It has been 39 years since Kansas City Chiefs RB Joe Delaney sacrificed his life in an attempt to save three drowning children.
Delaney was a rising star in the Chiefs’ organization with a bright future ahead of him. A former second-round draft pick out of Northwestern State in 1981, Delaney made an immediate impact as a rookie in the NFL. He started just 10 games, but he finished the season with 234 carries for 1,121 yards and three rushing scores, supplanting Mike Garrett’s franchise records for a rookie. He even had the longest play from scrimmage in the NFL that season, with an 82-yard touchdown scamper against the Denver Broncos. The performance earned Delaney AFC Rookie of the Year honors and a trip to the Pro Bowl, it also contributed to the first winning season for Kansas City in nearly a decade.
Delaney is hardly remembered for what he did on the football field nowadays. He is instead remembered for the sacrifice that he made off of the football field. Following the 1982 NFL season, Delaney had returned to his hometown of Monroe, Louisiana for some rest and relaxation during the offseason. On June 29th, 1983, Delaney’s selfless actions would help save a life.
While visiting a local fair with friends, Delaney came across three children screaming for help in a pond at Chenault Park. Delaney himself couldn’t swim well, but he didn’t hesitate. He dove into the pond in an attempt to save the children. While he was able to rescue one child, another child was taken to an emergency room where he later perished. Delaney and a third child would not survive.
Every year on this day, Chiefs fans take some time to remember Delaney’s heroism and selflessness. He didn’t know these children, but he knew they were in trouble and that he couldn’t stand idly by despite his own circumstance.
He was the very best of us.
Delaney has been honored in many ways in recent years by those in Kansas City and those in his home state of Louisiana. The Missouri Department of Transportation approved plans for a two-mile stretch of I-435 in the Kansas City area to be renamed the Joe Delaney Memorial Highway. Two years ago, after a multi-year effort to secure funding, a monument was erected in Delaney’s honor at Chenault Park. Those who visit the park will learn his story, as the inscription on the monument reads:
“Greater love has no man than to lay down his life for another.
Joe Delaney died on June 29, 1983 while attempting to rescue three children from drowning. He was posthumously awarded the Presidential Citizens Medal from U.S. President Ronald W. Reagan. He made the ultimate sacrifice by placing the lives of three children above the regard for his own safety. By the supreme example of courage and compassion, this brilliantly gifted young man left a spiritual legacy for all fellow Americans.”
