Zero2Cool
12 years ago
Sure wish we had more people that shared this mans selflessness.

Why in creation did Joe Delaney jump into that pit full of water that day?

Why in the world would the AFC's best young running back try to save three drowning boys when he himself couldn't swim?

Nobody -- not his wife, not his mother -- had ever seen him so much as dog-paddle. A year and a half earlier, when he went to the Pro Bowl in Hawaii as the AFC's starting halfback and Rookie of the Year, he never set even a pinkie toe in the ocean or the pool. "Never had," says his wife, Carolyn, who'd known Joe since they were both seven. "In all my years, I never had seen him swim."

So why? Why did the 24-year-old Kansas City Chief try to save three boys he didn't know with a skill he didn't have?

He'd been sitting in the cool shade of a tree on a tar-bubbling afternoon at Chennault Park, a public recreation area in Monroe, La., when he heard voices calling, "Help! Help!" He popped up like a Bobo doll and sprinted toward the pit.

What made Delaney that kind of person? Why did he mow that lonely woman's lawn when he was back home in Haughton, La., rich as he was? Why did he check in on that old man every day he was in town? Why did he show up on the Haughton streets one day with a bag full of new shoes and clothes for kids whose names he'd never heard?

Why could he never think of anything that he wanted for himself? Why didn't he even make a Christmas list? The man never cashed a paycheck in his life. He would throw his checks on top of the TV for his wife. "Don't you want nothing for yourself?" Carolyn would ask Joe.

"Nah," he'd say. "You just take care of you and the girls."

"Nothing?"

"Well, if you could give me a little pocket change for the week, I'd appreciate it."

Why didn't he ask somebody else to help those three kids that day? After all, there were hundreds of people at the park, and not another soul dived into that pit. Nobody but Delaney, one guy who shouldn't have.

The boys in that pit were struggling to stay afloat. They were two brothers -- Harry and LeMarkits Holland, 11 and 10, respectively -- and a cousin, Lancer Perkins, 11. Of course, LeMarkits was always with Harry. He idolized his big brother. A water park adjacent to Chennault was staging a big promotion with free admission that day, and the boys had wandered over to the pit and waded into the water. Like Delaney, they couldn't swim.

So much of it doesn't make sense. Why hadn't the pit -- a huge rain-filled hole that was left after the dirt had been dug out and used to build a water slide -- been fenced off from the public? Who knew that four feet from the edge of the water the hole dropped off like a cliff to about 20 feet deep?

LeMarkits has said that he remembers the water filling his lungs, the sensation of being pulled to the cold bottom, when all of a sudden a huge hand grabbed his shoulder and heaved him out of the deep water. Delaney dived for the other two boys, sinking below the surface. Folks along the bank waited for him to come up, but he never did. Harry and Lancer drowned with him.

As much as you might hope that LeMarkits has done something with the gift Delaney gave him, so far he hasn't. In an interview with the Philadelphia Daily News two years ago, LeMarkits said he has been tortured by the thought that he got to live and Harry didn't. He said he made his mom sell Harry's bike, bed and toys. He even burned Harry's clothes, as if fire could burn his brother from his heart. But it never did. Thirty years old now, LeMarkits got out of jail in May after serving time for distribution of cocaine. There's still time for him to do something wonderful with the life Delaney gave him. After all, Delaney was doing wonderful things with the one he gave up.

He was buried on the Fourth of July, 20 years ago. A telegram from President Reagan was read at the memorial service. The Presidential Citizens Medal was awarded posthumously. Three thousand people came to his funeral. A park in Haughton was named after him. No Chiefs player has worn number 37 since. The 37 Forever Foundation, a nonprofit group in Kansas City, honors him to this day by providing free swimming lessons to inner-city kids.

"I wish they'd had that for Joe and me when we were kids," Carolyn says glumly. She thinks of her Joe every day. She can't help it. Their three daughters and four grandkids remind her of him constantly. There is a pause. "I never thought we wouldn't grow old together."

She's only been on two dates since Joe died. Twenty years, two dates. "Why should I?" she says. "I just keep comparing them to Joe, and they can't stand up. Nobody in the world is like my Joe."

Anyway, the point is, next time you're reading the sports section and you're about half-sick of DUIs and beaten wives, put it down for a second and remember Joe Delaney, who, in that splinter of a moment, when a hero was needed, didn't stop to ask why.

Issue date: July 7, 2003

Rick Reilly  wrote:







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dhazer
12 years ago
Like you said Kevin, it's a shame the players now days aren't like that, granted we still have some good ones. Warrick Dunn comes to mind, but how many are doing it because they care and how many are doing it for the exposure and their agent told them it would help their image. Good Story
Just Imagine this for the next 6-9 years. What a ride it will be 🙂 (PS, Zero should charge for this)
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Zero2Cool
12 years ago

Like you said Kevin, it's a shame the players now days aren't like that, granted we still have some good ones. Warrick Dunn comes to mind, but how many are doing it because they care and how many are doing it for the exposure and their agent told them it would help their image. Good Story

Originally Posted by: dhazer 



Thing is, we do have them, but that isn't what captures the majority. Horrible news sells and it's our own fault. We see something positive, well right away the majority ruins it with cynicism and questioning.

Charles Woodson donated $2 million dollars to a hospital and it was barely recognized, (primarily because he didn't tell anyone), but if someone gets into an argument with their live in girlfriend, well, fuck, call ESPN and make a huge story out of it.

It's a common theme that I've observed over years. People don't want others raised on pedestals as much as they'd rather see them get knocked won to "their" level. It's true Americans are too vain and arrogant to believe someone is better than them. It's a me first society we have created and enable.


Joe Delaney went against all odds and paid the ultimate sacrifice and yet some cold hearted people will scrutinize what he did. I think that's a real problem with our society when we'd rather see someone fail, than display high character as a majority.
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wpr
  • wpr
  • Preferred Member
12 years ago
what an incredible man. I wish I had remembered him and his heroic sacrifice. I should have.
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Porforis
12 years ago

Like you said Kevin, it's a shame the players now days aren't like that, granted we still have some good ones. Warrick Dunn comes to mind, but how many are doing it because they care and how many are doing it for the exposure and their agent told them it would help their image. Good Story

Originally Posted by: dhazer 



Agreed, but it's also a shame that nobody else bothered to help that day, and that I doubt anybody would today either. It does take a certain kind of mindset to jump into action and take charge in a crisis situation, and locking up in a situation like that doesn't necessarily make you selfish or not a good person, but you'd think SOMEONE else there had the mental faculties to help but didn't because they were afraid, assumed someone else would help, or simply didn't care enough to put themselves in harms way. I'd like to say that I'd jump into that pit to help, but it's probably one of those things where you can't be sure until you're put into that situation.
Zero2Cool
4 years ago
37 years ago yesterday.
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Cheesey
4 years ago
He was a true hero.
It’s a shame that the one kid that survived has done nothing positive in his life: you’d think he’d realize how fortunate he was. He could honor his brother’s memory by doing some good in the world.
One night I was going for a walk, when I saw flames shooting up from the back of a house. I ran up the steps, turned the doorknob and the door wasn’t locked. I ran in and started shouting that the house was on fire. It happened so fast. My eyes adjusted to the dark, and realized the house was totally empty.
Like was said, you don’t know how you will react until a situation comes up.
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dfosterf (11-Nov) : I believe Zero was being sarcastic
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Mucky Tundra (11-Nov) : Lions escape with a win
Mucky Tundra (11-Nov) : and now Goff looking better
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wpr (11-Nov) : Happy birthday Corps. Ever faithful. Thanks dfosterf.
Mucky Tundra (10-Nov) : stiff armed by Baker Mayfield for about 5-7 yards and still managed to get a pass off
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wpr (8-Nov) : Thanks guys
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Zero2Cool (6-Nov) : OLB to DE and player requests trade. Yet folks say they are same.
beast (5-Nov) : In other news, the Green Bay Packers have signed Zero2Cool to update their website 😋 jk
beast (5-Nov) : Might just re-sign the kicker we got
beast (5-Nov) : Are there any kickers worth drafting next year?
Zero2Cool (5-Nov) : Preston Smith for Malik Willis
Mucky Tundra (5-Nov) : Getting a 7th rounder from the Stillers
Zero2Cool (5-Nov) : At least we get 7th round pick now!! HELLO NEW KICKER
Mucky Tundra (5-Nov) : Steelers getting a premier lockdown corner!
Zero2Cool (5-Nov) : Packers are trading edge rusher Preston Smith to the Pittsburgh Steelers, per sources.
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Zero2Cool (5-Nov) : CB Marshon Lattimore to Commanders
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Martha Careful (5-Nov) : any interest in Marshon Lattimore?
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