Joe DeLamielleure
- Buffalo Bills (1973-1979, 1985)
- Cleveland Browns (1980-1984)
- 6 × Pro Bowl ( 1975-1980 )
- 8 × All-Pro selection ( 1975-1981, 1983)
- Pro Football Hall of Fame (2003)
- Michigan State University Athletics Hall of Fame (2003)
- Greater Buffalo Sports Hall of Fame (1996 )
- Michigan Sports Hall of Fame (2004)
- Buffalo Bills Wall of Fame
- NFL 1970s All- Decade Team
Joseph Michael DeLamielleure ( born March 16, 1951 in Detroit, Michigan ) is an American former American football player. He played as a guard in the National Football League ( NFL) with the Buffalo Bills and the Cleveland Browns.
Playing career
College career
Joe DeLamielleure attended high school in Center Line. After finishing school, he studied from 1970 to 1972 at Michigan State University. He played for the football team his college, the Michigan State Spartans in the offensive line as a guard. He was elected three times in the selection of the Big Ten Conference. In 1972, the election to the All American was. His college drew him because of his athletic achievements total of three times.
Professional career
Joseph DeLamielleure was drafted in 1973 by the Buffalo Bills in the first round in 26th place. Head coach of the Bills was Lou Saban, who also began as Joe DeLamielleure Guard. However, his career begang with obstacles. In a medical study heart problems were noted in DeLamielleure. Only an in-depth investigation revealed that there is no medical obstacles to a professional career. As a guard, he had the task of protecting their own quarterback Joe Ferguson and running back OJ Simpson to block the way into the opponent's end zone free. DeLamielleure became the central player on the offensive line of the Bill, which was nicknamed Elektric Company of American sports fans. In the rookie year of DeLamielleure succeeded Simpson with the offensive line to get a room gain of 2,003 yards. In 1974 DeLamielleure won with his team nine of 14 games. This performance was enough to qualify for the play- offs, where, however, prematurely failed due to the Pittsburgh Steelers with 32:14. In 1978, Chuck Knox took over as coach Jim Ringo. The relationship between Knox and DeLamielleure deteriorated dramatically over the next few months. Therefore, after the 1979 season, he asked the Bills to the termination of his contract, the team from Buffalo and gave their players to the Cleveland Browns from. In 1980 DeLamielleure could move in with his new team for the second time in his career in the play-offs. Joseph DeLamielleure had a decisive share in this success. With his help playing the quarterback of the Browns, Brian Sipe, a very good season and was selected after this round to the NFL Most Valuable Player. He was elected for the sixth time in his career in the Pro Bowl. After a record of eleven wins from 16 games in the regular season, the Browns lost, however, already in the Divisional play-off game with 14:12 against the Oakland Raiders. 1985 Joe DeLamielleure returned again back to the Buffalo Bills and ended after this game year his career.
Honors
Joe DeLamielleure played in the Pro Bowl six times, the final game of the best players of the season. He was elected to the All-Pro eight times and is a member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame, the Michigan State University Athletics Hall of Fame, in the Greater Buffalo Sports Hall of Fame and in the Michigan Sports Hall of Fame, as well as in the NFL 1970s All- Decade Team. The Buffalo Bills Ralph Wilson Stadium in his honor on the Buffalo Bills Wall of Fame.
After the career
Joseph DeLamielleure became a successful businessman after his career. In addition to career he has worked as an assistant coach at Duke University. He lives in Charlotte, North Carolina.