Dante Lavelli

Cleveland Browns (1946-1956)

3x Pro Bowl selection (1951, 1953, 1954)
6x All-Pro selection ( 1946-1949, 1951, 1953) 1 2 team
Cleveland Browns Honor Roll
3x NFL champion (1950, 1954, 1955)
4x AAFC Champion ( 1946-1949 )
NFL 1940s All- Decade Team
Pro Football Hall of Fame (1975 )

Dante Bert Joseph Lavelli ( born February 23, 1923 in Hudson, Ohio, USA, † January 10, 2009 in Cleveland, Ohio), nicknamed " Gluefingers ", was an American American football player. He has played as an end in the National Football League ( NFL) for the Cleveland Browns.

Playing career

College career

The family of Dante Lavelli was born in Italy and immigrated to the USA in 1905. He attended in his hometown high school, where he played American football as a quarterback. He remained undefeated for three years with his team. In 1942, Lavelli played three matches as halfback for the " Ohio State Buckeyes " of the college football team of Ohio State University. After an injury he had to prematurely end the season and was drafted after the first year of study by the U.S. Army. He landed during the Second World War as a soldier on D-Day at Omaha Beach. After his discharge from the army, he decided to continue his studies and no longer to accept an offer from Paul Brown, who coached the newly formed Cleveland Browns in the All-America Football Conference ( AAFC ).

Professional career

Dante Lavelli 1946 was taken by the Cleveland Browns under contract. For the team from Cleveland, he played as an end and defensive end. The Browns were the dominant team in the AAFC - a rival league of the NFL. In its ranks several later members played the Pro Football Hall of Fame, so the quarterback Otto Graham, the player of the defensive line Bill Willis and running back Marion Motley. In 1946 she won the AAFC - final against the New York Yankees with 14:9. Lavelli scoring due to a pass from Graham to win the game touchdown. 1947, the Yankees were defeated with 14:3 in the final. 1948 and 1949 won Lavelli his third and fourth AAFC championship title, the Browns defeated in 1948 in the final game with the Buffalo Bills 49:7 and the following year the San Francisco 49ers with 21:7.

The AAFC had to stop the operation of gambling due to financial difficulties after the 1949 season. The Browns were included in the NFL. Your triumph continued in the NFL. In the NFL playoff in 1950 they defeated the Los Angeles Rams 30:28. Lavelli was able to contribute with two touchdowns for the victory of his team. 1951 then ended the winning streak of the Browns. For the first time they lost in a playoff. The Rams were able to prevail with 24:17 against the Browns. After a weak season in 1952, the Browns moved again in the 1953 NFL playoff. Opponents were the Detroit Lions, who were able to prevail narrowly 17:16 .. 1954, the Browns were able to avenge their defeat and defeated the Lions in playoff significantly with 56:10. In his penultimate game 1955 Lavelli was then able to win his seventh title. The Rams defeated in the final game with the Browns 38:14 and Lavelli was able to achieve his fourth touchdown in a playoff.

After the 1956 season Dante Lavelli ended his career. Lavelli played in a time in which the passport system in the game of football teams gained more and more importance. In particular, the interplay between Graham and Lavelli, as well as the powerful runs of Marion Motley were the reasons for the success of the Cleveland Browns. His ability to catch the football sure a reporter Dante Lavelli prompted the nickname to "re Gluefingers ". In his rookie year he exhibited at both the pass catches, as well as in the space savings achieved as a result, each of the NFL Jahresbestleistung.

After the NFL

Dante Lavelli operated a furniture company after his playing career. He is buried in Saint Marys Cemetery in Hudson. Lavelli was married for 53 years and had three children.

Honors

Dante Lavelli played three times in the Pro Bowl, the final game of the best players of the season. He was six times elected to the All- Pro. The Browns honor him in the Cleveland Browns Honor Roll. He is a member of the NFL 1940s All- Decade Team and the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

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