Joe Delaney
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| Joe Delaney | |
|---|---|
| Date of birth | October 30, 1958 |
| Place of birth |  Henderson, Texas |
| Date of death | June 29, 1983 (age 24) |
| Place of death | Monroe, Louisiana |
| Height | 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) |
| Weight | 184 lb (84 kg) |
| Position(s) | Running back |
| College | Northwestern State |
| NFL Draft | 1981 / Round 2/ Pick 41 |
| Career Highlights | |
| Pro Bowls | 1982 |
| Awards | 1981 UPI AFC Rookie of Year |
| Stats | |
| Statistics | |
| Team(s) | |
| 1981-1982 | Kansas City Chiefs |
| College Hall of Fame | |
Joe Alton Delaney (October 30, 1958 - June 29, 1983) was an American football player in the National Football League, who died in the prime of his career while attempting to save three boys from drowning.
[edit] Career
Joe Delaney was born on October 30, 1958 in Henderson, Texas. He was drafted in the second round in 1981 by the Kansas City Chiefs after a career at Northwestern State University. He was an All-American in football and track while in college. He was the first Northwestern State player to rush for more than career 3000 yards.
Delaney broke four Chiefs single season rushing records in 1981 and rushed for 1121 yards while being voted to the Pro Bowl. His second season was the strike-shortened season of 1982 in which injuries (a detached retina and leg injuries) limited him even more. He only ran for 380 yards that season.
[edit] Heroism
On June 29, 1983, Delaney was at Chennault Park in Monroe, Louisiana, when he heard the cries of three young boys drowning in a pond. Delaney could not swim but jumped in anyway in an attempt to save them. One of the boys, a 6-year old, was able to make it out of the pond due to Joe's heroism. The other two boys, 11-year old Lancer Perkins and 11-year old Harry Holland, Jr., died with Delaney. After his death, Delaney was honored in 1984 with the NCAA Award of Valor.
Delaney was married to his wife Carolyn and had 3 daughters, ages 7, 5 and 4 months old when he died. Also he now has a grandaughter named Shaqavia Delaney;she now lives in Haughton, Louisiana.
The pond turned out to be an area where construction workers kept dirt for a waterslide at the city park that had filled with rain water. It covered two acres.
In July of 1983, President Ronald Reagan posthumously awarded Joe the Presidential Citizen’s Medal. Joe posthumously received the NCAA Award of Valor in 1984, and in 2004 Chiefs founder Lamar Hunt retired his number 37 in the Chiefs “Ring of Honor” that surrounds the inside of Arrowhead Stadium. He was inducted in to the College Football Hall of Fame in 1997.
[edit] External links
- College Football Hall of Fame Biography
- http://www.plattecountylandmark.com/cchatter81.htm
- http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/inside_game/rick_reilly/news/2003/07/01/reilly0707/
- http://www.nsudemons.com/story.asp?id=899
Categories: 1958 births | 1983 deaths | American Conference Pro Bowl players | American football players who died before retiring | American football running backs | College Football Hall of Fame | Deaths by drowning | Kansas City Chiefs players | Northwestern State Demons football players | People from Longview, Texas
