Craig Avery Swoope, Sr. (born February 3, 1964), is a former professional

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team wi ...

player who played collegiately for the

University of Illinois The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (U of I, Illinois, University of Illinois, or UIUC) is a public land-grant research university in Illinois in the twin cities of Champaign and Urbana. It is the flagship institution of the Univer ...

, and in 3 NFL seasons from 1986 to 1988 for the

Tampa Bay Buccaneers The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are a professional American football team based in Tampa, Florida. The Buccaneers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. The cl ...

and Indianapolis Colts. He was a second-team All-American and four-time All-Big Ten selection for the Illini, and as of 2009 is third all-time on Illinois' career interceptions list. Swoope began his rookie season as the Buccaneers' starter at strong safety, and was named to the

Football Digest ''Football Digest'' was a sports magazine for fans interested in professional American football, with in-depth coverage of the National Football League (NFL). The magazine modeled the ''Reader's Digest'' idea, to bring the best in football journali ...

all-rookie team. Injuries limited his playing time late in the season, and he was moved to free safety the next year. He was placed on the injured reserve list without playing a game the next season, and was later waived from the injured reserve list. Signed by the Colts, he earned the starting job in the

1988 File:1988 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The oil platform Piper Alpha explodes and collapses in the North Sea, killing 165 workers; The USS Vincennes (CG-49) mistakenly shoots down Iran Air Flight 655; Australia celebrates its Bicenten ...

preseason, but dislocated an elbow in the season opener and missed four weeks of play. He lost his starting job on returning to the roster, but regained it after an injury to Freddie Robinson. Swoope recorded a career-high 11 tackles in the game in which Robinson was injured. Swoope's reckless, aggressive playing style is considered to have been responsible for the injuries that shortened his playing career. He was cut by the Colts at the end of the

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preseason. His number 20 jersey was retired together with Ryan McNeil's number 6 jersey by

Fort Pierce Westwood High School Fort Pierce Westwood Academy: The WEST Prep Magnet, commonly referred to as Fort Pierce Westwood Academy, and formerly known as Fort Pierce Westwood High School, is a public high school located in Fort Pierce, Florida, Fort Pierce, Florida, United ...

in a 2008 ceremony.
"Westwood retires McNeil and Swoope's jerseys". Accessed May 23, 2008

References

External links

YouTube video of Swoope against Michigan Wolverines, Michigan

YouTube video with big hit of Swoope on

Al Toon Albert Lee Toon Jr. (born April 30, 1963) is a former professional American football wide receiver who played for the New York Jets of the National Football League (NFL) for eight seasons. A two-time First-team All-Big Ten pick at the Univers ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Swoope, Craig 1964 births Living people Tampa Bay Buccaneers players Indianapolis Colts players American football safeties Illinois Fighting Illini football players Players of American football from Florida People from Fort Pierce, Florida