Joe Delamielleure has made it to the Hall of Fame. After 213 miles from Buffalo to Canton, Joe D completed the “Pound the Pavement For Prosthetics” walk. We have been tracking Joe’s progress and throughout his trip he met and spoke with many interesting and inspired admirers. We have been documenting Joes progress through the trip.
Along the way, Joe received many phone calls from former players and fellow alumnist cheering him and showing their support. The walk really created a buzz around the football world as awareness grew with each step Joe took. Joe was able to help GRACE’s LAMP by raising money and getting their message out there. Steve Perry, the Hall of Fame’s President/Executive Director announced that the Hall of Fame has set aside a block of enshrinement tickets that if you buy them and say you want to support Grace’s Lamp, the Hall of Fame is giving $10 of the ticket price to the charity. That generous act by the Halls President was made possible by Joe’s walk.
Maybe the most impressive part of Joe’s walk was that he wore the same socks throughout the journey. Fellow Hall of Famer Franco Harris hooked Joe D up with a special set of socks from his company Silver Sport. Through the final days of his trip Joe received calls from the likes of Mike Ditka, Lynn Swann and even a visit from Browns Hall of Famer Bernie Kosar. The support for Joe D was amazing throughout.
As Joe D completed his 213 mile trek on Saturday, Joey Funderburk the boy who inspired this walk and the GRACE’s LAMP foundation was there to complete the journey with his now good friend. The two were greeted by so many fans as well as the Mayor of Canton, Steve Perry and all of his team at the Hall, two Browns alum Dick Ambrose and Bernie Kosar.
Though the walk itself is finished there are still many more steps to be taken for GRACE’s LAMP. Joe D and Joey have already started planning 5k walks around the country to continue to help raise awareness for those with prosthetics.
The 62 year old Delamielleure endured intense heat throughout his trip walking 213 miles. What have you been up to the last 10 days? Not many can say that they accomplished what Joe D did in that time. Joe will return to Canton in two weeks for the Hall of Fame game and ceremonies. Until then hopefully his body recovers well from the walk so he can continue to do great things for people like Joey Funderburk and GRACE’s LAMP.
For the original story click here and if you would like to donate go to www.graceslamp.org
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