Against Heavy Odds

By Darren Shell

Some say champions are born. Others say they are forged from adversity, pain, strong will and the desire to persevere, while others believe destiny provides the channel to success. Call it destiny, perseverance or personal fortitude with an undying will to win — whatever you call it, Eddie Swanson has it.

Raised in the Chattanooga, Tenn. projects, Eddie James Swanson grew up yearning to be big in every way. His small stature and lack of money made this a monumental challenge, but inside that little-big man was a gentle giant just waiting to show the world what he was made of. Through determination and hard work, he would show the world just how big a little guy could be. Eddie had a goal of reaching world champion status, and he didn’t stop until he achieved that goal.

Against Heavy Odds tells Eddie’s story just as it happened ... in his words. He describes the nurturing love of his mother, the wondrous support of his loving wife, Stacey, and how his “life-team” helped him reach some of the loftiest heights in weightlifting history. This “little guy makes it big” tale will make you an Eddie Swanson fan and have you cheering for all the things he stands for in life.

As Eddie says ... “God is my strength, without Him, I have none. With God, I can do anything.”

• Language: English
• Publisher: Fideli Publishing, Inc.
• Release date: Feb 15, 2013
• ISBN: 9781604143775

Darren Shell

Darren Shell started writing in the spring of 2005. His first effort was a simple story about Dale Hollow Lake for his daughter, who was then ten years old. “It was crude and simple, but heart-felt and tender,” Shell says. “It was a ghost tale about the making of Dale Hollow Lake and how they had to dig up old graveyards during the construction.” Several people ended up reading this first effort, and many more began asking for copies. Because this first story was so well received, Shell wrote a prequel to accompany it. The reception for this writing was as popular as the first. Building on that success, Shell wrote six additional short stories that all fit into the first. These were eventually combined into a comb-bound book he printed himself and then sold. This book was also published in perfect-bound form, but is now out of print. “To this day, I still get requests for that book,” Shell says. “I’ve sold more than 500 copies, and occasionally I still find the need to print one from my computer for a friend or family member.” After this success, Shell broadened his scope by writing a series of historical stories for local newspapers. This collection was then published in book form titled Stories From Dale Hollow, and sold close to one thousand copies. These stories prompted Shell to start his company, Gravedigger Tours. Each season, he gives guided “ghost” tours of the park in the center of Dale Hollow. “It’s a historical tour,” Shell says, “and my character, one of the lake’s old gravediggers from 1942 when the lake was made, tells all the tales. It’s a crowd favorite and has earned me the nickname ‘Gravedigger.’” In the fall, a full-fledged set of tours are set up and tourists and friends come from miles around to hear the Gravedigger’s storytelling. This is also a great time for Shell to sell copies of his books. Shell’s latest work, The Big Ones—The World Record Smallmouth Bass of Dale Hollow Lake, deals with a different type of lake history. The book tells of the controversy surrounding the number-one world record smallmouth bass, profiles the number two and three record holders, gives the reader a glimpse of the men behind the those catches and includes several fishing experts’ top 10 tips for catching smallmouth bass. Shell has also set aside 50 signed copies of the book for charity. Dubbed “Fishing For Charity,” Shell’s goal is to donate a total of $5,000 in charitable funds to charities chosen by the people buying the special books. Darren Shell lives and works at his family-run marina on Dale Hollow Lake in middle Tennessee.

Book preview

Against Heavy Odds

From Backyard to Champion — The Eddie Swanson Story

Darren Shell

AS TOLD BY EDDIE SWANSON

Smashwords ebook published by Fideli Publishing Inc.

© Copyright 2013, Wueffer Daffer Productions & Darren Shell

All rights reserved.

No part of this eBook may be reproduced or shared by any electronic or mechanical means, including but not limited to printing, file sharing, and email, without prior written permission from Fideli Publishing.

Smashwords Edition, License Notes

This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each person you share it with. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then you should return to Smashwords.com and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

ISBN: 978-1-60414-377-5

Author’s Note

Inside the heart of Eddie Swanson lives a gentle giant possessing as much strength within as his exterior. His is an unsung story, yet unheard by most of America. I hope to change that. Eddie’s life is a modern day, real-life Rocky Balboa tale. It’s almost a movie in the making — and I’m here cheering like a loyal fan. I want the world to know Eddie Swanson and cheer with the same excitement as me.

Until I received the invitation to help him write this story, I, too, had not heard of his record-breaking tale. One man with little outside help from anyone crushed his competition and broke weight-lifting records—winning championships across the nation. Until now, happily married, his biggest supporter had been his mother, offering the best six words Eddie’s career (and life) had ever received. There is nothing you can’t do.

The more I learn about Eddie Swanson, the more I believe we all should live by that mantra. I might not quite be ready to bench-press a bus, but I’ll lift my weights in the world with more enthusiasm than ever before having seen this man’s determination.

Thanks, Eddie. There’s nothing I can’t do… ~DS

Contents

CHAPTER ONE

Courage Found

CHAPTER TWO

Small But Mighty

CHAPTER THREE

The Future Set in Motion

CHAPTER FOUR

Building a Backyard Champion

CHAPTER FIVE

Nothing Beats a Failure But a Try

CHAPTER SIX

Wrestling Fills a Void

CHAPTER SEVEN

Changes Bring New Focus

CHAPTER EIGHT

Life Changes … For everyone …

CHAPTER NINE

College Dreams Evaporate

CHAPTER TEN

Married with Children

CHAPTER ELEVEN

D-I-V-O-R-C-E

CHAPTER TWELVE

Pieces Finally Come Together

CHAPTER THRITEEN

New Job, New Love

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

Time for Change

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

Powerlifting

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

World Championship, Nerves and Doubt

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

I Can Do Anything

"There’s nothin’ in this world you can’t do if you put your mind to it."

— Orvester Swanson

Orvester and Eddie Swanson. June 1970.

CHAPTER ONE

Courage Found

Early summer, 1969

The hot Chattanooga sun beat down on the playground of Frank H. Trotter Elementary School. Nine-year-old Eddie Swanson kicked at the dusty red clay at his feet, gathering enough courage to climb that giant twelve-stepped ladder of the big kid slide. Both older and younger children had already pushed him aside, dashing up the stairs with a ferocity Eddie found hard to imagine. He struggled with a fear of heights, and even though he was older than some of those around him, he was still considerably smaller in size than most. His tiny stature made that slide seem even higher.

It was frustrating to him that the other kids could simply dash up the slide and race to the bottom. Today he would do something about it.

Summoning his inner courage, he plowed up the slide’s staircase, hand over fist, trying hard not to focus on his rising elevation. With a swift plop down onto the upper tier, Eddie gripped the shiny sides of the slide and pushed himself over the edge, racing down the swift and slippery grade — eyes closed and ready for certain death.

Halfway down, his eyes opened and wide wonder filled his mind. His little body plowed into the sandy surface below as a giant grin tugged at his dusty face. Wow! Maybe Momma was right … I can do anything!

CHAPTER TWO

Small But Mighty

At the tender age of ten, young Eddie was still one of the smallest kids in his classroom. Even in his neighborhood, he was still smaller than some of the youngest children in the north- Chattanooga projects. Living in the projects is no easy task for a child, and being one of the smallest certainly didn’t help Eddie’s case in the slightest. Getting picked on and bullied everyday was something Eddie could rarely avoid.

Eddie’s father, Oscar Iodis Swanson, had recently passed away, leaving his mother to fend for the family. Eddie was the only child in the household near his age. Aside from his infant brother, Fred, the rest of Eddie’s siblings were much older. His sister, Ida Mae, was twenty-seven and still living in the household, too. Her efforts at keeping the family going were a stronghold for the group. She would often walk Eddie to school to help keep him safe from the bullies.

Eddie’s grandmother, Emma Hogue, also lived within the tiny household. She was also one of Eddie’s strongholds in life, much like his mother. In Eddie’s early years, she had gone blind, keeping her nearly housebound the remainder of her years. She was still a scrappy old gal, though. She’d watch after all the kids with the same muster as