Dante Lavelli, Date of Birth, Place of Birth, Date of Death
TweetDante Lavelli
American football player
Date of Birth: 23-Feb-1923
Place of Birth: Hudson, Ohio, United States
Date of Death: 20-Jan-2009
Profession: American football player
Nationality: United States
Zodiac Sign: Pisces 
About Dante Lavelli
- Dante Bert Joseph "Gluefingers" Lavelli (February 23, 1923 – January 20, 2009) was an American football end who played for the Cleveland Browns in the All-America Football Conference (AAFC) and National Football League (NFL) from 1946 to 1956.
- Starring alongside quarterback Otto Graham, fullback Marion Motley, placekicker Lou Groza and fellow receiver Mac Speedie, Lavelli was an integral part of a Browns team that won seven championships during his 11-season career.
- Lavelli was known for his sure hands and improvisations on the field.
- He was also renowned for making catches in critical situations, earning the nickname "Mr.
- Clutch".
- "Lavelli had one of the strongest pairs of hands I've ever seen," Browns coach Paul Brown once said of him.
- "When he went up for a pass with a defender, you could almost always count on him coming back down with the ball."Lavelli grew up in Hudson, Ohio and played football, baseball and basketball at his local high school.
- After graduating, he enrolled at Ohio State University, where he played only a handful of games before he was drafted for service in the U.S.
- Army during World War II.
- Returning in 1945 after serving in Europe, he joined the Browns in the team's first-ever season in the AAFC.
- Helped by Lavelli's play, the Browns won each of the AAFC's championships before the league dissolved in 1949 and the team was absorbed by the NFL.
- Cleveland continued to succeed in the NFL, winning championships in 1950, 1954 and 1955.
- Lavelli, who helped found the National Football League Players Association toward the end of his career, retired after the 1956 season. After retiring from football, Lavelli held a variety of coaching and scouting jobs and was active in NFL alumni affairs.
- He also ran a furniture store in Rocky River, Ohio.
- He was elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1975.
- He died in a Cleveland hospital in 2009.
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