College football Hall of Famer who survived Nazi bombings in WWII dies

Gerhard H. “Ger” Schwedes, the Syracuse University standout who helped lead the Orange to their only national football championship, died Aug. 23 at his home in Fayetteville, N.Y. He was 88.

Schwedes was born April 23, 1938, in Freiburg, Germany, and raised in Ulm. His father was a German Army officer who spent part of World War II as a prisoner of war. The family moved to New Jersey when Schwedes was 12.

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Schwedes recalled taking shelter from Allied air raids and seeing the effects of the war around him in a 2020 interview. The Syracuse obituary said American soldiers had given children in his village an American football, an experience that later influenced his path into the sport.

Schwedes received only one college football offer, from Syracuse. He became a starting halfback in 1957 and also played safety and quarterback. He was an All-American and Academic All-American and was named a National Football Foundation Scholar-Athlete in 1959.

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As a senior in 1959, Schwedes captained Syracuse to a 10-0 regular-season record and a berth in the Cotton Bowl — where he cemented his place in school history.

In the Jan. 1, 1960 game against Texas, Schwedes threw an 87-yard touchdown pass to Ernie Davis on Syracuse’s third play from scrimmage. He later scored on a three-yard run as Syracuse won, 23-14, completing an undefeated season and securing the national championship. It remains the only NCAA football championship in Syracuse history.

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Schwedes finished ninth in the 1959 Heisman Trophy voting and played in the Senior Bowl. In November 1959, the newly formed Boston Patriots selected him in the first-ever American Football League draft. He was also drafted by the NFL’s Baltimore Colts, but played all 10 of his professional games in the AFL with the New York Titans (the forerunner to today’s Jets) and Patriots from 1960-61.

Schwedes later served in the U.S. Army, rising to captain. He was inducted into the Greater Syracuse Sports Hall of Fame in 2014. He is survived by two sons, two brothers and five grandchildren. His son Scott played four seasons in the NFL with the Miami Dolphins as a wide receiver and returner.

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