Jim Kelly

Kelly's USFL records eclipsed those of fellow league quarterbacks Doug Williams and Steve Young. When the Houston Gamblers folded, Kelly went to the New Jersey Generals and was slated as their starting quarterback. Kelly also appeared on a cover of Sports Illustrated while holding a Generals' helmet, but the league collapsed before he ever fielded a snap with the Generals. Read Less

Buffalo made the playoffs in eight of Kelly's 11 seasons as their starting quarterback. Kelly's primary 'go-to' wide receiver with the Bills, Andre Reed, ranks among the NFL's all-time leaders in several receiving categories. Kelly and Reed connected for 65 TD's during their career together trailing only the tandems of Peyton Manning and Marvin Harrison (112), Steve Young and Jerry Rice (85), Peyton Manning and Reggie Wayne (69) and Dan Marino and Mark Clayton (79) for touchdowns by an NFL Quarterback/Receiver tandem.

Kelly ran the Bills' "K-Gun" no-huddle offense, which was a fast-paced offense named after tight end, Keith McKeller, that denied opposing defenses the opportunity to make timely substitutions. (The NFL later changed the rules in response to this to allow opposing defenses time to change formations under no-huddle situations, but this applied only if the offense made personnel 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, instrumental in leading Buffalo to four consecutive Super Bowl appearances. Read Less

Hunter died as a result of this disease on August 5, 2005, at the age of 8. This loss deeply affected Kelly. Read Less

Kelly grew up in the small town of East Brady, Pennsylvania, about 55 miles northeast of Pittsburgh. He was a standout at East Brady High School, where during his high school career he won all-state honors after passing for 3,915 yards and 44 touchdowns. After his senior year, Kelly played in the Big 33 Football Classic.

Kelly also played basketball in high school, scoring over 1,000 points in his high school basketball career and had six 30+ point games. As a senior he led East Brady to the basketball state semifinals and averaged 23 points and 20 rebounds.

Kelly wanted to attend Penn State under Joe Paterno, but he was not offered a quarterback scholarship, instead offering him a scholarship at linebacker. His brother, Pat, already an NFL player, advised Jim to look for a school offering a quarterback scholarship instead. He went to the University of Miami. At Miami, he played an important role in helping build the University of Miami into one of the nation's premier collegiate football programs. He finished his career at Miami with 406 completions in 646 attempts for 5,233 yards and 32 TDs. This performance earned Kelly a place in the University of Miami Hall of Fame where he was inducted in 1992. Read Less