Sandy Schwab
PHS Class of 1982
Sandy excelled in both Football and Track in his athletic career at Piedmont. As a track athlete he excelled in the 300 meter hurdles. As a Senior Captain of the Football team, Sandy led Piedmont to the League Championships and into the Playoffs. As a three year starter at quarterback, Sandy set all of Piedmont's passing records. Passing for over 2,500 yards as a Senior, Sandy was named the Leagues most Valuable Offensive Player, to the All Eastbay Team, and to the All Star Team for Alameda County.
College Career:
Schwab was heavily recruited by Northwestern and UCLA and ultimately chose Dennis Green’s Wildcats. As a starting Freshman, he made national headlines leading Northwestern to a 31 to 6 victory over Northern Illinois, which ended Northwestern's painful 34 game losing streak. In celebration, the jubilant fans tore down the goalposts and walked them up the stadium bleachers where they tossed them over the edge to the street below. The fans then marched the goal posts to the presidents house before leaving them in Lake Michigan.
In one game alone, Schwab set several Big Ten and NCAA records for passing, and he did it against league-leading and nationally ranked Michigan, known for its strong defense. He completed 45-of-71 passes for 436 yards. The attempts and completions were NCAA records and his 76 offensive plays tied the NCAA mark. His 436 yards and 23 first downs passing were team records. At the time of his graduation he had set all of the passing records at Northwestern including 5,612 yards passing for his career.
“In my now 50 years of coaching Sandy is the most gifted athlete I have had the pleasure to coach”