Frank Swift
Personal information | |||
---|---|---|---|
Full name | Frank Victor Swift | ||
Date of birth | 26 December 1913 | ||
Place of birth | Blackpool, Lancashire, England | ||
Date of death | 6 February 1958 | (aged 44)||
Place of death | Munich, West Germany | ||
Height | 6 ft 2+1⁄2 in (1.89 m)[1] | ||
Position(s) | Goalkeeper | ||
Senior career* | |||
Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
1933–1949 | Manchester City | 338 | (0) |
→ (wartime league) | 134 | (0) | |
1939–1945 | → Aldershot (guest) | 12 | (0) |
1939–1940 | → Liverpool (guest) | 2 | (0) |
1941–1942 | → Charlton Athletic (guest) | 1 | (0) |
1942–1943 | → Fulham (guest) | 5 | (0) |
1942–1943 | → Reading (guest) | 4 | (0) |
Total | 338 | (0) | |
International career | |||
1939–1946 | England (wartime) | 14 | (0) |
1946–1949 | England | 19 | (0) |
*Club domestic league appearances and goals |
Frank Victor Swift (26 December 1913 – 6 February 1958) was an English footballer, who played as a goalkeeper for Manchester City and England. After starting his career with local clubs near his home town of Blackpool, in 1932 he was signed by First Division Manchester City, with whom he played his entire professional career.
Swift broke into the Manchester City first team in 1933, taking part in the club's run to the
Swift retired in 1949, taking up a career in journalism as a football correspondent for the News of the World. He died, aged 44, in the Munich air disaster after reporting on Manchester United's European Cup match against Red Star Belgrade.
Club career
Early career and 1930s successes
Born in
At this time, goalkeeper was an unsettled position for Manchester City.
Though Swift quickly established himself as a fixture in the Manchester City first team line-up, his performances were not all positive. In one of his early matches, against West Bromwich Albion, Swift conceded seven goals.[8] This led Swift to believe he would not be picked again, but with Langford unavailable due to a knee injury, Swift kept his place.[9]
Despite inconsistency, Manchester City were one of the stronger sides of the 1930s, and in Swift's first season the club reached the FA Cup final for the second successive year. This period saw football match attendances reach an all-time high. During the cup run Swift played in front of 84,569 people for Stoke City's visit to Maine Road, a record attendance for an English club ground which still stands today.[10] Hillsborough's attendance record of 72,841 (receipts £5,566) was also set by City during this Cup run.[11] The semi-final, against cup favourites Aston Villa, ended in a 6–1 victory, a record for an FA Cup semi-final.[12]
In the final, Manchester City faced
Manchester City started the 1936–37 season poorly, and were in the bottom half of the table until December.[15] The club were better known for goalscoring than solid defence, but frequently both eluded City; at one point the club gained just one win in twelve matches.[16] However, Christmas proved to be a turning point for the club. Swift conceded five goals in consecutive matches on 19 and 25 December, but a Boxing Day win against Middlesbrough was the start of a long unbeaten run.[15] By April City were second in the table, and faced a fixture against Arsenal, league leaders and the dominant club of the period.[17] Peter Doherty inspired the team to a 2–0 win, and City reached the top of the table.[15] The unbeaten run continued until the end of the season, and City secured their first league championship with a 4–1 win over Sheffield Wednesday. City's third goal in this match came as the result of a long clearance by Swift, who was noted for the distance he could propel the ball.[18]
In contrast to the championship win, the 1937–38 season was one of disappointment. Manchester City achieved several high scoring wins, including two 7–1 scorelines, but frequently stuttered to defeat.[19] On the final day of the season the club faced Huddersfield Town, and went into the match four places clear of the relegation zone. A 1–0 defeat, coupled with wins for all four of the teams immediately below meant reigning champions City were relegated to the Second Division despite scoring more goals than any other team.[20]
Wartime and later career
During the
In the first season after the Second World War, Manchester City won the Second Division championship to secure their return to the top flight. In the process Swift kept a club record 17 clean sheets in 35 appearances, a mark which was not surpassed until nearly 40 years later, when
By 1949 Swift was 35 years old, but was still performing well enough to maintain his place in the England team. However, he decided that he wanted to retire while still capable of playing at the top level, rather than fading away. To this end he announced that he would retire at the end of the 1948–49 season. He made what he intended to be his last Manchester City appearance against Huddersfield Town on 7 May,[26] which was followed by a parade in his honour organised by the Supporters' Club.[12] However, just before the next season started, Swift's replacement Alec Thurlow fell ill with tuberculosis, and Swift agreed to step in until City found a new goalkeeper.[27] Four further appearances took his career total to 338. Aware of attempts by other clubs to tempt Swift out of retirement, most notably by Manchester United,[28] the Manchester City board continued to hold Swift's playing registration for several years.[29]
After football
Following a period serving as a director of a local catering company, Swift took up a career in journalism, most notably with the News of the World.[30] He continued to be a regular visitor to Maine Road, and became the president of the Supporters' Club.[29]
Swift died, aged 44, in the Munich air disaster after reporting on Manchester United's European Cup match against Red Star Belgrade in Belgrade, Yugoslavia for the News of the World. On 6 February 1958, the flight back to Manchester carrying the Manchester United team and journalists made a refuelling stop at Munich-Riem Airport in poor weather. Two take-off attempts were abandoned due to engine problems, with the weather continuing to deteriorate. On the third attempt, slush on the runway prevented the aircraft from reaching the required speed for take-off. The plane veered off the runway and crashed into a house. One of 23 victims of the disaster, Swift was one of two journalists pulled alive from the wreckage but died on his way to hospital, as his seat belt had cut into his aorta.[31]
Swift is widely regarded as one of the best English goalkeepers of all time[32][33] 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 successor in the Manchester City team was fellow club and goalkeeping legend, Bert Trautmann.
Swift was named as one of the Football League 100 Legends in 1998 celebrating 100 seasons of league football in England, alongside other Manchester City players Billy Meredith, Colin Bell and Bert Trautmann.[32] He has also been inducted into the Manchester City Hall of Fame.
International career
Swift's first international call-ups came in the Second World War; he made 14 wartime appearances for England. The first official England international after the war took place on 28 September 1946 against
Playing style
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's hands, which had a finger span of 11+3⁄4 in (29.8 cm), were sufficiently large for him to easily pick up the ball with one hand, and gave rise to the nickname "Frying Pan Hands".[3][37] Swift kicked with his left foot as the result of an injury to his right foot sustained during his youth. However, where possible he preferred throwing the ball to the wing over kicking it downfield.[3] When asked for advice to give to young goalkeepers, Swift replied that he drew diagrams of each goal scored against him to see if he was at fault.[34]
Honours
Club
- FA Cup: 1933–34[38]
- 1936–37
- FA Community Shield: 1937
England
Individual
- Football League 100 Legends: 1998[40]
- English Football Hall of Fame: 2005[41]
- Manchester City Hall of Fame
- IFFHS England Men's all time Dream Team[42]
Outside football
Swift had three brothers, Cuthbert, Fred and Alf, and one sister, Alice.[45] Fred, also a goalkeeper, played for Bolton Wanderers amongst others. The five grew up in a house a short walk from Blackpool's Bloomfield Road ground. During football's off-season, Frank and Alf ran boat trips off the Blackpool coast for tourists. On one such trip he met his future wife,[4] Doris Potter. They married at Blackpool in 1935.[46] They had a daughter, Jean, who was born in 1936, and a son, David, who was born in 1948.
During wartime, Swift became a special constable with responsibility for traffic control.
Several members of Swift's family attended the February 2008 Manchester derby, played in the week of the 50th anniversary of the Munich air disaster.[45] The game, at Old Trafford, was won by Manchester City; the minute's silence was fully observed by the Manchester City fans. Towards the end of the game, the City fans chanted "There's only one Frank Swift" several times, to rounds of applause from the United fans.
References
- ^ "Manchester City. Doherty, Heale and Donnelly fit". Sunday Dispatch Football Guide. London. 23 August 1936. p. v – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ ISBN 1-85158-710-1.
- ^ ISBN 0-907969-05-4.
- ^ a b James, The Official Manchester City Hall of Fame, p. 68.
- ISBN 978-0-9558127-2-9.
- ISBN 1-85983-512-0.
- ^ James, Manchester City – The Complete Record, p. 354.
- ^ a b Ward, The Manchester City Story, p33
- ISBN 1-899538-22-4.
- ^ James, Manchester City – The Complete Record, p. 90.
- ISBN 1-899538-09-7.
- ^ a b James, Manchester City – The Complete Record, p46
- ^ ISBN 0-600-61282-1.
- ^ a b James, Manchester City – The Complete Record, p. 117.
- ^ a b c Ward, The Manchester City Story, p. 36.
- ^ James, Manchester City – The Complete Record, p. 350.
- ^ James, Manchester City – The Complete Record, p47
- ^ James, Manchester City – The Complete Record, p. 120.
- ^ Ward, The Manchester City Story, p. 38.
- ^ James, Manchester City – The Complete Record, p. 352.
- ^ Anton Rippon Gas Masks for Goal Posts (2005)
- ^ Who's Who Of Liverpool (2006): Tony Matthews
- ^ England wartime results at Rsssf
- ^ Soccer at War – 1939 – 45 (2005): Jack Rollin
- ^ "Club records". Manchester City FC vs Wigan Athletic match programme. 17 January 2009. p. 19.
- ^ James, The Official Manchester City Hall of Fame, p74
- ^ Ward, The Manchester City Story, p41
- ISBN 1-85983-491-4.
- ^ a b James, Manchester City – The Complete Record, p160
- ^ a b Clayton, Manchester City's Cult Heroes, p19
- ISBN 978-0-9558127-0-5.
- ^ a b "Legends List in Full". BBC News. 5 August 1998. Retrieved 28 October 2007.
- ^ "XI at 11: England's Best Goalkeepers". Setanta Sports. 17 October 2007. Archived from the original on 26 October 2007. Retrieved 28 October 2007.
- ^ a b c d Clayton, Manchester City's Cult Heroes, p18
- ^ James, The Official Manchester City Hall of Fame, p71
- ISBN 978-0-14-101582-8.
- ^ Bailey, Chris (8 September 2004). "Who will join the greats?". Manchester Evening News. Retrieved 23 January 2009.
- ^ James, Gary (22 April 2011). "FA Cup special: Thrills, spills and a cast of thousands at Maine Road". Manchester Evening News. Retrieved 29 June 2018.
- ^ {{www.nationalfootballmuseum.com The British Home Championship - - National Football Museum}}
- ^ "Football: League unveils superstars of the century". The Independent. London. 4 August 1998. Retrieved 6 January 2021.
- ^ "Who will join the greats?". Manchester Evening News. 15 February 2007.
- ^ "IFFHS". www.iffhs.com. Retrieved 15 June 2022.
- ^ "BEST GOALKEEPERS RANKING OF THE XXth CENTURY".
- ^ "IFFHS". www.iffhs.com. Retrieved 15 June 2022.
- ^ a b Canavan, Steve (6 February 2008). "Swift's legacy is in safe keeping at Pool". Blackpool Gazette. Retrieved 13 January 2009.
- ^ "Lancashire Births Marriages & Deaths". Archived from the original on 17 January 2003. Retrieved 23 October 2012.
- ^ Roberts, Keith (2 November 2003). "Sporting hero: Frank Swift". Manchester Evening News. Retrieved 13 January 2009.
- ISBN 978-1-905449-05-7.
External links
- Frank Swift at Englandstats.com
- England profile on www.englandfc.com