PROFILE: John Francis Swafford was born in Republic, Kansas in 1893 the son of Irish Immigrants. He settled in the Concordia area of North Central Kansas. He and his wife, Margaret, had three children: Jimmy, Margaret and William (Bill). For a time he was sheriff of Cloud County and was the first man in Kansas to have bloodhounds that were used to track criminals. His bloodhounds were used to track the legendary criminals Bonnie and Clyde when they robbed the Concordia State Bank. Mr. Swafford also farmed for a number of years and loved working with animals, whether it was with bloodhounds, greyhounds, trotters, cattle or hogs. He passed away in 1960 at the age of 67.

HISTORY: Mr. Swafford raised, sold and leased greyhounds for the racetrack for more than two decades-from the late 1930’s through the 1950’s. His two sons would both follow him into the business. Mr. Swafford was a member of the National Coursing Association (now the NGA) as a registered owner from 1937 to 1959.

ACCOMPLISHMENTS: Mr. Swafford was a successful breeder, but his greatest legacy was passing on his passion for greyhounds to his descendants. His son, Jimmy, was a trainer in Florida for many years, operating kennels for Frank Lane and James Gallagher. He later raised greyhounds in Glasco, Kansas. His older son, Bill, raised some outstanding greyhounds on his Concordia, Kansas farm including the famed “Whiz Kids” (WESTY WHIZZER-FLYING SLIPPER), whelped in 1969-the winningest litter of all time, with 399 victories. Other outstanding greyhounds raised by Bill were PRESIDENT ELECT, C RISK and 1971 American Derby finalist littermates DOT’S DOLL and SECRET PROCESS. Bill’s daughter, Sydney Gasche, also became an active greyhound breeder and NGA member, as did her daughter, Aron, both of Olpe, Kansas. Aron Gasche, as John Swafford’s great-granddaughter, therefore represents the fourth generation of the Swafford family in the greyhound game, on the verge of spanning eight decades at the time of Mr. Swafford’s induction in 2006.