[Congressional Record Volume 155, Number 16 (Tuesday, January 27, 2009)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E151]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


                     DANTE ``GLUEFINGERS'' LAVELLI

                                 ______
                                 

                       HON. STEVEN C. LaTOURETTE

                                of ohio

                    in the house of representatives

                       Tuesday, January 27, 2009

  Mr. LaTOURETTE. Madam Speaker, when you were a Cleveland Browns fan, 
there is no halfway. To be a Browns fan requires a lifelong devotion, 
an unflinching loyalty, a reverence for all those who came before. As a 
Browns fan, you come to accept that your loyalty will be tested often, 
and in ways you cannot fathom--the Drive, the Fumble, the stealth, 
dark-of-night move to Baltimore. Yet, the loyalty never wavers--mostly 
because the rewards and the memories forged on Sunday afternoons 
between fathers, sons, friends and neighbors are so powerful--even when 
they are few and far between.
  One of pillars of the Browns recently passed: Dante ``Glue Fingers'' 
Lavelli. He played with Otto Graham, Marion Motley and Lou ``The Toe'' 
Groza and was coached by the legendary Paul Brown. He led the team to 
seven championships in the 1940s and 1950s. He was a gridiron star in 
his hometown of Hudson, OH, which is part of my district. He led his 
high school team to three straight undefeated seasons.
  Dante Lavelli was a World War II Army veteran who missed most of 
college to defend our Nation, trading the Horseshoe at Ohio State for 
the beaches of Normandy. The famed receiver--nicknamed ``Gluefingers'' 
because he never dropped the ball--was enshrined in the Pro Football 
Hall of Fame in Canton more than 30 years ago, where his 386 catches 
for 6,488 yards and 62 touchdowns are part of football lore. He loved 
one woman for more than 60 years, his beloved wife, Joy. He is survived 
by his wife, two daughters, a son, and four grandchildren, including 
Aaron Bill, who worked for me in Washington and now attends law school.
  I want to submit into the Record a column written by renowned 
Cleveland Plain Dealer sportswriter Terry Pluto, who so eloquently 
captured the magic of a man who meant so much to his family, his 
community, the Browns and the NFL. The article was published on January 
25, 2009, the day after Lavelli's funeral in Hudson, OH.

       He was a man who put salt on almost everything, especially 
     a salad. He drank a huge can of ice tea each night and would 
     drive his grandchildren around, forcing them to listen to 
     polka music in the car.
       Dante Lavelli was so much more than a Hall of Fame receiver 
     for the Cleveland Browns, as family and friends made clear 
     during his funeral at St. Mary's Church in Hudson on 
     Saturday.
       Aaron Bill walked up to the pulpit with a comb as he 
     prepared to talk about his grandfather, who died Tuesday at 
     the age of 85.
       ``He was always trying to comb my hair,'' said Bill. ``He'd 
     tell me that my sideburns were too long, that I needed a 
     haircut. He wanted me to pull up my pants even when they were 
     as high as they could go.''
       Yes, he's Dante Lavelli, ``Gluefingers.'' He was Dante 
     Lavelli, Mr. ``Clutch.'' He was Dante Lavelli, the receiver's 
     receiver, a player whose football personality was opposite to 
     so many of the self-absorbed types who play the position 
     today.
       He's the man ``who never dropped a pass that he touched, 
     not in practices or games.'' So said great Browns coach Paul 
     Brown at Lavelli's Hall of Fame induction in 1975. He also 
     never did a celebration dance in the end zone, because he had 
     been there before--a total of 62 times in his 11-year Browns 
     career.
       Lavelli caught all but 20 of his 386 receptions from Hall 
     of Famer Otto Graham. He also played games in 1956, his final 
     season, with a notebook and pencil tucked inside his pads so 
     he could sign up opponents after the game to join the new 
     Players Association that he helped assemble.
       ``When my father walked, the floor shook,'' said his son, 
     Edward Lavelli.
       Or so it seemed.
       He led Hudson High to three undefeated seasons in the late 
     1930s.
       He played only three games at Ohio State before joining the 
     Army, where he was in the 28th Infantry.
       The flag on his casket was a reminder that Lavelli was part 
     of the group of men who landed at Omaha Beach. He was in 
     Bastogne during the Battle of the Bulge in the winter of 
     1944-45, where the Allies lost an estimated 81,000 men.
       In an interview with Scout.com, Lavelli said at one point 
     in the fighting, ``I spent three days in a foxhole.'' He also 
     said he prayed the ``Our Father'' constantly for three days.
       After his football career, Lavelli had ownership interest 
     in a furniture store, in two bowling alleys and other 
     business ventures. He had been the oldest living member of 
     the Pro Football Hall of Fame. He pushed for recognition of 
     the 1948 Browns for their undefeated season, which had been 
     dismissed by the NFL because it happened in the old All-
     American Football Conference.
       As Father John Betters said in his homily, ``Dante Lavelli 
     truly was one of America's Greatest Generation.''
       Lavelli was married for nearly 60 years to Joy, and spent 
     much of his later life in Westlake. His family members 
     mentioned how he loved to win at anything, from gin rummy to 
     golf to negotiating to buy a car.
       Oldest daughter Lucinda said her father often offered this 
     advice: ``Save your money and get some rest.''
       Or as grandson Aaron Bill said, looking up and speaking to 
     his deceased grandfather, ``I love you very much, and I'll 
     miss talking to you every day. And don't worry, my shoes 
     aren't untied. I wore loafers.''

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