Fred Swift

Frederick Norman "Fred" Swift (6 July 1938 – 28 April 1983) was an Australian rules footballer who played in the Victorian Football League (VFL) for the Richmond Football Club between 1958 and 1967 and captained the club to a premiership in 1967. He also played first grade cricket with the Eaglehawk Cricket Club in the Bendigo and District Cricket Association.

Swift was murdered during a home invasion at his farm at Lockwood, near Bendigo, Victoria, on 28 April 1983.

Swift was recruited as a utility player from the Sandhurst Football Club in the Bendigo Football League. He played with their senior team, coached by Kevin Curran (and playing alongside Brendan Edwards), from the time he was seventeen and, at 19, he was the youngest player ever to win the club's best and fairest award.

Swift played in two practice matches with Richmond in 1957 but was not given a clearance; and he consequently returned to Sandhurst for the 1957 season.

In early March 1958, Richmond were able to come to an agreement with Sandhurst and Swift was allowed to travel to Melbourne to train with Richmond.

He starred in Richmond's 1958 pre-season practice games – "he marked well, played on with determination once the ball hit the ground, and frequently sent his side into attack with long, driving kicks into the goal mouth" — and, by mid-April 1958, nineteen years old Swift, regarded by Richmond as the "recruit of the year", was finally cleared to the Tigers.

Because it seemed certain that he would "definitely play for the Tigers in the opening game against South Melbourne", it was thought during the week prior to the first match of the 1958 season that he had so well demonstrated his ability to play at centre-half forward, half-back flank, and centre ("where he gave what was probably his most impressive performance") that "he could fill any one of these positions in the game against South"; and, moreover, that "his natural ability is such that he would probably be successful no matter where he is played".