Dante Bert Joseph "Gluefingers" Lavelli was an American professional football player who was an end for the Cleveland Browns in the All-America Football Conference and National Football League from 1946 to 1956.
44 Facts About Dante Lavelli
2.
Dante Lavelli was known for his sure hands and improvisations on the field.
3.
Dante Lavelli was renowned for making catches in critical situations, earning the nickname "Mr Clutch".
4.
Dante Lavelli grew up in Hudson, Ohio and played football, baseball and basketball at his local high school.
5.
Dante Lavelli, who helped found the National Football League Players Association toward the end of his career, retired after the 1956 season.
6.
Dante Lavelli ran a furniture store in Rocky River, Ohio.
7.
Dante Lavelli was elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1975.
8.
Dante Lavelli was born and grew up in Hudson, Ohio, a small town in the northeastern part of the state.
9.
Dante Lavelli's father Angelo Lavelli was a blacksmith who made shoes for horses on nearby farms.
10.
Dante Lavelli liked to have friends throw ping-pong balls at him to see if he could catch them.
11.
Dante Lavelli was a standout as a running back at Hudson High School and developed a reliable set of hands.
12.
Dante Lavelli enrolled at Ohio State University in 1941 after learning that Paul Brown was appointed the football team's new head coach.
13.
Dante Lavelli's catching ability had made him a star infielder in high school, and the Detroit Tigers of Major League Baseball recruited him to play second base in the low minor leagues.
14.
Dante Lavelli refused the invitation, opting to concentrate on football.
15.
Dante Lavelli's playing time with the football team was limited due to injury.
16.
Dante Lavelli became a first-string end as a sophomore in 1942, but was ailing from a charley horse in his thigh and sat out the first game of the season against a Fort Knox military team.
17.
Dante Lavelli had recovered by the third game of the season and started in a game against Southern California.
18.
Dante Lavelli was hit in the knee while grabbing for a pass near the end of the game and broke a bone.
19.
Dante Lavelli was sidelined for the rest of the season.
20.
Dante Lavelli was involved with American forces in Germany's Battle of the Bulge offensive and in the Siege of Bastogne later the same year.
21.
Dante Lavelli saw a matchup in late 1945 between the National Football League's New York Giants and Washington Redskins and noticed that a former teammate at Ohio State named Sam Fox was an end for the Giants.
22.
When Paul Brown offered him a chance to play on a new professional team he was coaching in the All-America Football Conference in 1946, Dante Lavelli jumped at the opportunity.
23.
Dante Lavelli was given a $500 bonus for signing with the team, called the Cleveland Browns.
24.
Competition was fierce for a spot on the roster, but Dante Lavelli was one of the men who made it.
25.
Dante Lavelli was up against a number of National Football League veterans and former college stars.
26.
Dante Lavelli quickly became Graham's top passing target and led the AAFC in receiving as a rookie with 40 receptions and 843 yards.
27.
The victory "didn't mean so much then, but as time goes on, it builds," Dante Lavelli said in 2008.
28.
Dante Lavelli finished second in the league in receiving behind his teammate Speedie.
29.
Dante Lavelli broke his leg in a preseason game in 1948 and sat out seven weeks.
30.
Dante Lavelli was the AAFC's all-time leader in yards per catch and second in receiving yards behind Speedie.
31.
Dante Lavelli married Joy Wright of Brecksville, Ohio that year.
32.
Dante Lavelli was named to the Pro Bowl in 1951 and 1953.
33.
Dante Lavelli was seventh in the NFL in receiving yards in 1951, with 586.
34.
Dante Lavelli gained 783 receiving yards in 1953, the fifth-highest total in the league.
35.
Dante Lavelli, as quoted in Expanding Your Horizons: Collegiate Football's Greatest Team.
36.
Dante Lavelli practiced with Graham tirelessly 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.
37.
Dante Lavelli led the team in receiving that year and made the Pro Bowl after the Browns beat the Lions for their second NFL title.
38.
Dante Lavelli was a confident receiver, former teammates said in later years.
39.
Dante Lavelli was known for his ability to improvise on the field.
40.
Dante Lavelli was an assistant coach with the Browns and a scout for the Chicago Bears.
41.
Dante Lavelli later owned a furniture store in Rocky River, Ohio and had an interest in two bowling alleys.
42.
Dante Lavelli had a hand in founding the NFL Alumni Association, a charitable organization.
43.
Dante Lavelli was elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1975, joining former teammates Graham, Motley and Groza and coach Paul Brown.
44.
Dante Lavelli died in 2009 at 85 at Fairview Hospital in Cleveland and is buried in St Mary's Cemetery, Hudson, OH.