Dante Bert Joseph "Gluefingers" Lavelli was an American football end who played for the Cleveland Browns in the All-America Football Conference and National Football League 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. 

February 23rd, 1923 in Hudson  /  Died:   Jan 20th, 2009 - Passed away after a long illness, aged 85