[1] Born in North Henderson, Illinois in 1900, Swanson's first pro team was the 1923 Cedar Rapids Bunnies of the Mississippi Valley League, a Class D circuit where he played for the first six seasons of his career.

Although solid defensively, Swanson was baffled by big-league pitching and could only manage nine hits (eight singles and a double) in 65 at-bats, for a .138 average.

After a strong spring training in 1929, however, Swanson came north with the Sox but was used only sparingly, pinch hitting in two games before being returned to the minors in early May.

Swanson knocked around the minors for several more years before ending up in the same place he began: with the Cedar Rapids Raiders of the Western League, in 1935.

In April 2001, to mark the 100th anniversary of the first American League game, Swanson threw the first pitch at Tropicana Field between the Tampa Bay Devil Rays and the Kansas City Royals.