Streaks Alumni Profile- Bill Swanson 1970

 

Today’s Streaks Alumni Profile features Bill Swanson from the Galesburg HS’s Class of 1970. 

I actually knew Bill during childhood, although I did not grow up in Galesburg. My grandparents attended the same church as Bill’s family at East Main Congregational Church. 

In the past year, I have had communication with Bill and his American Legion State Championship team. As I communicated with Bill’s teammates, it became obvious how much his teammates respected Bill as a baseball player, a leader, and as a teammates. 

While Bill had a great career as a student and as an athlete at GHS, his career as an adult has been very impressive and very inspiring. He has continued his interest in baseball and has been a leader in education as a teacher. He shares great memories and a wonderful story. 

Favorite Teachers/Classes

            John Kessler was one of my favorite teachers.  He taught math and math was always my favorite subject.  I found calculus to be fascinating, which was taught by Gretchen Gates.  We gave her a hard time on occasion but it was all in good fun because it was an advanced class with just about all of us in the class preparing for college.  

        I enjoyed Chauncey Kenney’s physics class because it seemed like a practical application of math, which I enjoyed.  I enjoyed Fred Kuster’s U.S. history class because he made it interesting.  

        And who could forget Art Fish in P.E. and driver’s training class?  The guys loved him because he kept order but never took the fun out of learning.    

        Two last names.  Virginia Hinchliff and Maury Beck.  Ms. Hinchliff made it very obvious that she really cared about her students and truly wanted us to learn.  Mr. Beck was such a laid back guy with a great voice (the PA guy at home basketball games!).  How could you not love his classes!?

 

Sports/Activities at GHS

        I played basketball and baseball at GHS.  Although I was on the basketball teams, I was on the far end of the bench.  I had very little playing time on the “Ponies” team as a sophomore, but I was a starter on the JV team as a junior (the better players, of course, were on the varsity by this time).  As a senior, I was still on the JV team, with an occasional spot on the varsity bench for home games, the same situation I had as a junior.  It was my way of staying in shape for baseball!  I was a 3-year starter as the shortstop on the varsity baseball team.  My first 2 years we were 22-4 and 22-3, so we had good teams.  My sophomore year, we should have gone to the state finals.  It was a VERY talented team (Jim Sundberg was the catcher).  My senior year was a bit of a rebuilding year.  I believe we were just above .500 for the year.  I don’t recall our exact record.

National Honor Society

 

        Galesburg was a great place to grow up.  The schools were good, safety never seemed to be an issue, and the opportunities to play sports were great.  I played Little League and Babe Ruth baseball prior to my playing baseball at GHS, and I played 3 wonderful summers of American Legion baseball under the guidance of Jim Isaacson (so glad they named the baseball field at H.T. Custer after him!).  I played basketball at the YMCA (wasn’t that downtown YMCA a decrepit old place!), and then played basketball at Lombard Junior High School (starter on the 8th grade team, and one of the first off the bench on the 9th grade team) prior to my playing time at GHS.

 

        My childhood was very stable.  Dad was always employed (he installed flooring for Palmgren’s Floor Covering), Mom was a stay-at-home housewife, and we lived in the house that Mom and Dad built just prior to my birth in 1952.  We never moved, so I never had to change school districts, churches, or neighborhoods (it was a great neighborhood: lots of kids!).  

        Speaking of church, I grew up in East Main Congregational Church, the church my Dad grew up in.  It was a real cornerstone of our family life, everything from Sunday School, Vacation Bible School, Sunday worship services, potluck dinners, and ice cream socials, and as a little guy I went with Dad to watch him bowl in the church bowling league on Monday nights.  

         And how about window shopping in downtown Galesburg on Friday nights?  I wouldn’t trade these experiences for anything! My experiences at GHS were overwhelmingly positive.  Good teachers, safe environment, good facilities.  Looking back on it, I feel truly blessed.

G-Club Officers

After GHS

 

        After GHS, I did all of my formal education at Illinois State University.  I graduated in 1974 with a B.S. in accounting and worked for a large public accounting firm that had a branch office in the Bondi Building in Galesburg.  And, unfortunately, it was the classic “square peg in a round hole.” It just wasn’t a good fit.  

        I returned to my Aluma Mater in 1978 to pursue an M.S. in Physical Education. It was one of the best decisions I ever made.  I received my M.S. in December 1980, and went to work at a YMCA in New Orleans.  I was there less than a year, when I was offered a full-time physical director’s position at the YMCA in Bloomington, IL, where I had worked part-time while pursuing my M.S. at ISU.  I had 4 really good years there, but I really felt called to pursue a doctorate in education so I could teach at the college level.  

        I was admitted to the doctoral program in Curriculum & Instruction and took classes while keeping my full-time position at the YMCA.  But I was hooked.   I bit the bullet and left my position to pursue my education full-time in August 1985.  I was a full-time doctoral student for 3 years.  It was perhaps the most difficult thing I’ve ever done, but I loved it! A lot of work and a lot of missed sleep, but it was well worth it.  In August 1988, with my program complete except for the final write-up of my dissertation, I was offered an Assistant Professor’s position in P.E. at South Carolina State University in Orangeburg, SC.  

        On 6 day’s notice!  I also directed the school’s Intramural Sports Program.  I had 6 good years there, but then received an offer of an Associate Professor’s position at Houghton College (HC) in Houghton, NY.  The offer came from one of my baseball coaches at ISU!  I chaired the PE/REC Department at HC for 13 years. 

        Since the fall of 2010 until the present, I have taught a General Sociology course as an Adjunct Professor at Alfred State College (ASC) in Alfred, NY.  I also have been an Assistant Baseball Coach at ASC from 2009 to the present. 

        One other note:  from 1995 through 2007, I had the incredible opportunity of throwing batting practice for the Buffalo Bisons, the AAA team for the Cleveland Indians in the International League. During my first summer in Buffalo, Pete Weber, a Galesburg native, was the play-by-play guy on the radio for the Bisons!  It was good to see him again.

 

        I currently still have my position as an Adjunct Professor in Sociology at ASC as well as helping with the college’s baseball team (primarily throwing batting practice).  I also have been an Assistant Coach for a summer baseball team in the New York Collegiate Baseball League (NYCBL) from 2014 to the present, with my main duty being throwing batting practice.  It’s similar to the Galesburg Pioneers who I watched as a kid, playing at H.T. Custer Park.

        I live with my wife, Jayne, in Belfast, NY, a small town of approximately 1,500 people in scenic, Western New York.  We love it!

 

Advice to Today’s Students/Athletes 

        My best advice for students (something I’ve told countless students over the years) is to follow your passions.  Don’t chase a paycheck like I did with my B.S. at ISU.  A good paycheck won’t make you happy if you don’t enjoy your work.  And you probably won’t be very good at it (I wasn’t).  The old adage “find a job you love and you won’t have to work a day in your life” is so true.  The other piece of advice I would give is that nothing beats work ethic.  As one of my professors used to say, “do you want to go in the front door, or do you want to go in the back door?” It primarily depends on how hard you are willing to work. 

        My best advice for athletes is to make the most of the opportunities you have.  Your athletic career will be over before you know it, so don’t leave your playing days with any regrets.  Listen to your coaches, be a good teammate, respect your opponents, and ALWAYS give your best effort.  This will leave you with few regrets.