Leroy Kelly
Encyclopedia
Leroy Kelly was an American football
player. A Pro Football Hall of Fame
running back
, he played for the Cleveland Browns
in the National Football League
from 1964-73.
During his 10-year NFL career, the 6-foot, 202-pound running back rushed for 7,274 yards and 74 touchdowns, on 1,727 carries. He also caught 190 passes for 2,281 yards and 13 touchdowns. 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 Bowl
s.
Kelly led the NFL in rushing in 1967 and '68, also leading the league in rushing touchdown
s for three consecutive years from 1966-68. He also was a talented punt and kick returner, who averaged 10.5 yards per punt return and 23.5 yards per kick return during his career.
Noted as an exceptionally fine runner on the muddy playing fields then in use, the 6-0, 202-pound Kelly favored the famed Browns trap play up the middle for his major yardage ventures but he was equally devastating on sweeps or as a receiver. His quick-starting ability, along with a sense of balance and knack of evading direct hits by tacklers, kept him relatively injury-free, missing only four games in 10 years and never more than one game per season.
Prior to his pro career, Kelly attended Simon Gratz High School
in Philadelphia
and Morgan State University
in Baltimore. He was selected by the Browns in the eighth round of the 1964 NFL Draft
. During his rookie
season, he was a key return man, contributing to the Browns' 1964 NFL Championship. Initially he was a backup running back, behind featured fullback Jim Brown
and blocking halfback Ernie Green. After Brown's retirement, he became the Browns' featured back.
Kelly played 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).
Leroy Kelly retired from pro football following the 1974 season with the Chicago Fire, but remained in the World Football League. In 1975 Kelly joined the coaching staff of the Philadelphia Bell as the offensive backfield coach. He was joined by two other Hall of Famers on that staff. Willie Wood was named the first black head coach in modern pro football history and Herb Adderley
who served as the defensive coordinator.
Kelly was enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame
in 1994.
was an All-Star outfielder
who played for five teams during a 15-year Major League Baseball
career.
His oldest son David Kelly
is a sports anchor and reporter at KMSB-TV in Tucson, Arizona
.
American football
American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...
player. A Pro Football Hall of Fame
Pro Football Hall of Fame
The Pro Football Hall of Fame is the hall of fame of professional football in the United States with an emphasis on the National Football League . It opened in Canton, Ohio, on September 7, 1963, with 17 charter inductees...
running back
Running back
A running back is a gridiron football position, who is typically lined up in the offensive backfield. The primary roles of a running back are to receive handoffs from the quarterback for a rushing play, to catch passes from out of the backfield, and to block.There are usually one or two running...
, he played for the Cleveland Browns
Cleveland Browns
The Cleveland Browns are a professional football team based in Cleveland, Ohio. They are currently members of the North Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
in the National Football League
National Football League
The National Football League is the highest level of professional American football in the United States, and is considered the top professional American football league in the world. It was formed by eleven teams in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association, with the league changing...
from 1964-73.
During his 10-year NFL career, the 6-foot, 202-pound running back rushed for 7,274 yards and 74 touchdowns, on 1,727 carries. He also caught 190 passes for 2,281 yards and 13 touchdowns. 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 Bowl
Pro Bowl
In professional American football, the Pro Bowl is the all-star game of the National Football League . Since the merger with the rival American Football League in 1970, it has been officially called the AFC–NFC Pro Bowl, matching the top players in the American Football Conference against those...
s.
Kelly led the NFL in rushing in 1967 and '68, also leading the league in rushing touchdown
Touchdown
A touchdown is a means of scoring in American and Canadian football. Whether running, passing, returning a kickoff or punt, or recovering a turnover, a team scores a touchdown by advancing the ball into the opponent's end zone.-Description:...
s for three consecutive years from 1966-68. He also was a talented punt and kick returner, who averaged 10.5 yards per punt return and 23.5 yards per kick return during his career.
Noted as an exceptionally fine runner on the muddy playing fields then in use, the 6-0, 202-pound Kelly favored the famed Browns trap play up the middle for his major yardage ventures but he was equally devastating on sweeps or as a receiver. His quick-starting ability, along with a sense of balance and knack of evading direct hits by tacklers, kept him relatively injury-free, missing only four games in 10 years and never more than one game per season.
Prior to his pro career, Kelly attended Simon Gratz High School
Simon Gratz High School
Simon Gratz High School is a secondary school located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S. An inner-city school, it is perhaps best-known for its famous alumni . Originally operated as a public school by the School District of Philadelphia, Gratz has been run as a charter school by Mastery Charter...
in Philadelphia
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Philadelphia is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Philadelphia County, with which it is coterminous. The city is located in the Northeastern United States along the Delaware and Schuylkill rivers. It is the fifth-most-populous city in the United States,...
and Morgan State University
Morgan State University
Morgan State University, formerly Centenary Biblical Institute , Morgan College and Morgan State College , is a historically black college in Baltimore, Maryland, United States. Morgan is Maryland's designated public urban university and the largest HBCU in the state of Maryland...
in Baltimore. He was selected by the Browns in the eighth round of the 1964 NFL Draft
1964 NFL Draft
The 1964 National Football League Draft took place on December 2, 1963.-Player selections:-Round one:* HOF Member of the Professional Football Hall of Fame-Round two:-Round three:-Round four:...
. During his rookie
Rookie
Rookie is a term for a person who is in his or her first year of play of their sport or has little or no professional experience. The term also has the more general meaning of anyone new to a profession, training or activity Rookie is a term for a person who is in his or her first year of play of...
season, he was a key return man, contributing to the Browns' 1964 NFL Championship. Initially he was a backup running back, behind featured fullback Jim Brown
Jim Brown
James Nathaniel "Jim" Brown is an American former professional football player who has also made his mark as an actor. He is best known for his exceptional and record-setting nine-year career as a running back for the NFL Cleveland Browns from 1957 to 1965. In 2002, he was named by Sporting News...
and blocking halfback Ernie Green. After Brown's retirement, he became the Browns' featured back.
Kelly played with the Chicago Fire of the World Football League
World Football League
The World Football League was a short-lived gridiron football league that played in 1974 and part of 1975. Although the league's proclaimed ambition was to bring American football onto a worldwide stage, the farthest the WFL reached was placing a team – the Hawaiians – in Honolulu, Hawaii. The...
in 1974, rushing for 315 yards (4.1 average) and catching 8 passes for 128 yards (16.0 average).
Leroy Kelly retired from pro football following the 1974 season with the Chicago Fire, but remained in the World Football League. In 1975 Kelly joined the coaching staff of the Philadelphia Bell as the offensive backfield coach. He was joined by two other Hall of Famers on that staff. Willie Wood was named the first black head coach in modern pro football history and Herb Adderley
Herb Adderley
Herbert Allen Adderley is a former American football cornerback who played for the Green Bay Packers and the Dallas Cowboys of the National Football League....
who served as the defensive coordinator.
Kelly was enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame
Pro Football Hall of Fame
The Pro Football Hall of Fame is the hall of fame of professional football in the United States with an emphasis on the National Football League . It opened in Canton, Ohio, on September 7, 1963, with 17 charter inductees...
in 1994.
Family
His brother Pat KellyPat Kelly (baseball outfielder)
Harold Patrick Kelly was an American right fielder in Major League Baseball. From through , Kelly played for the Minnesota Twins , Kansas City Royals , Chicago White Sox , Baltimore Orioles and Cleveland Indians . He batted and threw left-handed...
was an All-Star outfielder
Outfielder
Outfielder is a generic term applied to each of the people playing in the three defensive positions in baseball farthest from the batter. These defenders are the left fielder, the center fielder, and the right fielder...
who played for five teams during a 15-year Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball is the highest level of professional baseball in the United States and Canada, consisting of teams that play in the National League and the American League...
career.
His oldest son David Kelly
David Kelly (baseball announcer)
David Scott Kelly is an American sportscaster.He is currently a sports anchor/reporter at Belo Corp. Fox affiliate KMSB-TV in Tucson, Arizona. David joined the Fox 11 Sports Force in July 2011...
is a sports anchor and reporter at KMSB-TV in Tucson, Arizona
Tucson, Arizona
Tucson is a city in and the county seat of Pima County, Arizona, United States. The city is located 118 miles southeast of Phoenix and 60 miles north of the U.S.-Mexico border. The 2010 United States Census puts the city's population at 520,116 with a metropolitan area population at 1,020,200...
.
External links
- Pro Football Hall of Fame: Member - Leroy Kelly