One of the best players in the early years of the Cornhusker tradition, Clarence Swanson earned his induction into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1973.
Swanson earned All-America and All-Missouri Valley Conference honors for the Huskers in 1921, playing alongside other NU greats such as Glen Preston, Chick Hartley and John Pucelik. In his final season, Swanson served as the Nebraska captain and helped the Huskers to a 7-1 record and a Missouri Valley Conference title in Coach Fred Dawson's first season at the helm.
In his final game as a Husker in 1921, Swanson ignited the offense to a 70-7 victory over Colorado State by hauling in a Nebraska record three touchdown passes. His record stood for 50 years before Heisman Trophy winner Johnny Rodgers matched it in a 1971 game against Minnesota. Swanson made All-America in 1921 and the only team to beat the Cornhuskers was powerful Notre Dame, 7-0.
The 5-10, 167-pound end played his sophomore and junior seasons at Nebraska under legendary Husker coach Henry Schulte, helping NU to a 3-3-2 record in 1919 and a 5-3-1 record in 1920. In both seasons, NU played as an independent before rejoining the Missouri Valley Conference in 1921. Swanson played his first season at Nebraska for Coach William G. Kline, when the Missouri Valley did not sponsor a conference because of World War I. The Huskers finished with a 2-3-1 mark in Swanson's first season.
Swanson was inducted into the Nebraska Football Hall of Fame in 1974. Prior to his induction, the Nebraska Football Hall of Fame began honoring members of the Husker football family with the Clarence E. Swanson Memorial Award in 1972. The award honors a person "for outstanding contributions to the University of Nebraska and the Husker athletic department through personal service, personal support of athletic department programs and dedication to the Husker football program and intercollegiate athletics."
Swanson himself was honored with the University of Nebraska's Builder Award in 1969, after serving three terms on the Nebraska Board of Regents.
Most recently, Swanson was inducted posthumously into the Nebraska High School Sports Hall of Fame in 2007.
Born and raised in Wakefield, Neb., in the northeast corner of the state on March 15, 1898, Swanson passed away on Dec. 3, 1970, in Lincoln.