It was a hot summer day at Chennault Park in Monroe, Louisiana. Three children wanted to take a break from the heat by swimming in the park pond. Within minutes, two of them, 11-year-old Lancer Perkins and 11-year-old Harry Holland, Jr., would be dead. Laying with them was the 24-year-old Kansas City Chief, running back Joe Delaney, who gave his life trying to save them.
Monday marks the 37th anniversary of that tragic day. On Saturday, a monument to Delaney’s sacrifice was dedicated in the park.
“He didn’t care about himself, he just worried about making the people around him happy. That’s the kind of person Joe was, “Carolyn, Delaney’s widow, told reporters after the ceremony.
A natural athlete, Delaney had had a major impact at small Northwestern State University in Natchitoches, Louisiana, racking up 3,047 rushing yards and 31 touchdowns, including an impressive performance against Nicholls State University on October 28, 1978, in which He gained 299 yards and scored four touchdowns on just 28 carries.
Even though NSU was a small school, the two-time All-American attracted the attention of NFL scouts. In 1981, the Chiefs selected him in the second round (41 overall) of the NFL draft.
Delaney did not disappoint, earning 1,367 yards and three scrimmage touchdowns during his rookie season, in which he made the Pro Bowl and was named United Press International’s AFC Rookie of the Year. The Chiefs finished season 9-7, their first winning season since 1973.
Eye surgery, and the 1982 season shortened by the strike, kept Delaney at just 433 yards of scrimmage the following year. But when it came to the Chiefs, Delaney was the man. In a brilliant 1983 Illustrated Sports The article written by great Frank Deford, NSU coach AL Williams, recalled a call he received from the Chiefs.
“The first year Joe was in Kansas City, Les Miller, the Chiefs’ director of player personnel, called me on the phone. He said, ‘I want to talk to you about one of your players.’ I thought something was wrong. But then he said. “I just wanted to tell you that Joe Delaney is the best young man and the hardest worker we’ve had here.”
But on the summer vacation before the 1983 season, Delaney was back home in Louisiana with Carolyn and their three children. Deford set the scene for the fateful day.
There was a big hole there, carved out of the ground some time ago. The hole had been filled with water, and three children entered. They didn’t know it, but a short distance from the bottom it fell precipitously, and suddenly the children were over their heads and hitting and screaming. There were all kinds of people around, but only Joe ran to the pond. There was a little boy there. “You know how to swim?” he asked Joe.
“I can’t swim well,” said Joe, “but I have to save those children. If I don’t go, find someone. And rushed into the water.
At that fall’s memorial service, Coach Williams raised the question any of us would ask.
“People ask me, ‘How could Joe have gone in that water like he did?’ And I answer: “Why, he never thought twice, because helping people was a conditioned reflex for Joe Delaney.” “
Chiefs owner Lamar Hunt also spoke.
“In a league often dominated by veteran players and inflated egos, Joe showed his skills with grace and humility far beyond his years.
“While Joe Delaney’s athletic accomplishments are many, it will be this man’s character, dedication, and genuine good nature that we will always treasure in Central America.”
Just two weeks after his death, President Ronald Reagan announced that Delaney would receive the Presidential Citizen Medal.
“Born with the physical talent God gave him, Joe Delaney brought distinction to himself and pride to his family and friends by exemplifying the best in sportsmanship as an outstanding high school, college and professional football player. Even more importantly, he gave an example of citizenship off the field, as a caring and involved member of his Haughton, Louisiana community. “
The Chiefs reiterated Delaney’s kindness in establishing a trust fund to support Carolyn and her children. In the 1984 season, her teammates wore a commemorative patch in her memory. He was inducted into the Chiefs Ring of Honor in 2004, and since his death, no Chiefs player has worn Delaney’s No. 37.
And now, 37 years after the heroic act that led to his death, there is a simple monument by the pond in Monroe.
“Right now, I am so overwhelmed,” Carolyn Delaney said Saturday. “I mean, it makes me very proud of Joe and the person he was. I just can’t explain how happy I am today. “
