TCU Loses a Legend
12/3/2014 12:00:00 AM | Football
By Jay Hinton
TCU Athletics Media Relations
FORT WORTH, Texas -- Former TCU halfback Jim Swink, a two-time First-Team All-American, College Football Hall of Famer and runner-up for the 1955 Heisman Trophy, died Wednesday. He was 78.
Swink, a native of Rusk, Texas, played for TCU from 1954-56 and led the Horned Frogs to a pair of Southwest Conference championships in 1955 and 1956. He also keyed the Horned Frogs' 28-27 victory over Syracuse in the Cotton Bowl on Jan. 1, 1957.
In his junior season in 1955, "The Rusk Rambler" led the nation in scoring (125 points), rushing touchdowns (18) and yards per carry (8.2); and was second in the nation in rushing with 1,283 yards. He rushed for a career-high 235 yards on 15 carries and scored 26 points in the Horned Frogs' 47-20 victory over rival Texas. His four touchdowns against the Longhorns are tied for third-most rushing touchdowns in a game in TCU history.
Also in 1955, Swink tallied eight 100-yard games, which ranks third all-time in school history for 100-yard games in a season. The Horned Frogs finished the regular season with a 9-1 record and were ranked No. 3 in the Litkenhouse System; No. 5 by UPI; and No. 6 by The Associated Press.
After TCU, Swink was a second-round pick (25th overall) of the NFL's Chicago Bears in 1957, but he chose to go to medical school instead. Three years later, however, he made his professional debut when he suited up for five games for the AFL's Dallas Texans in their inaugural season.
Swink served in the U.S. Army from 1966-1968 and was a surgeon at the 12th Evacuation Hospital in Ku Chi, some 40 miles from Saigon, during the Vietnam War. He was later awarded a Purple Heart, Air Medal and Bronze Star.
Swink, an orthopedic surgeon who set up practice in Fort Worth in 1971, was elected into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1980. Two years later, he was presented with the NCAA's Silver Anniversary Award for career achievements outside of football. In 2000, he was named to the Cotton Bowl Hall of Fame, and in 2005, he was the recipient of the Doak Walker Legends Award. He was also a two-time Academic All-American (1955, 1956).
James E. Swink was born March 14, 1936, in Sacul, Texas, and was one of seven children born to Halle Mae and Curtis Swink.
Jim Swink (1954-1956)
Career rushing yards -- 2,618 (9th)
Yards in a season -- 1,283 (6th)
Rushing TDs (game) -- 4 (T-3rd)
Rushing TDs (season) -- *18 (T-2nd)
Rushing TDs (career) -- 28 (6th)
Points scored (game) -- 26 vs. Texas, 1955 (3rd)
Points scored (season) -- 125, 1955 (2nd)
Yards averaged per game (season) -- 128.3, 1955 (7th)
Average gain per carry (career) -- 6.34 (3rd)
Average gain per carry (season) -- *8.2, 1955 (1st)
Average gain per carry (game) -- 15.7, vs. Texas, 1955 (2nd)
100-yard games (career) -- 11 (T-6th)
100-yard games (season) -- 8 (3rd)
TDs scored (season) -- 20, 1955 (2nd)
TDs scored (career) -- 28 (6th)
*Led Nation
