Canadian professional football player.
