Duane Alexander Swanson (August 23, 1913 – September 13, 2000) was an American

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

player who competed in the

1936 Summer Olympics The 1936 Summer Olympics (German: ''Olympische Sommerspiele 1936''), officially known as the Games of the XI Olympiad (German: ''Spiele der XI. Olympiade'') and commonly known as Berlin 1936 or the Nazi Olympics, were an international multi-sp ...

, winning a gold medal. He also played professionally: In eleven games during the 1939–40 National Basketball League (NBL) season, he averaged 1.2 points per game for the

Sheboygan Red Skins The Sheboygan Red Skins (or Redskins) was a professional basketball team based in Sheboygan, Wisconsin, which was an original National Basketball Association franchise during the 1949–1950 season. History Overview The Redskins played in th ...

. Duane Swanson's first name is often incorrectly attributed to be "George."

Biography

Swanson grew up in

Waterman, Illinois Waterman is a village in DeKalb County, Illinois, United States. The population was 1,433 at the 2020 census. The village was known for the "Waterman and Western" train line that operates in Lion's Club Park. This 1/3 scale train line comprises a ...

and attended

Illinois Wesleyan University Illinois ( ) is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolitan areas include, Peoria and Rockfor ...

for a brief time before transferring to the

University of Iowa The University of Iowa (UI, U of I, UIowa, or simply Iowa) is a public university, public research university in Iowa City, Iowa, United States. Founded in 1847, it is the oldest and largest university in the state. The University of Iowa is org ...

. He played on Iowa's freshman basketball team when he and a friend decided to drop out of school and

hitchhike Hitchhiking (also known as thumbing, autostop or hitching) is a means of transportation that is gained by asking individuals, usually strangers, for a ride in their car or other vehicle. The ride is usually, but not always, free. Nomads have ...

Los Angeles, California Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

to enroll at the

University of Southern California The University of Southern California (USC, SC, or Southern Cal) is a Private university, private research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Founded in 1880 by Robert M. Widney, it is the oldest private research university in C ...

(USC).

Iowa Iowa () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States, bordered by the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west. It is bordered by six states: Wisconsin to the northeast, Illinois to the ...

head coach

Rollie Williams Rolland Franklin "Rollie" Williams (October 11, 1897 – April 5, 1968) was an American football, basketball, and baseball player and coach. He played professional football in the National Football League (NFL) for the Racine Legion in 1923. He p ...

accused

USC USC most often refers to: * University of South Carolina, a public research university ** University of South Carolina System, the main university and its satellite campuses **South Carolina Gamecocks, the school athletic program * University of ...

head coach

Sam Barry Justin McCarthy "Sam" Barry (December 17, 1892 – September 23, 1950) was an American collegiate coach who achieved significant accomplishments in three major sports - football, baseball, and basketball. He remains one of only three coaches to ...

of luring both players to California, which Barry denied. Consequently, Barry rejected Swanson and his friend from playing for USC. Instead, they signed a contract to play for

Columbia Studios Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc. is an American film production studio that is a member of the Sony Pictures Motion Picture Group, a division of Sony Pictures Entertainment, which is one of the Big Five studios and a subsidiary of the multi ...

' team, which led to their first connections in the

Hollywood Hollywood usually refers to: * Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California * Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States Hollywood may also refer to: Places United States * Hollywood District (disambiguation) * Hollywood, ...

industry. In 1934, Swanson signed with

Joe E. Brown Joseph Evans Brown (July 28, 1891 – July 6, 1973) was an American actor and comedian, remembered for his friendly screen persona, comic timing, and enormous elastic-mouth smile. He was one of the most popular American comedians in the 19 ...

's All-Stars team, whom he spent the 1934–35 season competing for. In spring 1935, he played on an

Amateur Athletic Union The Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) is an amateur sports organization based in the United States. A multi-sport organization, the AAU is dedicated exclusively to the promotion and development of amateur sports and physical fitness programs. It has ...

(AAU) All-Star team that toured Japan, playing in 15 games. In 1935–36, Swanson played for

Universal Studios Universal Pictures (legally Universal City Studios LLC, also known as Universal Studios, or simply Universal; common metonym: Uni, and formerly named Universal Film Manufacturing Company and Universal-International Pictures Inc.) is an Ameri ...

' basketball team. This squad finished second in the national AAU tournament and first in the Olympic Trials, winning the right to represent the United States at the

Berlin Olympics The 1936 Summer Olympics (German language, German: ''Olympische Sommerspiele 1936''), officially known as the Games of the XI Olympiad (German language, German: ''Spiele der XI. Olympiade'') and commonly known as Berlin 1936 or the Nazi Olympi ...

. He ended up playing in three games during the Olympics and won a gold medal. Upon returning to the United States, Swanson stayed in Los Angeles a few more years competing for studio teams before returning to the

Midwest The Midwestern United States, also referred to as the Midwest or the American Midwest, is one of four Census Bureau Region, census regions of the United States Census Bureau (also known as "Region 2"). It occupies the northern central part of ...

in 1940. He signed with the NBL's

to finish out the season, appearing in eleven games. This stint would be his last as a professional basketball. Swanson returned to Southern California and after serving in the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, spent the next 25 years working in the entertainment industry.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Swanson, Duane 1913 births 2000 deaths Amateur Athletic Union men's basketball players American men's basketball players Basketball players at the 1936 Summer Olympics Basketball players from Illinois Forwards (basketball) Guards (basketball) Illinois Wesleyan University alumni Medalists at the 1936 Summer Olympics Olympic gold medalists for the United States in basketball Sportspeople from DeKalb County, Illinois Sheboygan Red Skins players United States men's national basketball team players University of Iowa alumni United States Army personnel of World War II