Lynn Swann

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Lynn Swann
Date of birth	March 7, 1952
Place of birth	Alcoa, Tennessee
Position(s)	Wide Receiver
College	Southern California
NFL Draft	1974 / Round 1 / Pick 21
Pro Bowls	3
Awards	Super Bowl X MVP
Honors	NFL 1970s All-Decade Team College Football HOF
Statistics	Pro Football Reference DatabaseFootball
Team(s)
1974-1982	Pittsburgh Steelers
College Hall-of-Fame
Pro Football Hall of Fame, 2001

Lynn Curtis Swann (b. March 7, 1952, Alcoa, Tennessee) is a former professional football player, sports broadcaster and a Republican politician. As a youth, Swann went to Junípero Serra High School in San Mateo, California, later attended the University of Southern California, and completed a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Public Relations from the USC School of Journalism. His nickname is "Swanny."

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

1 Football career
2 Post-football career
3 2006 candidacy for governor
4 External links

[edit] Football career

Swann was an outstanding WR, 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. Swann is best known for his play as a wide receiver from 1974 to 1982 with the Steelers, the only team for which he played.

Although Swann never recorded more then 880 receiving yards in a single season, his superb catching ability and clutch performance was vital to the Steelers' success in the 1970s. He complemented his fellow receiver John Stallworth, who ended his career as the Steelers' all-time leading receiver.

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 had a good performance on special teams, returning 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 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.

Two seasons later, the Steelers made it to Super Bowl XIII, and Swann once again had an outstanding performance. He caught seven passes for 124 yards and scored the final touchdown for Pittsburgh in their 35-31 win over the Dallas Cowboys, their Super Bowl opponent for the second time during the decade. The Steelers made it back to the Super Bowl again in the 1979 season, and for the third time, Swann was a key component in the Steelers' win. He 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 three 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. He was also selected to the NFL 1970s All-Decade Team by Hall of Fame voters.

[edit] 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 has been a football and sports broadcaster for ABC Sports since 1976 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 met with critical disdain, and he was replaced by Alex Trebek.

[edit] 2006 candidacy for governor

Main article: Pennsylvania gubernatorial election, 2006

Image:Swann governor.jpg

Lynn Swann (left) and his wife, Charena greet supporters while on the campaign trail.

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 challenger in Pennsylvania history to unseat an incumbent governor, as well as the first African-American governor of Pennsylvania and only the third African-American governor of a state in U.S. history.

An amusing photo of Swann briefly playing beer pong while on the campaign trail was circulated on the internet in October of 2006. [1] Swann was walking through the parking lot prior to the Philadelphia Eagles vs. Pittsbugh Steelers preseason game in August 2006 and was coerced into briefly playing the game. The photo and accompanying story was picked up by several national news agencies and prominent websites.

[edit] External links

Politics

Football

Other

Preceded by: Franco Harris	NFL Super Bowl MVPs Super Bowl X, 1976	Succeeded by: Fred Biletnikoff
Preceded by: Gordon Elliott	Host of To Tell The Truth 1990–1991	Succeeded by: Alex Trebek
Preceded by: Michael Fisher	Republican Gubernatorial Nominee, Pennsylvania 2006–present	Succeeded by: most recent

Preceded by: Gary Hall, Sr. Lawrie Mifflin Drew Pearson Cynthia Potter Sally Ride Harry Smith	Silver Anniversary Awards (NCAA) Class of 1999 Dave Casper Anita DeFrantz Pat Summitt Lynn Swann Robert R. Thomas Bill Walton	Succeeded by: Dianne Baker Junior Bridgeman Pat Haden Lisa Rosenblum John Dickson Stufflebeem John Trembley