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Leroy Kelly

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This article is about the football player. For the mathematician, see Leroy Milton Kelly.

Leroy Kelly
refer to caption
Kelly playing for the Browns in 1971
No. 44
Position:Running back
Personal information
Born: (1942-05-20) May 20, 1942 (age 82)
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Height:6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)
Weight:202 lb (92 kg)
Career information
High school:Philadelphia (PA) Gratz
College:Morgan State (1960-1963)
NFL draft:1964 / round: 8 / pick: 110
Career history
Career highlights and awards
Career NFL statistics
Rushing yards:7,274
Average:4.2
Rushing touchdowns:74
Receptions:190
Receiving yards:2,281
Receiving touchdowns:13
Return yards:2,774
Return touchdowns:3
Stats at Pro Football Reference
Pro Football Hall of Fame

Leroy Kelly (born May 20, 1942) is an American former professional football player who was a running back for the Cleveland Browns in the National Football League (NFL) from 1964 to 1973. He was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1994.[1]

Early life, high school and college

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Kelly was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on May 20, 1942. His parents Orvin and Argie (Watson) Kelly, came from South Carolina to Philadelphia in the mid-1920s. They had nine children, two of whom died of rheumatic fever in 1940 before Kelly was born.[2][3] He grew up in Nicetown, in North Philadelphia.[4]

He attended Simon Gratz High School in Philadelphia. During his hall of fame acceptance speech, Kelly singled out his high school coach, Louis E. DeVicaris, for getting him to college.[5] Kelly attended Morgan State University in Baltimore, a leading HBCU.[6][7] He is considered by many knowledgeable Philadelphia sports writers to be one of the top 10 professional athletes ever to have come out of Philadelphia's high school leagues.[8]

At Gratz, Kelly lettered in football, basketball, and baseball. In football, he played quarterback and middle linebacker, and was a kicker, punter and kick returner as well.[9][2] Kelly was team captain and won honorable mention on the Pennsylvania All Star Team. He was also a star basketball player, as well as winning honors as a high school baseball player. He was voted the most outstanding athlete in his senior year.[10] As a baseball player, he tried out for the Philadelphia Phillies, but felt he had a better future in football.[4]

Kelly attended Morgan State from 1960 to 1963. College Football Hall of Fame coach, and fellow Philadelphian, Earl Banks coached Kelly at Morgan State, moving Kelly from quarterback to running back. He also played defensive back. In 1962, Kelly led Morgan State in rushing, scoring and punting, and the team won the CIAA (Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association) Championship. In 1963, his senior year, Kelly was selected as the Most Valuable Player in the Orange Blossom Classic. Kelly holds Morgan State records for touchdowns in a half (three against Delaware State in 1963), the longest scoring play from scrimmage (95 yards against Virginia State in 1962), and the longest punt return (67 yards against Delaware State in 1962). Kelly was inducted into Morgan State's Hall of Fame in 1977.[2][9][10]

Career

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He was selected by the Browns in the eighth round of the 1964 NFL draft.[11] Buddy Young, who was working for the NFL at the time, brought Kelly to the Browns' attention as a potential draft pick.[4] When Kelly was in danger of being cut in training camp because an injury was limiting his play, Jim Brown went to the coach and team trainer to convince them to give Kelly a week to heal, and his job was saved.[4] As a Cleveland rookie he was a key return man, averaging 24.3 yards per return and contributing to the Browns' 1964 NFL championship, and backup running back behind featured fullback Jim Brown and blocking halfback Ernie Green.[12] He moved up to become the Browns' featured running back after Brown's retirement at the end of the 1965 season. The Browns would make the playoffs in 7 of the 10 years Kelly played for them.[13]

Jim Brown, one of the greatest college and professional football players of all time,[14] and the first person selected to the NFL's 100th Anniversary team,[15] told Browns coach Blanton Collier that he need not worry about Brown's retirement because Kelly would be a great replacement and a top NFL running back.[4] Hall of fame receiver Paul Warfield, who was the Browns first draft pick in 1964, considered Kelly's kick returning that year a key to the team's championship success, and that Kelly's return ability and style generally caused a change in strategy around the league for kick returns.[4]

When Jim Brown retired before the 1966 season, Kelly became the starter. For the next three years, he rushed for 1,000 yards each year, with a total of 3,585,[4][16] led the league in rushing touchdowns,[17] and led the NFL in rushing in 1967 and 1968, after having finished second to Gale Sayers in 1966.[4] Although second to Sayers in total yards in 1966, he led the NFL with a 5.5 yards-per-carry average, 1,507 total yards, 15 rushing touchdowns and 16 total touchdowns.[13]

From 1966 to 1968, he won All-NFL and starting Pro Bowl honors. Kelly also played in three other Pro Bowls following the 1969, 1970 and 1971 seasons, and earned first-team All-NFL in 1969 and 1971.[18] In 1968, he scored a touchdown in a franchise-record 12 games, and two-or-more touchdowns in a franchise-record 7. In game 12 of the 1970 season, he passed Bill Brown as the career rushing-yards leader among active players, a position he maintained until his retirement in 1974. Kelly led the NFL in rushing for two consecutive seasons (1967–1968). He also was a talented punt and kick returner, who averaged 10.5 yards per punt return and 23.5 yards per kick return for his career.[19] He was the NFL's leading punt returner in 1965 and the AFC's top punt returner in 1971.[18]

After his excellent play in 1966, Kelly sought to double his salary of $20,000, and the Browns refused his demands. Along with some other Browns players, they reporting late to training camp. After being fined, Kelly decided to play out his contract option in 1967 at a 10% pay cut. He led the league with 1,205 yards rushing, averaging 5.1 yards a carry, and Browns owner Art Modell accepted that Kelly had gambled on his contract and won. In 1968, Kelly signed a four-year contract with the Browns for $250,000.[4]

Kelly ended his pro career with the Chicago Fire of the World Football League in 1974, rushing for 315 yards (4.1 average) and catching 8 passes for 128 yards (16.0 average).[20]

At the time of his retirement Kelly, had rushed for 7,274 yards (then 4th all-time to Jim Brown, Joe Perry, and Jim Taylor)[21] and 74 touchdowns (3rd)[22] on 1,727 carries for 4.2 yards per carry. He also caught 190 passes for 2,281 yards and 13 touchdowns.[23] On special teams, he returned 94 punts for 990 yards and 3 touchdowns, and 76 kickoffs for 1,784 yards. Overall, he gained 12,330 all-purpose yards and scored 90 touchdowns. He was named All-NFL five times and to six Pro Bowls.[24]

After his retirement as an active player, he remained in the World Football League as the Philadelphia Bell's offensive backfield coach, joining two other Hall of Famers on that staff, former Green Bay Packers defensive backfield standouts Willie Wood (the first black head coach in pro football history) and fellow Philadelphian Herb Adderley (defensive coordinator).[25]

Honors

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Kelly has received the following honors, among others;

Family

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Pat Kelly, his younger brother, was an All-Star outfielder who played for five teams during a 15-year Major League Baseball career.[3][29] Felicia Kelly, Leroy's only daughter, worked in the local news business for 20 years at Cleveland's ABC affiliate WEWS-TV. She worked in the engineering department, as a news source reporter, and hosted a half-hour entertainment show called "The Set." She is now an educator in the Cleveland Public School System. David Kelly, his eldest son, is sports anchor and reporter for KMSB-TV in Tucson, Arizona. Leroy Kelly II his second son, played 3 years in the American Indoor Football League and 1 year overseas in the GFL Germany League For the Kiel-Baltic Hurricanes. Leroy Kelly II was invited to 2 workouts with the Cleveland Browns and 1 with the Detroit Lions.[30]

NFL career statistics

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Legend
Won NFL Championship
Led the league
Bold Career high
Year Team Games Rushing Receiving Fumbles
GP GS Att Yds Avg Y/G Lng TD Rec Yds Avg Lng TD Fum FR
1964 CLE 14 0 6 12 2.0 0.9 5 0 0 0 0.0 0 0 0 0
1965 CLE 13 1 37 139 3.8 10.7 16 0 9 122 13.6 52 0 3 2
1966 CLE 14 14 209 1,141 5.5 81.5 70 15 32 366 11.4 40 1 1 0
1967 CLE 14 14 235 1,205 5.1 86.1 42 11 20 282 14.1 48 2 7 2
1968 CLE 14 14 248 1,239 5.0 88.5 65 16 22 297 13.5 68 4 6 1
1969 CLE 13 13 196 817 4.2 62.8 31 9 20 267 13.4 36 1 1 1
1970 CLE 13 13 206 656 3.2 50.5 33 6 24 311 13.0 55 2 3 1
1971 CLE 14 14 234 865 3.7 61.8 35 10 25 252 10.1 29 2 7 2
1972 CLE 14 14 224 811 3.6 57.9 18 4 23 204 8.9 28 1 4 1
1973 CLE 13 13 132 389 2.9 29.9 19 3 15 180 12.0 36 0 3 0
Career 136 110 1,727 7,274 4.2 53.5 70 74 190 2,281 12.0 68 13 35 10

References

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  1. ^ "Leroy Kelly". ProFootballHOF.com. Pro Football Hall of Fame Official Site. Retrieved July 12, 2019.
  2. ^ a b c d Rosa, Poch de la (February 5, 2023). "The Life And Career Of Leroy Kelly (Story)". Pro Football History. Retrieved October 25, 2024.
  3. ^ a b Tulsa, Alfonso L. "Pat Kelly – Society for American Baseball Research". sabr.org. Retrieved October 25, 2024.
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i Goldstein, Alan (July 28, 1994). "Hall Of Fame A Rush For Kelly". Baltimore Sun.
  5. ^ Naedele, Walter F. (March 4, 2010). "Louis E. DeVicaris, coach at Gratz, principal at King". Philadelphia Inquirer.
  6. ^ "Morgan State University Named 'HBCU Institutional Leader' by Fulbright Program". Morgan State University Newsroom. Retrieved October 25, 2024.
  7. ^ "Leroy Kelly enshrined in Black College Football Hall of Fame". morganstatebears.com. Retrieved July 7, 2019.
  8. ^ Mahon, Tom (August 4, 2014). "Wilt tops list of top pros from city leagues". Philadelphia Inquirer.
  9. ^ a b c "Philadelphia Sports Hall of Fame". www.phillyhall.org. Retrieved October 25, 2024.
  10. ^ a b c "Leroy Kelly (1977) - Hall of Fame". Morgan State University Athletics. Retrieved October 25, 2024.
  11. ^ McManamon, Pat (April 20, 2016). "Draft's eighth round gave Browns Hall of Famer Leroy Kelly". ESPN.com. ESPN, Inc. Retrieved July 7, 2019.
  12. ^ "Leroy Kelly: Career Stats". NFL.com. NFL Enterprises, LLC. Retrieved July 11, 2019.
  13. ^ a b c "Gold Jacket Spotlight: Leroy Kelly Excelled As 'Next Man Up' | Pro Football Hall of Fame". pfhof. Retrieved October 25, 2024.
  14. ^ "Jim Brown, football great and activist, dies at 87". ESPN.com. May 19, 2023. Retrieved October 24, 2024.
  15. ^ Kasabian, Paul. "Browns Legend Jim Brown Becomes 1st Player Named to NFL's All-Time Team". Bleacher Report. Retrieved October 24, 2024.
  16. ^ "Leroy Kelly: Career Stats". NFL.com. Retrieved July 7, 2019.
  17. ^ "NFL Rushing Touchdowns Single-Season Leaders". ProFootballReference.com. Retrieved July 7, 2019.
  18. ^ a b c "Leroy Kelly learned from Jim Brown, became one of NFL's most feared ball carriers". ClevelandBrowns.com. Retrieved July 12, 2019.
  19. ^ "Leroy Kelly Stats". ProFootballReference.com. Retrieved July 12, 2019.
  20. ^ "WFL World Football League". Archived from the original on July 15, 2009. Retrieved April 23, 2010.
  21. ^ 1974 Rushing yards career leaderboard
  22. ^ 1974 Rushing TD career leaderboard
  23. ^ "Player BIO". profootballhof.com. Retrieved July 7, 2019.
  24. ^ "Leroy Kelly". phillyhall.org. Retrieved July 7, 2019.
  25. ^ "And Still Another First". Johnson Publishing Company. November 1975. Retrieved July 12, 2019.
  26. ^ "Leroy Kelly, Class of 1994". ProFootballHOF.com. Retrieved July 7, 2019.
  27. ^ a b Fitzpatrick, Frank (October 23, 2013). "Leroy Kelly selected for Black College Hall". Philadelphia Inquirer.
  28. ^ a b "Leroy Kelly | Pro Football Hall of Fame". pfhof. Retrieved October 25, 2024.
  29. ^ Rasmussen, Frederick N. "Pat Kelly, 61, outfielder for Orioles, evangelical minister". The Baltimore Sun. Retrieved July 7, 2019.
  30. ^ Cabot, Mary Kay (May 31, 2012). "Cleveland Browns will try out Leroy Kelly Jr., son of their Hall of Fame running back, on Monday". Cleveland.com. Retrieved July 8, 2019.
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