(Author’s Note: My name is Dylan Dunlevy and I am currently a senior at The Linsly School. At Linsly, I play golf, basketball, and lacrosse, while also serving as a school prefect. I was born and raised in Wheeling and have been here all my life. I enjoy my creative writing class with Mrs. Creely as this feature article was an assignment for the class. Growing up as a Dallas Cowboys fan within an hour of Pittsburgh is a challenge as I’m constantly ridiculed for my choice of the team I support, but once I give my reasoning the ridicule is paused for a short amount of time. You could say that’s something that sets me apart and serves as an inspiration for the article.)
By Dylan Dunlevy
Robert Dunlevy, my paternal grandfather, grew up in Warwood and sports were his passion.
Part of a small class of 50 kids at Warwood High School, he was a three-sport athlete, playing football, basketball, and running track. He admired players such as Cowboys quarterback Don Meredith, the most dominant tight end Mike Ditka, and fellow Warwood native and linebacker for the Chicago Bears, Chuck Howley. He explained he didn’t have much access to the big games growing up, but when he did those were his favorite players to watch. Coming out of high school he had two major offers to Division 1 schools. Those were West Virginia and Florida State. He chose West Virginia over Florida State just because it was closer to home.
West Virginia had their eyes on him as he was tall, standing at 6-5 tall and he was also quite fast. He spent his first year at West Virginia on the freshman team, as all freshman did at the time. When his sophomore year rolled around, he made the varsity team. He got more playing time than he had expected since the older junior and senior players at his tight end and receiver positions had gotten hurt. He also played defensive since college players played on both sides of the field back then.
“My claim to fame at West Virginia was my catch against Syracuse. I remember it vividly. We walked into the game assuming we were going to be blown out as Syracuse was a Top 10 powerhouse at the time. It was late in the game and we had kept it close the entire time.
“We were driving down the field and it was third down, a post route was called and I knew the ball would likely be coming to me. The ball was hiked and when I broke in my route the defensive back tripped over his ankles and fell. I turned my head and saw the ball coming towards me. All I thought was ‘Don’t drop it, don’t drop it.’ I hauled it in and the catch allowed us to score later in the drive and upset Syracuse.”
A No Then a Yes
Toward the end of his college career, he had two professional teams looking at him. The Dallas Cowboys were first (he said they came to West Virginia’s practices to watch him); the second was the Kansas City Chiefs of the AFL who he went and visited. The NFL draft rolled around. He didn’t know he was going to be drafted, but he met with what they called a “babysitter” who watched him throughout the day. The babysitter, Litten, was with the Dallas Cowboys and he took them from the airport and through Washington, DC.
He said he spent the whole day traveling with Litten in a limousine and received a tour of the city. He even stated that the babysitter from Kansas City was trying to follow them throughout the day and they completely ignored him. Back then the AFL and NFL were split into two separate leagues. When he played the NFL was the premier division, and he wanted to play in the NFL. He was at dinner when he got the call from the Kansas City Chiefs saying that they selected him, but he didn’t accept this offer as he was hoping for a call from the Cowboys.
Somehow managing to fall asleep, he was awakened by a call from the Dallas Cowboys around 2 am. They had selected him, and the deal was accepted instantly. He ran into the living area of the hotel suite yelling and waking everyone up. After everyone was awake and celebrating, Litten pulled out the contract from his pocket. It was for 20 thousand dollars, which was a big deal for someone of his caliber. Now, it was time to play.
The first time he strapped on the professional pads he was scared. He knew the game was much different on this level; players were faster, bigger, and stronger than him. “I worked my tail off, and that’s how I made the team,” he said.
Chuck Howley was his mentor as he entered the league as the Cowboys had recently acquired him from the Chicago Bears. Their dads were good friends, and they both had similar routes to the NFL with both being from Warwood and having attended West Virginia University.
A Million Dollars
Looking back on his career he said, “It gave me a big start in life; when you’re 21 and you are rich and a car is gifted to you, I felt like a million dollars. Right now, I’m happy I played football and the opportunities it gave me. I have three boys and five amazing grandchildren now.
“My grandchildren play a wide variety of sports and I love to watch them all from football, golf, volleyball, and track. Football gave me character and strength to face a lot of problems in life,” my grandfather said. “It helped me strengthen my fear. It makes me feel stronger when I face challenges. I can rebound from defeats quicker.”
I asked him who his current favorite player is. It took him a while to answer but eventually answered the current quarterback of the Dallas Cowboys, Dak Prescott. I had to remind him that his grandson is currently an active college quarterback and he quickly changed his answer.
