Chiefs History: Joe Delaney remembered on 41st anniversary of his death

The Kansas City Chiefs selected running back Joe Delaney out of Louisiana’s Northwestern State in the second round (41st overall) in the 1981 NFL Draft.

During a time when the team wasn’t very good, Delaney was a shining star in Kansas City. During his rookie season, he ran for 1,121 yards (and three touchdowns) on 234 attempts, averaging 4.8 yards per carry. He also collected 246 yards on 22 catches.

Following the strike-shortened 1982 season, Delaney was back home in Louisiana. While visiting an amusement park with some friends in Monroe on June 29, Delaney drowned while trying to save three children in a nearby pond.

Sports Illustrated writer Frank Deford told the story in a 1983 article:

There was a huge hole there, carved out of the earth some time ago. The hole had filled with water, and three boys waded in. They didn’t know it, but a short way out the bottom dropped off precipitously, and suddenly the boys were in over their heads and thrashing and screaming. There were all sorts of people around, but only Joe dashed to the pond. There was a little boy there. “Can you swim?” he asked Joe.

”I can’t swim good,” Joe said, “but I’ve got to save those kids. If I don’t come up, get somebody.” And he rushed into the water.

One boy fought his way back to the shallow part. The other two didn’t. Neither did Joe Delaney, 24. He was hauled out a few minutes later, dead. He gave his own life trying to save three others.

Today, Delaney is remembered in the Chiefs Hall of Fame and Ring of Honor. While his number (37) has never been officially retired, no other Kansas City player has ever worn it.

ESPN produced a “30 for 30” on Delaney. Friend-of-the-site Vahe Gregorian of the Kansas City Star wrote a tribute. In 2020, a monument honoring Delaney’s sacrifice was installed in Louisiana.

In a comment to Arrowhead Pride’s 2010 Delaney remembrance, reader trlwyr left a comment that Joel Thorman memorialized in 2011.

“I’ve been going to Chiefs games since Municipal Stadium. They’ve been a big part of my life. My Dad put it in me, and that Chiefs stain don’t wash off. Not that I’ve tried.

“Joe Delaney was a gift, an oasis in the desert of losing. For just a brief moment, he took us back to the glory days. Look at that middle bar on his facemask, and, if you’re old enough, tell me that doesn’t remind you of Mike Garrett, running 65 Toss Power Trap in New Orleans against the Vikings.

“Arrowhead, don’t remember the date, don’t remember the opponent, don’t matter. Beautiful Fall Sunday afternoon, and Joe tore it up. He played as if he enjoyed playing, which is all I ever expected of my team. It’s best when it looks like they’re having fun, right? He had the shiftiness of Garrett, the silkiness of Marcus Allen, the speed of Jamaal, and, when he needed it, the power in his legs of Tony Richardson and Christian Okoye. And that day, the one day I got to see him in person, he flat tore it up. I think he ran for over 150, but this isn’t about stats. You couldn’t take your eyes off him. On the field, or on the sidelines. He had so much fun that day. A man doing what he loved to do.

“I don’t usually get to sit as close as I did that day. But I was close. Game over, Chiefs won. Coming off the field, the players walked right by me. Slapping hands, some did, some didn’t.

“Here comes Joe. Smiling. I held out my hand, and he looked right at me. He didn’t just slap my hand, he took it. Held it. And he cuffed me behind my head and said, “Ain’t this fun?” The picture of him above is exactly what he looked like when he said it. A happy man.

“I cried like a baby when I heard. I’m crying now. It’s not just because he was a Chief. And it’s not just because if he’d lived he would without a doubt have become one of the greatest running backs in history.

“It’s because for that one brief moment, I got to look into the eyes of a truly good man.”

Rest in peace, Joe. In Chiefs Kingdom, you will never be forgotten.