Joe Delaney, Football Player, Drowns in a Rescue Attempt

Joe Delaney, a running back with the Kansas City Chiefs who was one of the National Football League's top rookies in 1981, drowned today after jumping into a pond to rescue three boys who were floundering in the water, police said. He was 24 years old.

Assistant Police Chief E.W. Smith said that one of the boys, Harry L. Holland Jr., 11, of Monroe, also had drowned. Lancer Perkins, also 11, was hospitalized in critical condition. The third boy, not identified, made it safely to the bank of the pond.

The drownings in a public park here occurred when the three youths were swimming in a water hole left by construction workers, according to Mr. Smith.

Witnesses said Mr. Delaney, who was sitting alone nearby, hollered at the boys to be careful and not to wade too far into the water. Moments later, they said, the boys stepped off into deep water and went under.

Mr. Delaney, fully clothed, quickly jumped into the pond, the witnesses said. Mr. Delaney's body was the last one recovered from the pond, which covers about two acres, said Eddie Cox, a photographer with the Monroe News-Star-World. He added that it took two police divers about six minutes to locate Mr. Delaney.

A spokesman at St. Francis Medical Center said Mr. Delaney and Holland were being administered cardio-pulmonary resuscitation when they arrived at the hospital's emergency room, but they never revived.

Delaney was a record-setting National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I-AA All-America in both football and track at Northwestern State University at Natchitoches, La. After being drafted first by the Chiefs in 1980, he won a slot as a rookie starter and played in the Pro Bowl. In his rookie season, Delaney rushed 234 times in 15 games for 1,121 yards and had 246 yards in pass receiving.

After that season, it was discovered that he had a detached retina, and his performance dropped off in 1982. Delaney was the second professional football player from Louisiana to die within the past week. On Saturday, Larry Gordon, 28, of the Miami Dolphins, who was born in Monroe, died of a heart seizure while jogging.

Delaney, one of eight children, is survived by his wife, Carolyn, and three daughters. He is also survived by his mother, five sisters and two brothers.