Lavelli, Dante B. J.
Football
b. Feb. 23, 1923, Hudson, OH
A halfback as a freshman at Ohio State, Lavelli played only three games at end in 1942, his sophomore season, before being drafted into the service. But his coach, Paul Brown, must have seen something he liked. When Brown was putting together the Cleveland Browns team in the new All-America Football Conference in 1946, he asked Lavelli to try out.
Lavelli became the team's starting right end, led the AAFC in receptions with 40 and in reception yardage with 843, and he caught the winning touchdown pass from Otto Graham when the Browns beat the New York Yanks 14-9 for the league championship.
"Glue Fingers," as his teammates called him, was sure-handed, a precise runner of routes, and a great clutch performer. One of his finest outings came in the Browns' 30-28 victory over the Los Angeles Rams in the 1950 NFL championship game. Lavelli caught 11 passes and scored two touchdowns.
Lavelli was an All-AAFC end in 1946 and 1947. That league folded after the 1949 season and the Browns joined the NFL, where Lavelli was named an All-Pro in 1951 and 1953. He retired after the 1956 season with 386 receptions for 6,488 yards, a 16.8 average, and 62 touchdowns. All but 20 of the passes he caught were thrown by Graham.