Calvin Samuel Swinney was born May 7, 1971 to Adelaide Dixie Swinney and Calvin Henry "Bubba" Swinney in Jackson, Mississippi. Cal's father, Bubba, worked as a truck driver for Jackson Rapid Delivery Service and spent many weeks on the road. Adelaide, several years Bubba's junior, was often restless and lonely during these absences. Consequently, Addie found comfort in the company of other men and it ultimately ended her marriage.

When Cal was seven years old, his parents divorced and his mother moved to Oxford. As was customary in those days, Addie was awarded custody of Cal and, by the time he was ten, Bubba had stopped coming to Oxford to see him. Cal always blamed his mother for his father's desertion and to this day has a strained relationship with her. Cal didn't approve of his mother's habit of falling in love easily and dreaded the constant change of men around the house. He vowed that when he married it would be for keeps.

When Cal graduated high school, Addie moved to Nashville, Tennessee with her latest boyfriend, but Cal stayed in Oxford. He met Donna Lisa Halverson at a 4th of July picnic in 1991 and proposed marriage on their third date. Donna, who was only eighteen, accepted his proposal, feeling it must have been fate. Shortly after the wedding, problems arose. Donna wanted more out of life - more money, more things, more excitement - while Cal longed for stability and security. The couple began to have financial problems and fought constantly.

In 1993, Donna gave birth to their son, Matthew Daniel Swinney, and both Donna and Cal found a bond they'd never known before. Life was good for the first few years of their son's life, but eventually the old problems and old arguments returned. Donna wanted to be a stay-at-home mom, but that wasn't possible on Cal's salary alone. She resented the fact that she had to work in order to make ends meet, and she made sure Cal knew it. Cal was increasingly aggravated by Donna's attitude and began to think of her as a petulant child instead of a wife and treated her accordingly.

Cal and Donna tried to keep up appearances for their son's sake, but in the rare times they were together, they were usually arguing. Donna started spending time on the Internet and picking up extra shifts at work so she could avoid Cal. He responded by being resentful and jealous. Though Donna didn't give him cause at first, he questioned everything she did and every place she went. After a while, she gave in to temptation and found she enjoyed flirting with other men, both in person and online.

Donna repeatedly threatened to leave Cal, but she never did. Cal believed she never would because, even though he didn't make as much money as she wanted him to, she didn't make enough on her own to support her spending habits. He believed she would never leave him right up until the day she did. Cal told friends afterwards that he came home and found a letter from Donna, telling him she had gone to meet up with a man who could appreciate her. He hasn't seen or heard from her since.

Cal works as a groundskeeper for Rowan Oak and has for the last eight years. His son, Matty, goes to Bramlett Elementary School in Oxford and is a pitcher for the Little League. In his free time, Cal likes to fish and play poker.