Every year, on June 29, Chiefs Kingdom recalls the heroism, life and sacrifice of former Kansas City Chiefs RB Joe Delaney. A second-round draft pick and rising star in the Chiefs’ organization, Delaney had earned AFC Rookie of the Year honors following the 1981 season. The 1982 season was shortened by strike and injury for Delaney, and tragically it’d be his last.
On June 29, 1983, Delaney was visiting an amusement park in his hometown of Monroe, Louisiana at Chennault Park. Delaney heard three children in distress at a nearby pond and knew he had to do something. The issue was that Delaney didn’t know how to swim, but he dove into the pond anyway in an attempt to rescue the children. He was able to help save one child, while another later died at the hospital. Delaney and a third child had drowned.
The Chiefs lost a great player and a greater person that day, but soon-to-be NFL draft pick LSU WR Terrace Marshall Jr. lost his great-uncle. Marshall never got a chance to meet Delaney, but the story of his sacrifice has made a huge impact on his life.
In a story from The Advocate’s Brooks Kubena, it’s revealed that Marshall wears a constant reminder of his great-uncle on the chain around his neck.
“Marshall’s father knew his son needed a sturdy base, a model to live by. He sat his son down as a kid and told him the story of Delaney’s life, how he sacrificed his life to give three young boys a chance to live. Marshall Sr. tied it together by creating a family motto: ‘M2B.’
Meant To Be.
Marshall still wears the acronym on a chain necklace.
‘Everything I do every day is built up on character,’ Marshall told reporters Tuesday, the necklace sparkling in the light. ‘Just setting a good example for the people who are watching me and the kids that’s coming up.'”
That sturdy base instilled in Marshall has led to a college career filled with successes on and off the football field. He’s played in two bowl games with the LSU Tigers and won the 2020 National Championship Game alongside current Chiefs RB Clyde Edwards-Helaire. In three seasons with the Tigers, he’s caught over 100 passes for nearly 1,600 yards and 23 touchdowns. He’s also known as a leader by his coaches and his teammates.
Beyond the football and the quality of his character, the physical resemblance between Marshall and Delaney is uncanny. Marshall’s great-aunt and Delaney’s sister notices it. Even Marshall’s head coach at LSU, Ed Orgeron, who played with Delaney at Northwestern State, often noticed the physical and intangible similarities between Marshall and Delaney.
“Terrace is almost a replica of Joe D,” Orgeron said, via The Advocate, “and that is about one of the biggest compliments I can ever give anybody.”
If by fate Marshall somehow ended up in Kansas City in the 2021 NFL draft, as we projected in our latest 7-round mock draft, perhaps they’d allow him to wear Delaney’s No. 37 jersey. It has been unofficially retired since Delaney’s death. Under the Chiefs’ newly proposed rules change related to jersey numbers, wide receivers would be able to wear the No. 37. I could think of no better way to honor Delaney’s legacy than to allow Marshall to take up that mantle in Kansas City.
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