Sopwith

August 25th, 2014 at 8:15 PM ^

He's earned it as a person.

Younger readers may not remember a beautiful but tragic act of heroism by a great football player named Joe Delaney, a gifted young RB who played for Kansas City, AFC Rookie of the Year in '81, died at age 24 after jumping into a deep pit of water to save 3 drowning boys even though he couldn't swim (he successfully pulled one out, the other two died with him).  Blurb from Wikipedia:

Joe Alton Delaney (/dɨˈlni/; October 30, 1958 – June 29, 1983)[1] was an American football running back who played two seasons in theNational Football League (NFL).[2][3] In his two seasons with the Kansas City Chiefs, Delaney set four franchise records that would stand for more than twenty years.

He was a two-time All-American athlete for the Northwestern State Demons football team, as well as a track and field star. Delaney played two seasons with the Chiefs and was chosen as the AFC Rookie of the Year in 1981 by United Press International.[3]

Delaney died on June 29, 1983 while attempting to rescue three children from drowning in a pond in Monroe in northeastern Louisiana. He was posthumously awarded the Presidential Citizen's Medal from U.S. President Ronald W. Reagan. While not officially retired, his jersey number while playing for the Chiefs, #37, has not been worn since his death.[3]

 

Edit:

Short 2012 writeup here worth a read:

http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2012/06/29/remembering-joe-delaney-29-years-later/

2003 SI story by Rick Reilly:  (WARNING: have a tissue ready)

http://www.si.com/vault/2003/07/07/345894/no-ordinary-joe

Sopwith

August 25th, 2014 at 9:19 PM ^

looks like this story is still touching kids who hear about it.  I found this video on YouTube apparently put together by a 9-year old kid at a special needs school for a class project (includes stills from the incident, and some video highlights of Delaney's playing career:

 

 

LSAClassOf2000

August 25th, 2014 at 8:03 PM ^

"I would do it again for whatever kid it was, it did not have to be my nephew," Shaw said on Monday. "My ankles really hurt, but I am lucky to be surrounded by the best trainers and doctors in the world. I am taking my rehab one day at a time, and I hope to be back on the field as soon as possible."

As someone sort of mentioned, this is one of those things that really does put certain things in perspective. Incredible act by this kid and I wish him a speedy recovery. We talk about rankings, but here is a five-star person. 

Gucci Mane

August 25th, 2014 at 8:41 PM ^

It's not like the child was going to die in the 30 seconds it would have taken for him to run down the stairs. It was a selfless act, with great intentions but it sounds completely unnecessary to me .

Gucci Mane

August 25th, 2014 at 11:03 PM ^

What I'm saying is I wouldn't risk injuring myself so badly that I can't even save the child. I would take the stairs because I know I'll get there, albeit 30 seconds later. But let's not forget when he hurt his ankle he had to crawl the rest of the way, who is to say he didn't actually waste time by doing this ? Overall jumping caused injury to himself as well as cause more danger to the child. P.S. I just consulted with a trained, professional lifeguard that agrees it was a "stupid" decision.

Cali Wolverine

August 25th, 2014 at 11:22 PM ^

is you would be the asshole standing on the balcony watching Shaw jump off to save the kid. Incredibly ignorant comment. You clearly do not have children or else you would know how quickly something can go wrong in the water and your ass would be flying off that balcony and not taking the stairs.

Perkis-Size Me

August 25th, 2014 at 8:53 PM ^

I'm no doctor or paramedic, but I doubt you're in much of a position to make that call. Besides, when you see someone in trouble like that, particularly a close family member, the adrenaline usually kicks in. Josh likely didn't give two shits about the most logical way to get down to the pool. He probably only cared about getting his nephew out as soon as possible.


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htownwolverine

August 25th, 2014 at 9:51 PM ^

As someone who has actually been in an incident I say you are full of shit. I was 8 and in a canal off a lake playing with friends jumping from raft to raft. Well I missed and went under and was trapped under the rafts somehow but luckily a friend jumped in and pulled me out. When we hit shore I was spewing water out of my lungs like vomit. It could not have been more than 20 seconds but another few and I was possibly gone.

I WAS THERE

August 25th, 2014 at 9:50 PM ^

Jumped off a bunch of decks, and do some tree and roofing work on the side...the pencil will get ya hurt, always wanna enter the tumble roll after you make contact with WHATEVER surface you're landing on.

Cali Wolverine

August 26th, 2014 at 2:35 PM ^

...seemed like a really good kid. Shaw is a future NFL caliber player for the Trojans....so for him to selflessly jump 2 stories to save his nephew is incredible and shows his character (If true). I am glad everyone is alright, and I hope Shaw heals quickly.