Joe Delaney 1958-1983

by Chris Thorman on Jun 29, 2008 12:00 AM CDT in 2008 Kansas City Chiefs Off Season

Joe Delaney, Kansas City Chiefs running back from 1981 to 1982, died twenty-five years ago today while trying to save three boys from drowning in a Monroe, Louisiana, pond.

One boy survived. The two others and Joe Delaney did not.

His #37 has not been worn since his death. He was inducted into the Kansas City Chiefs Hall of Fame in 2004.

Read more about Joe Delaney here. The News Star's article on Joe is one of my favorites. Kent Babb of the Kansas City Star just wrote this great piece on Delaney as well.

RIP, Joe.

Note: Lone Star Ball points us to another great article about Joe from Sports Illustrated's Frank Deford.

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This was one of my earliest Chiefs memories

I was about 7 at the time and didn’t really pay much attention to football, but I remember my dad telling me about Joe Delaney trying to rescue those kids even though he himself couldn’t swim. I remember him being really upset and telling me how good he was. Really was one of the things that made me start paying attention to football.

by ChiefDJ on Jun 29, 2008 8:37 AM CDT reply actions