Swink grew up in Rusk, Texas, which led to his nickname, "The Rusk Rambler". He is remembered as one of the all-time greatest running backs in Southwest Conference history, and led the Horned Frogs to consecutive conference championships in 1955 and 1956, which resulted in trips to the Cotton Bowl Classic.
While he was named an All-American as a junior and senior, his best season came as a junior in 1955. That year, he rushed for 1,283 yards, which was second-best in the nation, and led the country with 125 points scored. His best game came against rival Texas in Austin, when he rushed 15 times for 235 yards and scored 26 points in a 47-20 rout of the Longhorns. That year, he finished second to Howard Cassady of Ohio State in the voting for the Heisman Trophy.
After finishing his degree at TCU, he decided to forgo playing in the National Football League and instead went to medical school. In 1960 he joined the American Football League's Dallas Texans for their inaugural season. He later practiced medicine in Fort Worth as an orthopedic surgeon. He was elected to the College Football Hall of Fame in 1980, and in 1982 was presented with a Silver Anniversary Award by the NCAA for career achievements outside of football. In 2005, he was awarded the Doak Walker Legends award.
1966 - William Carpenter
1969 - Archibald MacLeish
1970 - Vince Lombardi1971 - Dr. Frank Boyden
1972 - Dr. Jerome H. Holland
1973 - (no award)
1974 - Bob Hope1975 - Rev. Theodore Hesburgh
1976 - James A. Van Fleet
1977 - Rev. Edmund P. Joyce
1978 - (no award)
1979 - John W. Galbreath
1980 - Fred Russell
1981 - Sonny Werblin1982 - Silver Anniversary (all honored) Jim Brown, Willie Davis, Jack Kemp, Ron Kramer, Jim Swink 1983 - Leon Hess & James Stewart1984 - David Nelson
1985 - Bill Flynn
1986 - John L. Toner
1987 - Ike Sewell
1988 - Joe Rodgers
1989 - Edward “Moose” Krause
1990 - Pete Rozelle1991 - Joe Paterno1992 - Wellington Mara1993 - Dick Kazmaier
1994 - Charles F. Bolden, Jr.
1995 - Tom Osborne1996 - J. Donald Monan, S.J
1997 - (no award)
1998 - Roy Kramer
1999 - (no award)
2000 - Arthur J. Decio
2001 - Dr. James Frank
2002 - George B. Young
2003 - Dr. Robert C. Khayat2004 - Robert F. Casciola
2005 - Alan Page2006 - Pat Tillman2007 - Rocky Bleier2008 - T. Boone Pickens
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