A true four-sport athlete, Mike Swaynie

By DR. TERRY COOMER

Noblesville High School has had many great athletes and many great athletic achievements down through the years. I am always glad to be able to say I grew up in Noblesville, Indiana. All the athletes who have done great things have had a wonderful support system from the community, great coaches who have inspired, taught, coached, and helped us to do great things. I want to apologize upfront if I did not remember someone’s contribution.

It is rare in this day to find an outstanding four-sport athlete because of the specialization for one sport. From 1969 to 1973 Noblesville had a great four-sport athlete, Mike Swaynie. It was my privilege to watch my friend Mike Swaynie play, run, compete, and improve each year. We played sports together from Little League through High School. I got a front-row seat to see a great athlete! Mike excelled at the sports he played as he got better each year. Mike played football, basketball, baseball, and ran track.

Mike also played Little League and Babe Ruth Baseball. When we were 15 years old and playing baseball for Hall of Fame Sports Editor Don Jellison, we finished second in the State of Indiana. Mike led the team in stolen bases with 22 stolen bases in a row! Never thrown out! In 1972, Mike was part of the first State Championship baseball team in Noblesville history as Noblesville won the Advanced Babe Ruth State Championship and went on to play in a seven-state playoff against other state champions where we defeated the Kentucky State Champion. The population of Noblesville was about 7,400 at the time. Quite an accomplishment!

As we entered high school in 1969, it was certainly a year of wondering where we fit in. Mike found his spot in sports. One thing that makes a great athlete is speed. Mike sure had that! On June 6, 1972, the Kansas City Royals held a tryout camp for major league baseball at the Noblesville High School diamond. One of the things that major baseball wants is speed. Mike Swaynie, from a standing start was clocked running the 60-yard dash in 6.3 seconds! The scout came running over to Noblesville Baseball Hall of Fame Coach Don Dunker all excited saying, “Mike was one of the fastest players he had ever clocked!” He said, “Wow he did that from a standing start!” Let me put that in proper perspective for you. Major League baseball considers anything under 7.0 seconds in the 60-yard dash fast. The fastest time in baseball that has ever been run was by the Angels superstar Mike Trout at 6.08 seconds! The fastest 60-yard dash in the world clocked by Major League Baseball was run by the track superstar Carl Lewis who holds the record of (an unreal time) of 5.98 seconds. So, you can see that is the class that Mike Swaynie ran in high school! Unheard of!

A baseball outfielder often has to run over 100 feet to catch fly balls. Batters that hit doubles or triples are running at least 180 feet. When Mike took off it was like he was flying to the ball! As a pitcher I always appreciated Mike being in the outfield!

In 1973, Mike Swaynie, Rick Taylor, Mark Hood, and Terry Coomer were the four seniors on the Noblesville baseball team. From 1970-1973 the Noblesville baseball team won a record four sectional titles in a row. No baseball team in Hamilton County has ever done that before or since. Mike Swaynie in 1973 was a big part of winning the record baseball sectional. It was like a picture of art when a baseball went up in the air and Mike Swaynie took off after it. He ran balls down that no other person would ever get to. If he hit the ball on the ground, you better have a rocket for an arm to throw him out. When he took off to steal a base no one could throw him out. Real speed!

Rick Taylor (left), Terry Coomer (center) and Mike Swaynie are shown here at the NHS Class of 1973’s 50th reunion. (Photo provided)

But Mike excelled at other sports as well. Mike likes to tell the story that the Junior High basketball coachcut him from the team and said, “You will never amount to anything in basketball!” In 1972, he was the only underclassman on the Noblesville basketball team. In 1973, as a senior power forward, he led the team in rebounding and scoring, averaging 17 points a game with a high game of 33 points against Frankfort! Mike was named All County and All Sagamore Conference in basketball in 1973. With Mike’s speed and huge jumping ability at 6 feet tall, he played like a 6 feet 6 inch or 6 feet 7-inch player! The junior high coach came back and told Mike, “Well I guess I was really wrong about you and basketball!” That was an understatement! Telling Mike Swaynie, he could not do something, well, that just lit his fire!

In football, Mike played defensive back and in his senior year played as a receiver and halfback. Mike likes to tell the story that he told Coach Jim Belden that he could outrun the fastest halfback on the team in the sprints in track. Coach Belden told him he could not beat the other player. Mike asked Coach Belden, “If I outrun him in the track sprints, will you let me play halfback in football?”  Coach said yes. It was not a contest as Mike outran him with ease, and started playing halfback in his senior year. Keep in mind speed wins games.

In 1972, Coach Belden was watching me throw a baseball in the gym and came up with an idea for a fullback pass. In a tight game the ball was handed off to me and I ran to the right and was immediately swarmed with defensive players. Mike ran about 45 to 50 yards down the field, which only he could do in the time allotted. My thought was whatever I do, do not get tackled for a loss behind our 20-yard line. So, I threw the ball as hard and as long as I could off-balance down the field. I was just trying to throw it away with no possibility of anyone catching it! Laying on the ground I saw Mike Swaynie make an unbelievable play. He jumped way up in the air over everyone and caught the ball for a 50-yard gain! A lot of luck on my part and pure athletic ability on Mike’s part! In 1973, Mike Swaynie was named All County and All Sagamore Conference in football.

Probably Mike’s strongest sport was track and why not with the speed and jumping ability. Mike participated in the high jump, low hurdles, sprints, and the long jump. In 1972, in the regional track meet, Mike had a high jump of 6 feet 4¼ inches in that event. The Noblesville High School record at the time was 6 feet 4¾ inches. His best in the long jump was 21 feet 8 inches! As a senior in 1973, Mike won the long jump, and some sprints. He won the sectional, regional, and was a state finalist in the low hurdles. Mike was named All County and All Sagamore Conference in track in 1973.

Mike Swaynie was a true four-sport athlete who excelled in all four sports. While at Noblesville High School Mike lettered a total of eight times. In 1973, he was all Sagamore Conference and All County in basketball, track, and football. He was a big part of the record fourth baseball sectional championship in a row. Noblesville had never won a baseball sectional until the class of 1973 entered Noblesville High School. We are the only class who had a player on all four sectional championship teams. Mike Swaynie, a true four-sport athlete who had blinding speed, could jump over the building, who led Noblesville to championships, played hard, and excelled in four sports! In 1973 Mike received the highest award a Noblesville athlete can receive, the Miller Blanket!

Congratulations to Mike Swaynie, an inspiration and a true four-sport athlete who made history at Noblesville High School! It was a pleasure to watch him play and compete!

You can reach Dr. Terry Coomer at
drterrycoomer19@gmail.com