Jim Swink Sets the Stage for Putting East Texas on the Football Map

Jim Swink lives as one of the oldest and greatest living legends to ever play high school football in East Texas.

Now 86 years old, Swink is spoken of as the stage-setter for not only great running backs in East Texas, but the entire state. He, along with the legendary Kenneth Hall of Sugar Land, put the eyes of the football world on Texas and these two incredible running backs.

Swink, also known for being born in one of Texas' backward towns of Sacul (that's Lucas spelled backward), quickly earned the reputation as the top running back East Texas at Rusk High School. That earned him the "Rusk Rambler" nickname, even throughout college.

He was one of the best running backs in Southwest Conference history at TCU. Swink was an All-American his junior and senior seasons for the Horned Frogs. In his junior season, he had a career game against rival Texas, rushing 15 times for 235 times and four touchdowns. That year he finished second in the race for the Heisman Trophy.

Instead of going into the NFL (he was drafted in the second round of the 1957 draft by the Chicago Bears), Swink went to medical school. He did play for the Dallas Texans in their inaugural season in 1960, but otherwise spent his career as an orthopedic surgeon.

Swink was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1982 and received the Doak Walker Legends Award in 2005, honoring him as one of the greatest running backs in college football history.