Joe Delaney; Someone to Remember

Joe Delaney; Someone to Remember

I spent the end of April this past year in the same place where I always dwell, at Radio City Music Hall for the NFL Draft. Now the draft does a better job every year of having more activities and exhibits that are interactive or make fans feel like they are a part of the game. One exhibit this year dealt with the Pro Bowl and players who participated in this game in the past and some of the records and nostalgia that go
along with this All-Star game.

I had been walking through these exhibits like any other fan and I was next to what I later learned was a family from Minnesota. I knew they were Vikings fans from the jerseys the father and two sons were wearing with both sons donning Adrian Peterson replicas, one purple and one white.

"Hey dad, look at this guy." "He went to the Pro Bowl as a rookie too (referring to Adrian Peterson's selection as a rookie last year)." "You ever heard of a guy named Joe Delaney? Went to the Pro Bowl in '81."

For some reason I immediately froze while hearing this conversation, Joe Delaney was a name I hadn't heard uttered in a long, long time. With the kind of nostalgic tales that fathers like to tell their sons and daughters about years gone by and great football players that played when they were children, I thought Joe Delaney was name they would at least recognize.

"Delaney, hmm…..Doesn't ring a bell." "Who did he play for?"

"The Chiefs" both children shot back.

I was now dumbfounded. Had it been that long ago that the name Joe Delaney was one that was being erased or eroded away from the memory banks of competent football fans? At this juncture I couldn't help but interject with some comments of my own. I briefly explained who Delaney was and the story behind his all-to-brief NFL career.

"Yeah I remember now" dad shot back.

That exchange has bothered me since the draft. I have wondered how many people have forgotten about Joe Delaney? How many younger NFL fans who were born after his playing days have never heard of Delaney? Many argue how good he was or how great he could have been but one thing is certain…his tale is one that every football fan should know.

Delaney was born in Henderson, Texas in 1958. Being the 9^th of 10 children made life a little difficult growing up as Delaney did not enjoy many of the amenities other families and children around him had. From a very early age many could see Delaney was a gifted athlete. It started in track where Delaney excelled and that speed led him to being a wide receiver for his high school team. Soon a number of Division I
programs were looking at Delaney but at 5-10 and 170 pounds his size scared many of those big programs away. Delaney wound up going to a Division I-AA football school known more for it's track and field program. Northwestern State situated in Louisiana wasn't far away and Delaney soon rose to the top of the program in both football and track. Joe made the switch to running back in college after his team was
depleted by injury at the position. After telling his coach he would make the move if ithelped the team Delaney was inserted as the teams running back and it proved to be a stroke of brilliance. Delaney was 8^th in the country in all-purpose yardage as a senior and he won the NCAA 400-meter relay during the same year. By graduation Delaney already had a wife and two children, things were definitely looking up for the
young man from Texas.

He was selected with the 41^st overall pick in the second round by the Kansas City Chiefs. The Chiefs were a team mired in futility and at best mediocrity and had been without a winning season for seven years. Coach Marv Levy was on the hot seat and changes were a constant in Kansas City as the team was searching for a spark and the right combination of talent and tenacity on the field. Delaney wasn't handed the starting job right out of the gate but it didn't take long to assert himself. Delaney
only missed one game as a rookie and had 10 starts but his 1,121yards placed him10th overall in the NFL in rushing that season and his 4.8 YPC placed him among the league leaders. The Kansas City rushing attack which was 19^th in the league in 1980 was suddenly 3^rd in 1981 and although they just missed the playoffs, the Chiefs were 9-7 and finally had a winning season. Delaney was a rising star and a Pro-Bowl selection was warranted. It was easy to see why optimism was abound in the Kansas City area heading into 1982.

1982 didn't go as planned for Delaney or the Chiefs. The first issue was the strike, which limited all teams to a nine game regular season. Delaney was hampered by an eye injury that he tried to play through but was largely ineffective. Delaney went under the knife to repair a detached retina, in 1981 this was a fairly new procedure and the recovery time for such an injury was substantially longer. The Chiefs
limped to a 3-6 record, Delaney had gained only 380 yards as the Chiefs fell to 21^st in the league in rushing. Levy's time as the Kansas City coach had come to an end as John Mackovic would be named his successor. Yet optimism still ruled supreme,1983 was a new year and Joe Delaney by all accounts would be healthy. What the Chiefs and Delaney didn't know was that he would never set foot on the field for the Chiefs in 1983.

June 29^th, 1983 Delaney was visiting friends in Monroe, Louisiana. He saw three children who were about to go swimming in a pond or more accurately a swimming hole. It had been created by construction for a ride at a nearby amusement park and the city of Monroe filled it with water and added some ducks. There was a small sign posted that had said "No Swimming" but afterwards many of the local residents claimed to have seen kids escaping the heat by playing in the pond. Eyewitnesses say Delaney saw the children and urged them not to go out to far. It was a warning they tragically didn't adhere to.

Delaney heard cries for help and quickly assessed it was the children he had seen earlier at the swimming hole. Delaney rushed into the water and reached 14-year old Tyrone Dickens and helped him to shallow water. Dickens explained that the other two children he was swimming with were under water. Delaney raced back in an attempt to find them but there was only one problem.

Joe Delaney couldn't swim.

This didn't deter the efforts of Delaney who by all accounts was unselfish and did everything in his power to help others. The two swimmers Delaney went to look for never resurfaced under their own power…nor did Joe Delaney.

When divers arrived at the scene 15 minutes later they pulled out the two children and Delaney. Although one of the children and Delaney had faint pulses when they were reached, both perished.

The community, the Chiefs and the NFL were in a state of shock. Delaney was a player that showed flashes of star potential with a very promising future.Yet to many casual fans around the country he was unknown due to his quiet demeanor and team first mentality.

"He made the ultimate sacrifice by placing the lives of three children above regard for his own safety. By the supreme example of courage and compassion, this brilliantly gifted young man left a spiritual legacy for his fellow Americans." These words were recited by President Ronald Reagan who just two weeks after the tragedy awarded Delaney with the Presidents Citizens Medal.

June 29^th will mark the 25^th anniversary of the passing of Joe Delaney. There have been some tributes given to Delaney, some awards and scholarships which bear the name of the quiet Texas man with blazing speed and generous spirit. His number #37 has never been worn by a Kansas City Chief since his passing and his name is permanently affixed in Arrowhead Stadium's Ring of Honor. I sincerely hope that his legacy lives on and the unselfish deeds of a man who seemed to have it all is not forgotten. A man who paid the ultimate price for three children, who apart from a brief exchange only minutes earlier, he had never met.

If you ever find yourself in the situation like I was in April. If the name Joe Delaney ever comes up or you find someone who doesn't know about the man. Do yourself a favor and pass his tale along because Joe Delaney is someone worth remembering and he should never be forgotten.

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