Jim Kelly

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For other persons named Jim Kelly, see Jim Kelly (disambiguation).
Jim Kelly

Jim kelly in action against the Bengals.
Date of birth February 14, 1960 (age 47)
Place of birth Flag of United States Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Height 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)
Weight 225 lb (102 kg)
Position(s) Quarterback
College University of Miami
NFL Draft 1983 / Round 1 / Pick 14
Career Highlights
Pro Bowls 5
Retired #s Buffalo Bills #12
Records Buffalo Bills
Career Passing Yards
(35,467)
Stats
Statistics
Team(s)
1984-1985
1986-1996		 Houston Gamblers (USFL)
Buffalo Bills
Pro Football Hall of Fame, 2002

James Edward Kelly (born February 14, 1960 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania) was an American football quarterback for the Buffalo Bills.

Kelly is considered one of the best quarterbacks in the history of the NFL and possibly the best quarterback to line up under center in the short history of the USFL.

Third of the six quarterbacks to be drafted in the legendary draft of 1983, Kelly was rated just behind John Elway on at least one NFL draft list. Employing the K-Gun offense known for its hurry up shotgun formations and used by later teams like Peyton Manning's Indianapolis Colts and leading one of the great NFL scoring juggernauts in the Buffalo Bills, Kelly led the Bills to four consecutive Super Bowls in 1990, 1991, 1992, and 1993, though the Bills lost all four of them. In 2002, in his first year of eligibility, he was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

Contents

[edit] Early career

[edit] University of Miami and USFL

Kelly grew up in the small Pennsylvania town of East Brady, Pennsylvania (about 55 miles northeast of Pittsburgh). Kelly was drafted by the Buffalo Bills out of the University of Miami, where he had played an important role in helping build the University of Miami into one of the nation's premier collegiate football programs. Instead of joining the Bills, however, Kelly opted instead to join the fledgling United States Football League (USFL), where he played for the Houston Gamblers. In his 2 USFL seasons, he threw for 9,842 yards and 83 touchdowns.

[edit] Buffalo Bills

Kelly helped lead the Bills to emergence as one of the NFL's greatest teams of the 1990s. Buffalo made the playoffs in 8 of Kelly's 11 seasons as their starting quarterback. Kelly's primary wide receiver with the Bills, Andre Reed, ranks among the NFL's all-time leaders in several receiving categories.

[edit] "No-huddle offense"

Kelly was perhaps best known for running the Bills' "K-Gun" no-huddle offense, which was a fast-paced offense that denied opposing defenses the opportunity to make timely substitutions. This offensive scheme called for multiple formation calls in a huddle, so that after each play was completed, the Bills would eschew a following huddle, instead lining up for the next play where Kelly would read the defense and audible the play. This led to mismatches and defensive communication breakdowns and, in the 1990s, established the Bills as one of the NFL's most successful and dangerous offenses.

[edit] Records and accomplishments

Kelly holds the all-time NFL record for most yards gained per completion in a single game (44), established on September 10, 1995 in the Bills' game against the Carolina Panthers. He recorded an NFL best 101.2 passer rating in 1990, led the league with 33 touchdowns passes in 1991, and made the pro bowl four times (1987, 1990, 1991, and 1992).

In his four Super Bowls, Kelly completed 81 of 145 passes for 829 yards and 2 touchdowns, with 7 interceptions. His 81 completions and 145 attempts are the second most in Super Bowl history behind Joe Montana. In Super Bowl XXVI, he set a record with 58 pass attempts, and in Super Bowl XXVIII he set a record with 31 completions (this was later surpassed by Tom Brady's 32 completions in Super Bowl XXXVIII).

Kelly finished his 11 NFL seasons with 2,874 completions in 4,779 attempts for 35,467 yards and 237 touchdowns, with 175 interceptions, all of which are Buffalo records. Along with Dan Marino, Kelly was a pioneer of the modern mass accumulation of passing yardage year after year that is now common among NFL quarterbacks. He also rushed for 1,049 yards and 7 touchdowns.

On August 3, 2002, Kelly was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Kelly was enshrined during the first year he was eligible, and headlined a class which also featured John Stallworth, Dan Hampton, Dave Casper, and George Allen. Fellow Hall of Famer and former head coach, Marv Levy, was Kelly's presenter at the ceremony.

[edit] Personal

Kelly devoted much of his post-football life to his son, Hunter, who was diagnosed with Globoid-Cell Leukodystrophy (Krabbe disease) shortly after his birth on February 14, 1997. Hunter died as a result of this disease on August 5, 2005 at the age of eight.

To honor his son, Kelly established a non-profit organization in 1997 (Hunter's Hope). Kelly's advocacy on behalf of Krabbes' patients has increased national awareness of the disease. Kelly and his wife, Jill, founded the annual Hunter's Day of Hope, which is held on February 14, the birthdays of both Jim and Hunter Kelly.

When Kelly was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2002, he dedicated his speech to Hunter. "It's been written that the trademark of my career was toughness," said Kelly, as he choked back tears. "The toughest person I ever met in my life was my son, my hero, Hunter. I love you, buddy."

Kelly continues to reside in Orchard Park, New York, with his wife and children.

[edit] External links

Preceded by
'		 Miami Hurricanes Starting Quarterbacks
1980-1982		 Succeeded by
Bernie Kosar
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