Frank Swift

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Personal information
Frank Swift
Full name	Frank Swift
Date of birth	December 26, 1913
Place of birth	Blackpool, England
Date of death	February 6, 1958 (aged 44)
Place of death	Munich, Germany
Playing position	Goalkeeper
Senior clubs¹
Years	Club	App (Gls)*
1933-1949	Manchester City F.C.	376 (0)
National team
1946-1949	England	19 (0)
¹ Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only. * Appearances (Goals)

Frank Swift (December 26, 1913 - February 6, 1958), was a football goalkeeper for Manchester City and England, born in Blackpool, Lancashire.

Swift made his Manchester City debut in 1933, and was a virtual ever-present from then until football was suspended due to World War II. War denied Swift of several years of playing in his prime, as demonstrated by his 14 wartime appearances for England. 19 full England appearances followed after the war, including the famous Italy v England (1948) victory in Turin where he became the first goalkeeper since Alexander Morten in 1873 to captain the side.

Raich Carter once said of Frank Swift that he looked so big in goal that as a forward it often seemed that trying to score against him was like trying to put the ball into a matchbox.

Swift was part of the Manchester City sides which won the F.A. Cup in 1934 and the League Championship in 1937. He was very nervous throughout the game but at half time Fred Tilson promised him that he would score and he did so sealing victory for the Manchester team. After the final whistle in the 1934 cup final, Swift was so overcome with emotion that he fainted. George V later sent a telegram enquiring about his recovery. Swift retired in 1950 following 338 league appearances, and took up a career in journalism.

He died, aged 44, in the Munich air disaster after reporting on Manchester United's European Cup match in Belgrade for the News of the World. Swift was pulled alive from the wreckage but died on his way to hospital. He is widely regarded as one of the best English goalkeepers of all time^{[citation needed]} along with Gordon Banks and Peter Shilton and is frequently noted as one of the best players to have graced the English football league. His replacement in the Manchester City F.C. team was Bert Trautmann.

He is widely regarded as one of England's best ever goalkeepers^{[citation needed]} and was named as one of the 100 best players to have graced the English game in the year 2000^{[citation needed]}alongside other famous Manchester City FC players Colin Bell and Bert Trautmann. He has also been inducted into the Manchester City FC hall of fame.