Early life and college
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
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]
