Dante Lavelli

At 85 years old, Dante Lavelli has this physical status:

Dante Bert Joseph "Gluefingers" Lavelli (February 23, 1923-1991) was an American football end who played for the Cleveland Browns in the All-America Football Conference (AAFC) and National Football League (NFL), from 1946 to 1956.

Lavelli, quarterback Otto Graham, fullback Marion Motley, placekicker Lou Groza, and fellow receiver Mac Speedie were all members of a Browns team that won seven championships during his 11-season tenure.

Lavelli was known for his precise hands and improvisations on the track.

He was also known for making catches in critical situations, earning the nickname "Mr."

Clutch" is the product of a "cheap" movie.

"Lavelli had one of the best pairs of hands I've ever seen," Browns coach Paul Brown once said of him.

"You could almost always count on him coming back down with the ball when he went up for a pass with a defender." "Lavelli grew up in Hudson, Ohio, and played football, baseball, and basketball at his local high school."

After graduating, he enrolled at Ohio State University, where he played only a few games before being approved for service in the United States Army during WWII.

He returned to Europe in 1945 after playing in Europe for the first time in the AAFC.

The Browns won each of the AAFC's championships prior to the league being absorbed by the NFL in 1949, aided by Lavelli's play.

Cleveland continued to prosper in football, winning championships in 1950, 1954, and 1955.

Lavelli, a pioneer who helped establish the National Football League Players Association near the end of his career, retired after the 1956 season. Since retiring from football, Lavelli worked in a variety of teaching and scouting positions, as well as being involved in NFL alumni relations.

He also owned a furniture store in Rocky River, Ohio.

In 1975, he was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

In 2009, he died in a Cleveland hospital.

Later life and death

Lavelli, who retired from football, operated an appliance store on Cleveland's west side. He served as an assistant to Graham, who was coaching college students in the annual College All-Star Game from 1961 to 1963. Lavelli was both an assistant coach with the Browns and a scout for the Chicago Bears. He later owned a furniture store in Rocky River, Ohio, and was involved in two bowling alleys. He was instrumental in the establishment of the NFL Alumni Association, a non-profit group.

In 1975, Lavelli was elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame, joining Graham, Motley, and Groza, as well as coach Paul Brown. Later in life, he golfed and attended NFL alumni functions, lobbying for the NFL to recognize his and other players' AAFC numbers. Following the NFL's acquisition of statistics from the American Football League (AFL) following the merger, the NFL refused to incorporate AAFC statistics into its own when the league was dissolved and the Browns became a member of the NFL, in comparison to the NFL's recognition of statistics from the American Football League (AFL) during the AFL-NFL merger. It was described as a "double standard" by Lavelli. He died in 2009 at the Fairview Hospital in Cleveland and is buried in St. Mary's Cemetery, Hudson, Ohio. In honor of him, Hudson High's stadium has been named.

In 2010, the Akron Community Foundation established a Dante Lavelli Scholarship Fund to assist Hudson High School students in paying for college. Willie Davis, a defensive end who played for the Browns shortly after Lavelli retired, said, "He was one of the best I'd ever seen." "He paved the way for his running patterns and catching the ball." Graham praised his skills and recalled his eagerness to get his hands on the ball after Lavelli retired. "He was always coming into the room and telling me he was open and that I should throw to him," Graham said. "He wasn't expecting that it to be a big shot," he said. He just loved to play. If he had been open by a few inches, he'd be screaming, 'Otto, Otto.' Many times when I was stuck and heard that voice, I would throw it in his direction and darned if he didn't come down with it. He had a natural hand.

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Early life and high school career

Lavelli was born and grew up in Hudson, Ohio, a tiny town in the state's northeastern region. Both of his parents were Italian immigrants. Angelo Lavelli, his father, was a blacksmith who made shoes for horses on nearby farms. He loved catching as a youth by throwing baseballs against walls and attempting to catch them when they returned to school. He loved to have ping-pong balls thrown at him to see if they could catch them.

As a running back at Hudson High School, Lavelli stood out and developed a solid set of hands. The Hudson High Explorers football team in Lavelli had three undefeated seasons and three county championships. In high school, he played baseball and basketball.

Lavelli was given a scholarship by Notre Dame, and he had promised to attend the academy. After a chance meeting with Eddie Prokop, however, a good running back who was a fifth-string player for Notre Dame, Lavelli was convinced to look elsewhere. "I was not one to sit on anyone's bench if Eddie Prokop were a fifth-string player," he later said. After finding that Paul Brown had been named as the football team's new head coach, Lavelli enrolled at Ohio State University in 1941. Brown had a stellar reputation as the high school coach at Massillon, Ohio's sixth high school, despite losing only eight games in nine years. Lavelli's catching ability had made him a favorite infielder in high school, and the Detroit Tigers of Major League Baseball had recruited him to play second base in the low minor leagues. He turned down the invitation but chose to focus on football.

College career and military service

Lavelli arrived at Ohio State with Les Horvath and Don McCafferty, and was a member of the freshman team under coach Trevor Rees. Brown cut Lavelli (the position is now called wide receiver). Allerdings, his playing time with the football team was limited due to injury. In 1942, he came to a premature end as a sophomore, but he was suffering from a charley horse in his thigh, and he missed his first game of the season against a Fort Knox military team. By the third game of the season, he had recovered and was playing against Southern California. While grabbing for a pass near the end of the game, Lavelli was struck in the leg, but he didn't break a bone. He was out for the remainder of the season. That year, the Buckeyes captured the national championship in college football.

As American involvement in World War II increased during World War II, Lavelli was drafted by the US Army during the 1942 season. He was sent by basic training and a variety of other special courses on land-sea assaults to fight in the European Theatre of World War II. His division landed on Omaha Beach, which was part of the German-occupied France of 1944. He was deployed with American forces in Germany's Battle of the Bulge offensive and in the Siege of Bastogne later the same year. In combat, one of his division's five members was killed.

Professional career

After recovering from the war, Lavelli was given the opportunity to play baseball with the Tigers for the second time. Sam Fox, a former teammate of Ohio State, was an end for the Giants in late 1945. He watched a match between the National Football League's New York Giants and the Washington Redskins. "I thought if he could make the grade, maybe could I," Lavelli later said. Lavelli jumped at the chance to join a new professional team he was coaching in the All-America Football Conference (AAFC) in 1946. For signing with the Cleveland Browns, he was given a $500 reward ($6,948 in today's dollars) for his commitment to the team.

In 1946, Lavelli attended the Browns' first training camp. Lavelli was one of the few players to make it to the playoffs, but it was too tough for a spot on the roster. He was up against a number of National Football League veterans and former college stars. "The first intrasquad scrimmage game I've ever played was the hardest game I've ever played," he said later. "No one talked to each other for two days." He was part of a defense featuring quarterback Otto Graham, fullback Marion Motley, placekicker Lou Groza, and fellow end Mac Speedie. With 40 receptions and 843 yards, Lavelli quickly became Graham's top passing target and led the AAFC in receiving as a rookie. The Browns made it to the league championship for the first time this season, and Lavelli scored the game-winning touchdown in a 14-9 victory over the AAFC's New York Yankees. "It't mean so much back then," Lavelli said in 2008.

In 1947, the Browns captured the AAFC championship for the second time. In receiving, Lavelli came in second in the league, behind his teammate Speedie. Both Lavelli and Speedie were admitted to all-AAFC squads as they had been in 1946. In 1948, Lavelli broke his leg during a preseason game and was suspended for seven weeks. He came back later in the year and helped Cleveland have a banner season, catching a touchdown pass over the AAFC's Brooklyn Dodgers in a 31–21 victory over the AAFC's Brooklyn Dodgers in the championship game. Lavelli had four touchdowns and 209 receiving yards in a game against the Los Angeles Dons the following year, an AAFC record. Cleveland won the AAFC championship for the fourth year in a row. The AAFC folded before the 1950 season, and three of its squads, including the Browns, were absorbed by the more established National Football League. Lavelli was the AAFC's all-time leader in yards per catch and second in receiving yards behind Speedie.

Lavelli, who earned his degree in 1949, continued his studies at Ohio State during seasons and earned his degree in 1949. That year, he married Joy Wright of Brecksville, Ohio.

When Cleveland first stepped foot in the league in 1950, rumors of whether the team would withstand its early success. The Browns opened the season by defeating the Philadelphia Eagles, the defending NFL champions. "The game I'll never forget is the first game we played in the National Football League," Dante Lavelli says. We defeated the Philadelphia Eagles 35-10. The next day, we returned to Cleveland, and waiting for us was something we should be proud of. Bert Bell, the NFL's commissioner, had a look at the game, according to the media. "The Browns are the best football team I've ever seen," Brown said.

After winning a playoff game against the New York Giants, the team finished with a 10–2 regular-season record and advanced to the championship game. Lavelli made 11 passes against the Los Angeles Rams in the championship, setting a new record for a championship game and having two touchdown receptions. The Browns won the game 30–28.

The Cleveland Browns won the NFL championship game the following year, but the Rams lost to the Rams. The 1952 and 1953 seasons followed a similar pattern: the Browns made it to the championship game but lost both times to the Detroit Lions. In 1951 and 1953, Lavelli was named to the Pro Bowl for the first time. In 1951, he was ranked seventh in the NFL in receiving yards, with 586. In 1953, he gained 783 receiving yards, the fifth-highest total in the league.

Lavelli, who had played with his touchdown reception in the Browns' first championship game in 1946, gained a reputation for making big plays when they were least expected to do so. "Mr.," he was nicknamed. In a Pittsburgh Steelers Scout Report, Clutch," but "Gluefingers," a term bestowed upon him by Browns announcer Bob Neal, was more popular. He worked with Graham to refine routes, and was not afraid to run over the middle, where he risked a pounding from defenders when the ball came his way. "Dante was the best guy at throwing a ball in a crowd I've ever seen," Brown once said. He and Graham mastered sideline patterns in a time when few teams were using them.

Thanks in large part to Lavelli's strong regular-season results, the Browns captured another championship in 1954. After the Browns defeated the Lions for their second NFL title, Lavelli led the team in receiving that year and made the Pro Bowl. In 1955, there was a third NFL championship since 1955. Lavelli scored a touchdown in the second quarter and scored on a second straight pass in the first half. The Browns won 38–14.

In 1955, Lavelli originally intended to retire in 1955, but the Browns went back for a fourth year, the team's first-ever losing season. Lavelli made 386 passes for 6,488 yards and 62 touchdowns in his 11-year career. Former teammates characterized him as a patient receiver in later years. When running routes, he could often be heard calling for Graham to throw him the ball. He was also known for his ability to improvise on the field. He won the game against the Eagles in 1955 under difficult weather by swinging around the goalpost with his arm to get open.

Lavelli was instrumental in the establishment of the National Football League Players Association during his Browns career. In 1954, the idea of a union to represent players in league disputes was born in Lavelli's basement. Abe Gibron and George Ratterman, Lavelli's two colleagues, met every Wednesday to discuss the union. They contacted Creighton Miller, a Cleveland lawyer and former Notre Dame footballer who had briefly served as an assistant coach for the Browns, for assistance. At a meeting before the NFL championship game in 1956, the union was established. The players earned $50 per exhibition game, a $5,000 minimum wage, injury compensation, and medical services for the following year. The union now stands as the primary representative of players in labor talks and conflict with the NFL.

Career statistics

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