Biography
Gary Swann was born and raised in York and joined the Hull City apprentice scheme as a full back and midfielder in July 1978. In April 1979 he struck a hattrick against York City’s juniors side, by July 1980 he had been awarded his first contract and was quickly included in Mike Smith’s struggling Division Four first team. He scored his first goal for City in September 1980, during a 2-1 home win against Portsmouth and from November 1981 onwards he was a first team regular.
When Colin Appleton took the reins at City in June 1982 he made greater use of Swann, who was used as both full back and central midfielder throughout the 1982/83 season that ended in promotion. Elevated to the third tier, Gary was a near ever-present for two seasons under both Appleton and successor Brian Horton as the Tigers won a second promotion at the end of the 1984/85 season. Swann was a mainstay of the Horton side in the 1985/86 season that soared to a Division Two top six finish, however City then began a squad rebuilding process that meant Swann was surplus to requirements and after six years of solid service he moved to Division Four side Preston North End in November 1986 for a £10,000 fee.
Ever-reliable, Swann slotted straight into the Preston first team and helped them win promotion to Division Three at the end of the 1986/87 season. He missed five months of football during the middle of the 1988/89 season before returning late in the season to play the end of season play-offs, which ended in defeat to Port Vale. Overall Swann gave Preston six years of service making 250 appearances and contributing 47 goals, mostly from an advanced midfield role.
In July 1992 Gary was released by Preston and joined his home town club York City. He won a fourth career promotion in his first season at Bootham Crescent, winning the end of season play-offs and scoring a Wembley goal that took the tie into a penalty shoot out that saw the Minstermen prevail 5-3. Swann stayed with York City for a further season and by June 1994 he had scored six goals in 95 appearances. He then completed his playing career with a final 1994/95 season at Division Four side Scarborough, scoring four goals in 35 appearances. In a 15 year career Swann amassed precisely 600 senior appearances and 67 goals, a fine servant to all who signed him.
Following football Swann settled in the Home Counties where he worked for nearly thirty years in the leisure centre industry, eventually managing Coral Reef Waterworld in Bracknell for six years between 2014 and 2020 before working in facilities management.
Details
Nationality: England
Date/Place of Birth: 11 April 1962, York
Hull City First Game: 2 August 1980, Sheffield United A (Anglo-Scottish Cup Group Stage), 18 years, 113 days old
Hull City Final Game: 11 October 1986, Derby County A (Division Two), 24 years, 183 days old
Clubs
Hull City (1978-1986), Preston North End (1986-1992), York City (1992-1994), Scarborough (1994-1995)
Hull City Record
Career: 220 apps, 10 goals
Gary Swann| Season | LGE App | LGE Gls | FAC App | FAC Gls | FLC App | FLC Gls | EUR App | EUR Gls | OTH App | OTH Gls |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1980/81 | 17 (3) | 2 | – | – | – | – | – | – | 0 (2) | 0 |
| 1981/82 | 18 (2) | 0 | 6 (0) | 1 | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| 1982/83 | 23 (2) | 0 | 1 (0) | 0 | 1 (0) | 0 | – | – | 1 (0) | 0 |
| 1983/84 | 41 (0) | 2 | – | – | 2 (0) | 0 | – | – | 5 (0) | 0 |
| 1984/85 | 31 (1) | 3 | 1 (0) | 0 | 0 (1) | 0 | – | – | 1 (0) | 0 |
| 1985/86 | 37 (2) | 2 | 3 (0) | 0 | 4 (0) | 0 | – | – | 4 (0) | 0 |
| 1986/87 | 9 (0) | 0 | – | – | 2 (0) | 0 | – | – | – | – |