The Charbonneau Villager
character to those stalwarts
recruited by Oregon State.
I reminded him it was well
documented that an All-American center had been kicked
off the team by basketball
coach Slats Gill in the mid1950s, because the player decided he didn't need to attend
classes. And, a star halfback
November 2013
was later dismissed because
of theft. “THAT'S NOT TRUE!”
Bob emphatically declared,
flailing his arms for added emphasis. He offered no further
retort - end of discussion.
During his years at the
helm while in Roseville, the
circulation of the six-day-a-
week Press-Tribune more than
doubled. Meanwhile, Bob and
Pat became huge fans of the
San Francisco 49ers, acquiring season tickets and attending every home game. Their
family home just outside Roseville was within a mile of the
49ers summer training camp.
www.charbonneaucountryclub.com
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Bob and Pat were in the
stands to witness first-hand
one of the most memorable
plays in NFL history, Dwight
Clark's leaping end zone catch
of a Joe Montana pass with
51 seconds left in the game to
give the 49ers a 28-27 playoff
win over Dallas. The play put
the 49ers in their first Super
Bowl, where they defeated
Cincinnati 26-21.
After he and business partner Walt McKinney sold the
Press-Tribune in 1982, Bob returned to Portland to become
deputy sports editor of The Oregonian. In late 1984, he took
over the reins of The Charbonneau Villager. He continued
to renew his 49er regular season tickets year after year and
thought nothing about driving
1,400 miles round trip to San
Francisco for home games.
George and Nan Dewey
traveled with the Swans to
the 1985 Super Bowl, played
at Stanford Stadium, a 3816 San Francisco victory over
Miami. Bob and Pat then followed the 49ers on the trail to
three more 49er Super Bowl
championships:1989,
2016 over Cincinnati in Miami;
1990, a 55-10 blowout against
Denver in New Orleans and, in
1995, 49-26 against San Diego, also played in Miami.
On the night before his
death, Bob and K.C. watched
Thursday Night Football San Francisco at Seattle. The
49ers were thumped 29-3 in
spite of Bob shouting as he
viewed the action on TV as
the game unfolded. He began
slipping away later that night.
He was a huge sports fan who
cheered until the very end.
Bob left us on a Friday evening with family members at
his side. The next day in Corvallis, his beloved Beavers dismantled Colorado 44-17. Bob
would have liked that.
A memorial service will be
held at the Multnomah Athletic Club on Wednesday, Nov.
6, beginning at 1:30 pm.
More on Bob Swan's life
and career is in Section B of
the Oct. 6 issue of The Sunday
Oregonian. It can be accessed
at the Oregonian website, oregonlive.com/RobertSwan. A
hard copy of the paper is also
available in the periodical section of the Wilsonville Public
Library.