Lynn Swann

Infobox NFLretired


caption=NFL Hall of Famer Lynn Swann
position=Wide Receiver
number=88
birthdate=birth date and age|1952|3|7
Alcoa, Tennessee
debutyear=1974
finalyear=1982
draftyear=1974
draftround=1
draftpick=21
college=Southern California
teams=
* Pittsburgh Steelers (1974-1982)
stat1label=Receptions
stat1value=336
stat2label=Receiving Yards
stat2value=5,462
stat3label=Touchdowns
stat3value=51
nfl=SWA332232
highlights=
* 3x Pro Bowl selection (1975, 1977, 1978)
* 2x First-team All-Pro selection (1975, 1978)
* 1x Second-team All-pro selection (1977)
* 4x Super Bowl champion (IX, X, XIII, XIV)
* Super Bowl X MVP
* NFL 1970s All-Decade Team
HOF=208
CollegeHOF=70012

Lynn Curtis Swann (born March 7, 1952) is an American former professional football player and sports broadcaster.

Personal life

Swann was born Alcoa, Tennessee. As a youth, Swann was raised in Foster City and attended Junípero Serra High School in San Mateo, California where in addition to playing football he was a track star, leaping 24' 10" in the long jump. He later attended the University of Southern California, and completed a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Public Relations from the USC Annenberg School for Communication in 1974.

Swann is married to Charena Swann, a psychologist, and they have two sons.

Football career

Swann was an All-American at the University of Southern California, and was selected by the Pittsburgh Steelers with the 21st pick of the first round in the 1974 NFL Draft. He spent his entire NFL career with the Steelers and wore the number 88. He was part of what is considered one of the best drafts in NFL History with Hall of Famers John Stallworth, Mike Webster, and Jack Lambert all selected in the same draft.

As a rookie, Swann led the NFL with 577 punt return yards, a franchise record and the fourth most in NFL history at the time. He went on to win a championship ring with the Steelers in Super Bowl IX but did not record any receptions in the tough defensive struggle (Pittsburgh quarterback Terry Bradshaw completed only nine passes in the game). However, he returned 3 punts for 34 yards.

The following season became the highlight of Swann's career. He caught 49 passes for 781 yards and a league-leading 11 touchdowns. In the AFC title game against the Oakland Raiders George Atkinson lit him up with a vicious hit. He suffered a severe concussion that forced him to spend two days in a hospital, but surprised many by returning to play for Super Bowl X. Swann recorded four catches for a Super Bowl record 161 yards and a touchdown in the game, assisting the Steelers to a 21-17 win and becoming the first wide receiver to earn Super Bowl MVP honors.

Three seasons later the Steelers made it to Super Bowl XIII. In the game, Swann caught seven passes for 124 yards and scored the final touchdown for Pittsburgh in their 35-31 win over the Dallas Cowboys. The Steelers made it back to the Super Bowl again in the 1979 season, and Swann caught five passes for 79 yards and a touchdown in Pittsburgh's 31-19 win in Super Bowl XIV. Overall, Swann gained 364 receiving yards and 398 all-purpose yards in his four Super Bowls, which were both Super Bowl records at the time.

Swann retired after the 1982 season with 336 career receptions for 5,462 yards and 51 touchdowns. He also rushed for 72 yards and gained 739 yards and a touchdown on punt returns. Swann was a pro bowl selection three times (1975, 1977, 1978) and was selected on the 1970s all-decade team.

Swann was elected to the College Football Hall of Fame in 1993. Though his professional career didn't yield large statistics, Swann was elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2001, a year before his teammate John Stallworth. He was also selected to the NFL 1970s All-Decade Team by Hall of Fame voters.

Post-football career

Swann is the former Chairman of the United States President's Council on Physical Fitness and Sports and serves as a director on the boards of H J Heinz Co. and Wyndham International. He was a football and sports broadcaster for ABC Sports from 1976–2005, but left to run an unsuccessful bid for Pennsylvania governor. Swann also briefly hosted the television game show "To Tell the Truth", on which he had previously appeared as a panelist, on NBC from 1990 to 1991. His fourteen-week run as emcee ended, and he was replaced by Alex Trebek. He also made a cameo [http://youtube.com/watch?v=n8gqqFMJAYM appearance] on Mister Roger's Neighborhood.

Swann was the sideline reporter on CBS' "Clash of Champions" bowling telecast that aired on May 10-11, 2008. He teamed with color analyst Nelson Burton Jr. and play by play man Bill Macatee. The broadcast marked bowling's return to network television for the first time since 1999 when CBS carried it.

Political career

2006 candidacy for governor

In December 2004, Swann, who resides in the Pittsburgh suburb of Sewickley Heights, Pennsylvania, indicated that he was considering seeking the Republican nomination for Governor of Pennsylvania in the 2006 election. On February 23, 2005, Swann filed papers with the state elections board stating his intention to run. On the same day he formed a fundraising committee called "Team 88" after his Steeler jersey number. On January 4, 2006, Swann formally declared his candidacy for Governor of Pennsylvania.

Swann's opponents in the Republican primary scheduled for May 16, 2006 had initially included Jim Panyard, Pennsylvania State Senator Jeff Piccola, and former Pennsylvania Lt. Governor William W. Scranton, III. After Swann received the endorsement of the Republican state committee on February 11, 2006, all three opponents quit the race, leaving Swann as the only Republican to have filed by the deadline of March 7, 2006. Swann's campaign focused mainly on property tax reform. He also supported giving the Pittsburgh Penguins Pittsburgh's lone slots license so they could build a new arena, free of taxpayer money.

In the end, Swann lost the election with 40% of the vote to incumbent Ed Rendell's 60%. Had Swann won, he would have been the first African-American governor of Pennsylvania and only the third African-American elected governor of a state in U.S. history. Of the three African American gubernatorial candidates in 2006, only one (Massachusetts' Deval Patrick, a Democrat) won; Kenneth Blackwell, a Republican, lost in Ohio.

2008

In 2008, Swann confirmed that he was considering running for the United State House of Representatives from Pennsylvania's 4th congressional district against Rep. Jason Altmire. [ [http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/07102/777446-366.stm 88 in '08? ] ] However, Swann did not file for the election and former congresswoman Melissa Hart is the Republican running. [ [http://www.dos.state.pa.us/bcel/lib/bcel/elections/petition_filers.pdf Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Unofficial List of Candidates] ]

Facts

* Lynn Swann was given his first name because his parents wanted a girl but when the baby turned out to be a boy, his parents kept the name.
* Appears in Madden NFL 07 as an unlockable rookie free agent wide receiver.
* Steelers fans wore hats with designs of a swan in support of Swann.
* Swann serves on the Board of Directors for Hershey Entertainment & Resorts Company [ [http://erc.enwisen.com/Hr/hershey/main/login/q1259.asp AnswerSource ] ]

ee also

*Bay Area Sports Hall of Fame
*Drew Crompton

References

External links

Politics
* [http://www.swannforgovernor.com/ 2006 Swann for Governor campaign website]
* [http://www.newsmeat.com/sports_political_donations/Lynn_Swann.php Political donations made by Lynn Swann] '

Football
* [http://www.profootballhof.com/hof/member.jsp?player_id=208 Pro Football Hall of Fame profile]
* [http://collegefootball.org/famersearch.php?id=70012 College Football Hall of Fame profile]
* [http://www.pro-football-reference.com/players/SwanLy00.htm Career Stats]
* [http://www.usclegends.org/lynn-swann.php Lynn Swann] Profile at USC Legends

Other
* [http://www.heinz.com/jsp/dirbio_swann.jsp Heinz Board of Directors biography]
*imdb name|id=0841712|name=Lynn Swann
* [http://youtube.com/watch?v=gYl5ZiS9nwI YouTube]