JIM KELLY Played in the National Football League (NFL) for Eleven Seasons and Spent the Entirety of His NFL Career with the Buffalo Bills

JIM KELLY played in the National Football League (NFL) for eleven seasons and spent the entirety of his NFL career with the Buffalo Bills. He also played two seasons with the Houston Gamblers in the United States Football League (USFL). Kelly was born and raised in East Brady, PA, about 60 miles northeast of Pittsburgh. He was a standout football and basketball player at East Brady High School, winning all-state honors. Kelly went to the University of Miami, where he played an important role in helping build the program into one of the nation's best. Kelly finished his career at Miami with 406 completions in 646 attempts for 5,233 yards and 32 TDs; he was inducted into the university's hall of fame in 1992. Kelly was selected by the Bills in the first round of the 1983 NFL draft and was taken fourteenth overall. He chose to sign with the Gamblers instead and did not play for the Bills until the USFL folded in 1986. Employing the "K-Gun" offense, known for its no-huddle shotgun formations, Kelly led one of the greatest NFL scoring juggernauts. From 1991 to 1994, he helped guide the Bills to a record four consecutive Super Bowls, although the team lost each game. Kelly holds the all-time NFL record for most yards gained per completion in a single game and he recorded an NFL best 101.2 passer rating in 1990, led the league with 33 touchdowns passes in 1991, and made the Pro Bowl five times (1987, 1988, 1990, 1991, & 1992). In his four Super Bowls, Kelly completed 81 of 145 passes for 829 yards and two touchdowns, with seven interceptions. His 81 completions are the fifth most in Super Bowl history. Kelly finished his 11 NFL seasons with 2,874 completions in 4,779 attempts for 35,467 yards and 237 touchdowns, with 175 interceptions, all of which are Buffalo records. He also rushed for 1,049 yards and seven touchdowns. In 2002, Kelly was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame, his first year of eligibility. His jersey number, 12, is one of only two numbers ever retired by the Buffalo Bills. Kelly has devoted much of his post-football life to his son, Hunter James Kelly, who was diagnosed with globoid-cell leukodystrophy (Krabbe disease) shortly after his birth on February 14, 1997. Hunter died as a result of this disease on August 5, 2005, at the age of 8. To honor his son, Kelly established the non-profit “Hunter’s Hope” in 1997. Kelly's advocacy on behalf of Krabbe patients has increased national awareness of the disease. He and his wife Jill founded the annual Hunter's Day of Hope, which is held on February 14, the birthdays of both Jim and Hunter Kelly. The Hunter James Kelly Research Institute was founded at the University of Buffalo in 2004, where neuroscientists and clinicians are studying myelin and its diseases. When Kelly was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2002, he dedicated his speech to Hunter. "It's been written that the trademark of my career was toughness," he said as he choked back tears. "The toughest person I ever met in my life was my hero, my soldier, my son, Hunter. I love you, buddy." Since 1988, Kelly has run a football camp for youths between the ages of eight to 18 at the Buffalo Bills facilities. It started with 325 campers in its first year, growing to over 500 campers a year. This camp provides teaching from experienced coaches and previous players from all over the country. Kelly also participates in various drills with the participants. On June 3, 2013, Kelly announced that he has been diagnosed with squamous cell carcinoma, a form of cancer, in his upper jaw. He underwent surgery at a Buffalo hospital on June 7th. The procedure was successful and he was declared cancer-free. On March 14, 2014, after a follow-up test at the Erie County Medical Center, Kelly announced that his cancer had recurred, and that he would begin radiation and chemotherapy treatment. On August 20, 2014, Kelly’s doctors said that they could no longer find evidence of cancer. Kelly continues to reside in East Aurora, New York, with his wife Jill and their daughters, Erin and Camryn. .

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