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

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. He grew up in Nicetown, in North Philadelphia. Kelly attended Morgan State University in Baltimore, a leading HBCU. 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.

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. As a baseball player, he tried out for the Philadelphia Phillies, but felt he had a better future in football. Buddy Young, who was working for the NFL at the time, brought Kelly to the Browns' attention as a potential draft pick. and the first person selected to the NFL's 100th Anniversary team, went to the coach and team trainer to convince them to give Kelly a week to heal, and his job was saved. 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.

Brown 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. 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. led the league in rushing touchdowns, and led the NFL in rushing in 1967 and 1968, after having finished second to Gale Sayers in 1966. In 1968, he scored a touchdown in a franchise-record 12 games, and two-or-more touchdowns in a franchise-record seven games. 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 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. He was the NFL's leading punt returner in 1965 and the AFC's top punt returner in 1971.

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) and 74 touchdowns (3rd) on 1,727 carries for 4.2 yards per carry. 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 the Pro Bowl six times.

Coaching

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).

Honors

Kelly has received the following honors, among others;

  • Voted to the Pro Football Hall of Fame (1994)
  • One of 11 players from the 1964 NFL draft class in the hall of fame, including his Brown's teammate Paul Warfield, a record for any one draft class
  • Inducted into the Browns Ring of Honor (2010)

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Family

Pat Kelly, his younger brother, was an All-Star outfielder who played for five teams during a 15-year Major League Baseball career. 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.

NFL career statistics

{| class="wikitable"

! colspan="2"| Legend

|-

| style="background:#ffe6bd; width:3em;"|

| Won NFL Championship

|-

| style="background:#cfecec; width:3em;"|

| Led the league

|-

| Bold

| Career high

|}

{| class= "wikitable" style="text-align:center;"

|-

! rowspan="2"| Year

! rowspan="2"| Team

! colspan="2"| Games

! colspan="6"| Rushing

! colspan="5"| Receiving

! colspan="2"| Fumbles

|-

! GP !! GS !! Att !! Yds !! Avg !! Y/G !! Lng !! TD !! Rec !! Yds !! Avg !! Lng !! TD !! Fum !! FR

|-

! 1964 || style="background:#ffe6bd;"|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 || style="background:#cfecec;"|5.5 || 81.5 || style="background:#cfecec;"|70 || style="background:#cfecec;"|15 || 32 || 366 || 11.4 || 40 || 1 || 1 || 0

|-

! 1967 || CLE

| 14 || 14 || style="background:#cfecec;"|235 || style="background:#cfecec;"|1,205 || style="background:#cfecec;"|5.1 || style="background:#cfecec;"|86.1 || 42 || style="background:#cfecec;"|11 || 20 || 282 || 14.1 || 48 || 2 || 7 || 2

|-

! 1968 || CLE

| 14 || 14 || style="background:#cfecec;"|248 || style="background:#cfecec;"|1,239 || 5.0 || 88.5 || 65 || style="background:#cfecec;"|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

|-

! colspan="2"|Career || 136 || 110 || 1,727 || 7,274 || 4.2 || 53.5 || 70 || 74 || 190 || 2,281 || 12.0 || 68 || 13 || 35 || 10

|}

References

  • Pro Football Hall of Fame: Member – Leroy Kelly