Nils V. "Swede" Nelson Award
# Nils V. "Swede" Nelson Award

The Nils V. "Swede" Nelson Award is an American college football award given annually by the Gridiron Club of Greater Boston to "the player who by his conduct on and off the gridiron demonstrates a high esteem for the football code and exemplifies sportsmanship to an outstanding degree" among northeastern colleges and universities. In 1982, the award was narrowed to the player deemed to be the "very best, and most academically talented, college football player in New England."

Since 1989, the award has been given annually to two players (with the exception of a single winner in 1996, three winners in 2007 and 2015, and no award given during the 2020 season due to the COVID-19 pandemic), one from a Division I football program, and one from a small college.

The award is the fourth oldest collegiate football award in the United States, following the Heisman, Maxwell, and George "Bulger" Lowe trophies.

The award is named after the founder of the Gridiron Club, Nils V. "Swede" Nelson, a former college player at Harvard and coach. Nelson was a member of the unbeaten Harvard football team that defeated Oregon in the 1920 Rose Bowl.

The inaugural winner of the trophy was quarterback Perry Moss of Illinois in 1946. Other notable winners of the award include Doak Walker (1949), Johnny Bright (1951), Floyd Little (1966), Dick Jauron (1971), Otis Armstrong (1972), Tom Waddle (1988), Jay Fiedler (1992), Matt Hasselbeck (1997), Mark Herzlich (2009), Anthony Castonzo (2010), and Zach Allen (2018).

## Past winners

| Year | Player | Position | School |
| - | - | - | - |
| 2022 | Vinny DePalma | LB | Boston College |
| 2022 | Tony Hooks | LB | Bates College |
| 2021 | Peter Oliver | RB | Holy Cross |
| 2021 | Mike Pedrini | RB | Tufts |
| 2019 | Jake McIntyre | K | Harvard |
| 2019 | Nick Bainter | OL | Springfield College |
| 2018 | Zach Allen | DL | Boston College |
| 2018 | Joe Wilson | OL | Wesleyan University |
| 2017 | Peter Pujals | QB | Holy Cross |
| 2017 | Chris Hayden | OL | Springfield College |
| 2016 | Justin Wain | P | Connecticut |
| 2016 | Mark Upton | LB | Bates College |
| 2015 | Brian Strachan | WR | Brown |
| 2015 | Anthony Massucci | DB | Stonehill College |
| 2015 | Ty Spencer | WR | Fitchburg State |
| 2014 | Tyler Varga | RB | Yale |
| 2014 | Danny Guadagnoli | QB | Bentley University |
| 2013 | Devin Brown | DB | UMass |
| 2013 | Tim Grupp | OL | WPI |
| 2012 | Emmett Cleary | OL | Boston College |
| 2012 | Ethan Peterson | OL | MIT |
| 2011 | Patrick Witt | QB | Yale |
| 2011 | Bryant Johnson | QB | Bentley |
| 2010 | Anthony Castonzo | OL | Boston College |
| 2010 | Ryan Schmid | DL | Coast Guard |
| 2009 | Mark Herzlich | LB | Boston College |
| 2009 | Alex Rubino | DL | MIT |
| 2008 | Andrew Berry | DB | Harvard |
| 2008 | James Oleinik | OL | MIT |
| 2007 | Dan Guariglia | OL | Amherst |
| 2007 | Ryne Nutt | C | Central Connecticut |
| 2007 | Steve Morgan | P/K | Brown |
| 2006 | Ed McCarthy | OL | Yale |
| 2006 | Brendan Fulmer | WR/P/K | Williams |
| 2005 | David Diamond | OL | Bowdoin |
| 2005 | Nick Hartigan | RB | Brown |
| 2004 | Keron Henry | WR | Connecticut |
| 2004 | Fletcher Ladd | RB | Amherst |
| 2003 | Steve Fox | OL | Holy Cross |
| 2003 | Greg Wood | WR | Worcester State |
| 2002 | Kevin Noone | OL | Dartmouth |
| 2002 | Chuck McGraw | RB | Tufts |
| 2001 | John Richardson | OL | Boston College |
| 2001 | Bob Montgomery | C | UMass Lowell |
| 2000 | Eric Johnson | WR | Yale |
| 2000 | Tim McCarthy | OL | Middlebury |
| 1999 | Isaiah Kacyvenski | LB | Harvard |
| 1999 | Nicholas Kozy | OL | MIT |
| 1998 | Matt Jordan | WR | UMass |
| 1998 | Eric Trum | OL | Tufts |
| 1997 | Matt Hasselbeck | QB | Boston College |
| 1997 | Daniel Lord | OL | Tufts |
| 1996 | Joseph DeAngelis | OL | Trinity |
| 1995 | Tim O'Brien | OL | Boston College |
| 1995 | Mike Rymsha | QB | Bentley |
| 1994 | Andre Miksimow | OL | Boston University |
| 1994 | Nate Sleeper | QB | Williams |
| 1993 | Keith Miller | RB | Boston College |
| 1993 | Michael Turmelle | DB | Bowdoin |
| 1992 | Jay Fiedler | QB | Dartmouth |
| 1992 | Roderick Tranum | WR | MIT |
| 1991 | Paul Capriotti | RB | Maine |
| 1991 | Paul Oliveira | OL | Tufts |
| 1990 | Brad Preble | DB | Dartmouth |
| 1990 | Mark Katz | OL | Bowdoin |
| 1989 | Ben Cowan | OL | Boston University |
| 1989 | Rich Schachner | RB | Coast Guard |
| 1988 | Tom Waddle | WR | Boston College |
| 1987 | Gordie Lockbaum | RB/DB | Holy Cross |
| 1986 | Stan Kaczorowski | OL | UMass |
| 1985 | Guy Carbone | OL | Rhode Island |
| 1984 | Steve Strachan | RB | Boston College |
| 1983 | Matt Martin | LB | Holy Cross |
| 1982 | John Loughery | QB | Boston College |
| 1981 | Kenny Duckett | WR | Wake Forest |
| 1980 | Jerry Pierce | LB | Dartmouth |
| 1979 | Tom Bell | OL | BYU |
| 1978 | Rich Leach | QB | Michigan |
| 1977 | Roy Heffernan | RB | Middlebury |
| 1976 | Peter Cronan | LB | Boston College |
| 1975 | George Niland | OL | Trinity |
| 1974 | Peter Gorniewicz | RB | Colby |
| 1973 | James Stoeckel | WR | Harvard |
| 1972 | Otis Armstrong | RB | Purdue |
| 1971 | Richard Jauron | RB | Yale |
| 1970 | Renso Perdoni | DL | Georgia Tech |
| 1969 | Steve Smear | DL | Penn State |
| 1968 | Vic Gatto | RB | Harvard |
| 1967 | Brian Dowling | QB | Yale |
| 1966 | Floyd Little | RB | Syracuse |
| 1965 | Thomas Clarke | OL | Dartmouth |
| 1964 | Arthur Roberts | RB | Columbia |
| 1963 | Bob Cappadona | RB | Northeastern |
| 1962 | Pat Culpepper | LB | Texas |
| 1961 | Joseph Kowalski | OL | Rutgers |
| 1960 | Alan Rozycki | RB | Dartmouth |
| 1959 | George Roden | QB | Colby |
| 1958 | J.W. Brodnax | RB | LSU |
| 1957 | Thomas Salvo | OL | Boston University |
| 1956 | James Swink | RB | TCU |
| 1955 | Don Hollender | TE | Army |
| 1954 | Arthur Luppino | RB | Arizona |
| 1953 | Don King | QB | Clemson |
| 1952 | Joseph Mitinger | QB | Yale |
| 1951 | Johnny Bright | RB | Drake |
| 1950 | Bob Williams | QB | Notre Dame |
| 1949 | Doak Walker | RB/DB/K | SMU |
| 1948 | Gordon Long | OL | Arkansas |
| 1947 | Everett Dorr | RB | Boston University |
| 1946 | Perry Moss | QB | Illinois |
