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JOE ALTON DELANEY, OCTOBER. 30, 1958 HENDERSON, TEXAS. - JUNE. 29, 1983 MONROE, LOUISIANA. WAS A 2ND ROUND 21ST PICK IN 1981 NFL DRAFT BY THE KANSAS CITY CHIEFS. HE PLAYED TWO SEASONS IN THE NATIONAL FOOTBALL LEAGUE. DELANEY SET FOUR FRANCHISE RECORDS THAT WOULD STAND FOR OVER 20 YEARS.
DELANEY WAS A TWO-TIME ALL-AMERICAN ATHLETE FOR THE NORTHWESTERN STATE LOUISIANA DEMONS FOOTBALL TEAM, AS WELL AS A TRACK AND FIELD STAR.
THE THIRD OF WOODROW AND EUNICE DELANEY'S EIGHT CHILDREN, JOE DELANEY WAS BORN IN HENDERSON, TEXAS ON OCTOBER. 30, 1958, AND ATTENDED HAUGHTON HIGH SCHOOL IN LOUISIANA.
DISCOURAGED BY HIS FATHER FROM PURSUING HIS DREAMS OF PLAYING FOOTBALL, DELANEY BECAME THE STARTING WIDE RECEIVER BY HIS JUNIOR YEAR AT HAUGHTON. MAJOR DIVISION I SCHOOLS THAT SCOUTED HIM INCLUDED GRAMBLING STATE, TEXAS, OKLAHOMA AND LOUISIANA STATE.
DELANEY CHOSE TO PLAY FOR DIVISION I-AA NORTHWESTERN STATE LOUISIANA DEMONS FROM 1977 TO 1980. AFTER TELLING HIS COACH OF HIS WILLINGNESS TO PLAY FOOTBALL AT THE COLLEGIATE LEVEL, DELANEY SWITCHED TO THE RUNNING BACK POSITION.
HE WENT ON TO BE AN ALL-AMERICAN SELECTION IN 1979 AND 1980. WHILE AT NORTHWESTERN STATE, DELANEY MET HIS FUTURE WIFE, CAROLYN, AND THEY HAD TWO CHILDREN BY HIS SENIOR YEAR.
ON OCTOBER. 20, 1978, DELANEY CARRIED THE BALL 28 TIMES AND GAINED 299 YARDS FOR NORTHWESTERN STATE AGAINST NICHOLLS STATE UNIVERSITY, WITH 263 OF THE YARDS COMING IN THE GAME'S SECOND HALF.
DELANEY'S RUSHING STATS IN THE SECOND HALF OF THE GAME ARE AN NCAA RECORD. IN THE SAME GAME, HE SCORED FOUR TOUCHDOWNS, ONE OF WHICH WAS ON A 90-YARD RUN, AS HE LED HIS TEAM TO A 28-18 VICTORY.
DELANEY FINISHED HIS CAREER AT NORTHWESTERN STATE WITH 3,047 YARDS RUSHING, 31 TOUCHDOWNS, AND 188 POINTS. IN 1980, HIS SENIOR SEASON, HE WAS RANKED EIGHTH IN THE NATION IN ALL-PURPOSE YARDS.
ON NOVEMBER. 22, 1980 HE PLAYED HIS LAST GAME AT NORTHWESTERN STATE AND THE SCHOOL RETIRED HIS JERSEY, NUMBER 44, AT HALFTIME.
DELANEY WAS SELECTED TO THE COLLEGE FOOTBALL HALL OF FAME IN 1997.
DELANEY ALSO STARRED IN TRACK, WHILE AT NORTHWESTERN STATE LOUISIANA.
IN HIGH SCHOOL, HE RAN THE 100 YARD DASH IN 9.4 SECONDS AND WAS ON THE NORTHWESTERN STATE TRACK AND FIELD TEAM, WHICH WON THE NCAA 400-METER RELAY IN 1981. HE HOLDS THE SCHOOL 200 METER DASH RECORD WITH A TIME OF 20.64 SECONDS.
DELANEY WAS SELECTED IN THE SECOND ROUND OF THE 1981 NFL DRAFT BY THE KANSAS CITY CHIEFS.
FOLLOWING DELANEY'S RECORD SETTING 193 YARD RUSHING PERFORMANCE AGAINST THE HOUSTON OILERS ON NOVEMBER. 15, 1981, OILERS DEFENSIVE END (AND FUTURE PRO FOOTBALL HALL OF FAMER) ELVIN BETHEA WAS QUOTED IN SAYING: "I'VE PLAYED AGAINST THE BEST- O.J. SIMPSON, GALE SAYERS, WALTER PAYTON AND (DELANEY) RANKS RIGHT UP THERE WITH. HE IS GREAT WITH A CAPITAL G.
JOE DELANEY WAS AFC ROOKIE OF THE YEAR IN 1981 BY THE UNITED PRESS INTERNATIONAL.
A STRIKE BY NFL PLAYERS AND AN EYE INJURY LIMITED DELANEY'S PLAYING TIME IN THE 1982 NFL SEASON. HE UNDERWENT SURGERY TO REPAIR A DETACHED RETINA, AND ONLY REGISTERED 380 YARDS IN THE EIGHT-GAME SHORTENED SEASON, WHICH THE CHIEFS FINISHED WITH A 3-6 RECORD.
HIS 2 YEAR NFL RUSHING TOTAL-1981-234, 1121, 4.8, 3TDS, 82L,
1982-95, 380, 4.0, 2TDS, 36L
RECEIVING TOTAL-22, 246, 11.2, 0TDS
11, 53, 5.8, 0TDS
JOE DELANEY WAS AT A PARK IN LOUISIANA WITH FRIENDS IN JUNE. 1983, WHEN HE SAW 3 KIDS IN THE WATER THEY WERE STRUGGING SO DELANEY WENT IN TO SAVE THEM, DESPITE THAT HE DIDN'T KNOW HOW TO SWIM. WELL ONE KID MANAGED TO MAKE IT TO SHORE BUT THE OTHER TWO AND DELANEY DIDN'T MAKE IT.
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