Nils V. "Swede" Nelson Award
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The Nils V. "Swede" Nelson Award is an American college football award given annually by the Gridiron Club of Greater Boston to "the player who by his conduct on and off the gridiron demonstrates a high esteem for the football code and exemplifies sportsmanship to an outstanding degree."[1] In 1982, the award was narrowed to the player deemed to be the "very best, and most academically talented, college football player in New England."[2] [1] Since 1989, the award has been given annually to two players (with the exception of a single winner in 1996 and three winners in 2007), one from a Division I football program, and one from a small college.[2]
The award is the fourth oldest collegiate football award in the United States, following the Heisman, Maxwell, and George "Bulger" Lowe trophies.[2]
The award is named for the founder of the Gridiron Club, Nils V. "Swede" Nelson, a former college player at Harvard and coach. Nelson was a member of the unbeaten Harvard football team that defeated Oregon in the 1920 Rose Bowl.
Dan Guariglia, an offensive tackle from Amherst, Ryne Nutt, a center from Central Connecticut, and Steve Morgan, a punter/kicker from Brown, were the 2007 winners of the award.
The inaugural winner of the trophy was quarterback Perry Moss of Illinois in 1946. Other notable winners of the award include Doak Walker (1949), Johnny Bright (1951), Dick Jauron (1971), Otis Armstrong (1972), Tom Waddle (1988), Jay Fiedler (1992), and Matt Hasselback (1997).
[edit] Past winners
| Year | Player | Position | School |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2007 | Dan Guariglia | OL | Amherst |
| 2007 | Ryne Nutt | C | Central Connecticut |
| 2007 | Steve Morgan | P/K | Brown |
| 2006 | Ed McCarthy | OL | Yale |
| 2006 | Brendan Fulmer | WR/P/K | Williams |
| 2005 | David Diamond | OL | Bowdoin |
| 2005 | Nick Hartigan | RB | Brown |
| 2004 | Keron Henry | WR | Connecticut |
| 2004 | Fletcher Ladd | RB | Amherst |
| 2003 | Steve Fox | OL | Holy Cross |
| 2003 | Greg Wood | WR | Worcester State |
| 2002 | Kevin Noone | OL | Dartmouth |
| 2002 | Chuck McGraw | RB | Tufts |
| 2001 | John Richardson | OL | Boston College |
| 2001 | Bob Montgomery | C | UMass-Lowell |
| 2000 | Eric Johnson | WR | Yale |
| 2000 | Tim McCarthy | OL | Middlebury |
| 1999 | Isaiah Kacyvenski | LB | Harvard |
| 1999 | Nicholas Kozy | OL | MIT |
| 1998 | Matt Jordan | WR | UMass |
| 1998 | Eric Trum | OL | Tufts |
| 1997 | Matt Hasselback | QB | Boston College |
| 1997 | Daniel Lord | OL | Tufts |
| 1996 | Joseph DeAngelis | OL | Trinity |
| 1995 | Tim O'Brien | OL | Boston College |
| 1995 | Mike Rymsha | QB | Bentley |
| 1994 | Andre Miksimow | OL | Boston University |
| 1994 | Nate Sleeper | QB | Williams |
| 1993 | Keith Miller | RB | Boston College |
| 1993 | Michael Turmelle | DB | Bowdoin |
| 1992 | Jay Fiedler | QB | Dartmouth |
| 1992 | Roderick Tranum | OL | MIT |
| 1991 | Paul Capriotti | RB | Maine |
| 1991 | Paul Oliveira | OL | Tufts |
| 1990 | Brad Preble | DB | Dartmouth |
| 1990 | Mark Katz | OL | Bowdoin |
| 1989 | Ben Cowan | OL | Boston University |
| 1989 | Rich Schachner | RB | Coast Guard |
| 1988 | Tom Waddle | WR | Boston College |
| 1987 | Gordie Lockbaum | RB/DB | Holy Cross |
| 1986 | Stan Kaczorowski | OL | UMass |
| 1985 | Guy Carbone | OL | Rhode Island |
| 1984 | Steve Strachan | RB | Boston College |
| 1983 | Matt Martin | LB | Holy Cross |
| 1982 | John Loughery | QB | Boston College |
| 1981 | Kenny Duckett | WR | Wake Forest |
| 1980 | Jerry Pierce | LB | Dartmouth |
| 1979 | Tom Bell | OL | BYU |
| 1978 | Rich Leach | QB | Michigan |
| 1977 | Roy Heffernan | RB | Middlebury |
| 1976 | Peter Cronan | LB | Boston College |
| 1975 | George Niland | OL | Trinity |
| 1974 | Peter Gorniewicz | RB | Colby |
| 1973 | James Stoeckel | WR | Harvard |
| 1972 | Otis Armstrong | RB | Purdue |
| 1971 | Richard Jauron | RB | Yale |
| 1970 | Renso Perdoni | DL | Georgia Tech |
| 1969 | Steve Smear | DL | Penn State |
| 1968 | Vic Gatto | RB | Harvard |
| 1967 | Brian Dowling | QB | Yale |
| 1966 | Floyd Little | RB | Syracuse |
| 1965 | Thomas Clarke | OL | Dartmouth |
| 1964 | Arthur Roberts | RB | Columbia |
| 1963 | Bob Cappadona | RB | Northeastern |
| 1962 | Pat Culpepper | LB | Texas |
| 1961 | Joseph Kowalski | OL | Rutgers |
| 1960 | Alan Rozycki | WR | Dartmouth |
| 1959 | George Roden | QB | Colby |
| 1958 | J.W. Brodnax | RB | LSU |
| 1957 | Thomas Salvo | OL | Boston University |
| 1956 | James Swink | RB | TCU |
| 1955 | Don Hollender | TE | Army |
| 1954 | Arthur Luppino | RB | Arizona |
| 1953 | Don King | QB | Clemson |
| 1952 | Joseph Mitinger | QB | Yale |
| 1951 | Johnny Bright | RB | Drake |
| 1950 | Bob Williams | DL | Arkansas |
| 1949 | Doak Walker | RB/DB/K | SMU |
| 1948 | Gordon Long | OL | Arkansas |
| 1947 | Everett Dorr | RB | Boston University |
| 1946 | Perry Moss | QB | Illinois |
