Joe

In two days, it will be June 29th, 2008. On June 29th, 1983, the last man I have ever idolized, hero-worshiped, or looked up to in any manner, died that day.

Joseph Alton Delaney may have been viewed intellectually as one of the dumbest human beings ever. If you happen to be old enough and in the right place and time, you would have sworn to that fact the very first time you heard him speak. As someone who values a keen intellect as much as I do, you would be shocked to think that for even a mere second I would have looked up to him.

But I did. I dare say I revered him.

Joe was born in 1958 in Henderson, Tx in 1958 to poor, poor, parents. Dirt poor as a matter of fact. They moved to the back woods of Louisiana when he was a young child, the type of place America tried to ignore back in the early 1960's, that was subsequently exposed by the hurricane of 2004. Dirt floor shacks. No air conditioning. Barely running water. Sewage too deplorable to even talk about describing. Early on in Joe's life, his parents noticed something extraordinary though.

Joe could run fast. Very, very, fast.

In high school Joe ran the 100 meters in 9.4 seconds, which earned him a full scholarship at Northwest Louisiana State University, where Joe would win numerous NCAA track and field championships. But you see, Joe wanted to play football. The coaches at NWLS took one look at his 5-8, 145 lb frame, and advised Joe that he should just run for the track team. Football was played by men...large men, with bad attitudes and violent tendencies. Joe was a sweet, kind, and gentle soul, not your prototypical college football type. He grew up impoverished, but never got into trouble with the law. He wanted for everything, but asked for nothing. If he was to have it, he had always known he had to earn it the correct way. And with the gentle persistence that defined his life, he kept at the football coaches until they relented and allowed him to come to spring practice in 1977, his sophomore year. Joe shocked the world and made that team, and after sitting the bench his first year, he played in his first game ever on October 28th, 1978. In 28 carries, the young man too small to play football gained 299 yards...263 in the second half alone.

You see....Joe was fast. Very, very, fast.

Incredibly, the young man who grew up with nothing, was selected as an after-thought by the Kansas City Chiefs of the NFL in the 1981 draft. 325th means you have an ice cubes chance in a blast furnace of making the team, and that's on the bright side of things. The first team work out, Coach Marv Levy placed Joe into the tailback position with the starting team. When he entered the huddle, they all kind of rolled their eyes as if to say, "This pip-squeak will be dead by nightfall." The quarterback took the snap, turned to hand the ball to Delaney, but he was already into the line of scrimmage and moving forward. They blew the practice play dead and the QB complained to coach Levy, "He needs to slow down and wait for me." Coach Levy looked long and hard at the QB and said, "Or perhaps you could speed up your motion and get with him." Joe Delaney went on to win the NFL rookie of the year award in 1981, gaining 1,122 yards, breaking 4 Chief all-time records for rookies, and taking the Chiefs to a winning record for the 1st time in a decade.

We live in a day and age where over-pampered, elitist, crybaby, diva athletes dominate the sports horizon. Joe lived in a world of his own where he wanted none of that crap. He sent 80% of his salary back home to his family and friends, and was an off-season source of community charitable service practically unheard of then or now. He dedicated his off-season to poor kids in Louisiana, giving his time and his money to help them through their misery.

On June 29, 1983 in Monroe, Louisiana, Joe dove into a pond and tried to save three children who were screaming for help. The children were floundering in a water hole left by recent construction work. He was an inexperienced swimmer, but he reacted in the only way Joe knew how to live his life - unselfishly. One child was saved while two children and Delaney died by drowning.

Three thousand people attended Delaney's memorial service on July 4, which was held in his old high school's gymnasium. President Ronald Reagan honored Delaney with the Presidential Citizens Medallion of Honor on July 13. In his speech, President Reagan said the following:

"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."

He damn sure did. Joe Delaney was barely 25, and with his death that day, so died my innocence as well. I still miss him today. Watching him run was a real treat, because he sure was fast.

Very, very, fast.




Arrowhead Stadium Ring of Honor. #37 has never been worn since.

There is a wonderful tribute to Joe on Youtube:

http://youtube.com/watch?v=NmiWqg7MP58