Dave Swick did not have imposing size, but his feisty play at just 5-feet, 4-inches helped make him a fan favorite, and the Waterloo Black Hawks won five consecutive USHL championships starting the winter he arrived from Michigan's Upper Peninsula.
Swick died on Tuesday at age 88.
"Almost impossible to knock down, Dave is exceptionally strong for his size," noted the 1963/64 Black Hawks game program which introduced Swick during his first season in the Cedar Valley, continuing, "if he does hit the ice, he bounces back like a rubber ball. His quick accurate passing from the center spot may be just what the Hawks need…"
The Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan native went on to accumulate 41 points in 31 games that year, and the Hawks skated to their first league title in just their second season. Waterloo won four more championships in that era, and Swick was an important member of each one. By 1967, he was named the Black Hawks' captain.
If fans enjoyed Swick's determined style of play, he warmly returned the sentiment, as noted during a 2024 interview: "The minute I came here, I sort of fell in love with McElroy [Auditorium]. You know, you fall in love with the place, you play better at the place …When you step on the ice, you just get a little extra boost; you get the adrenaline just rolling a little bit, and you just go just a little bit harder."
In all, Swick played eight seasons for Waterloo. In 1973, he was hired as the Hawks' head coach, leading the team to the league's championship series the following spring, then again in 1975. Swick remained on the bench through the early weeks of the 1976/77 schedule. However, his coaching career in the community carried well into the 1980s in a longstanding role leading the Waterloo Warriors high school team and helping to develop many future Black Hawks during the early years of the team's junior era. Away from the ice, Swick was an iron worker and construction manager, most notably for Jens Oleson Construction.
"I was going to come for two or three years," Swick reflected. "I was still in Waterloo when I retired 35 years later."
Funeral services for Swick are pending in Michigan, where his family maintained a summer home. He is survived by his wife Gloria, son Dave Jr., and daughter Susan and preceded in death by his son Gary.
The Black Hawks send sincerest condolences to the Swick family.
