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Jim Kelly has been named the winner of the 2015 Dapper Dan Lifetime Achievement Award and will be honored at the 2015 Dapper Dan Dinner and Sports Auction on Feb. 10.
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Despite hardships, former Bills QB Jim Kelly still tough as ever

Gary Wiepert/Associated Press

Despite hardships, former Bills QB Jim Kelly still tough as ever

Long before the #KellyTough hashtag went viral, there were backyard football games at the home of Joe and Alice Kelly in East Brady, Pa. That’s where it all started for Hall of Fame quarterback Jim Kelly, the fourth of six boys who learned what it was to be Kelly Tough from a very young age.

“When you grow up in a family of six boys, you’re going to be tough,” said Kelly, who starred for the Buffalo Bills from 1986-96 and is one of six quarterbacks from Western Pennsylvania enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame. “I had three older brothers. They always said you’re not allowed to cry. They said, ‘If you want to cry, I’ll give you something to cry about.’ ”

Toughness remains a part of Kelly’s identity 18 years after his playing career ended. In many ways, his post-football life has tested his toughness more than any hit in his 13 years in professional football.

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Kelly has buried a son and waged a battle for his own life since retiring. Hunter Kelly was born with Krabbe disease, a rare and fatal genetic disorder of the nervous system. He died in 2005 when he was 8.

In the past 18 months, Kelly has endured two surgeries to remove cancer from his jaw and face. His wife, Jill, and two daughters keep fans abreast of his cancer fight with updates on Twitter and Instagram, always with #KellyTough accompanying the message.

In September, Kelly’s doctors pronounced him cancer-free, but the disease has taken a toll. He has lost 65 pounds and is down to his high school playing weight of 197.

“With cancer, you never really know,” Kelly said. “I’m getting checked every few months. I had an MRI last month that was clear. I just got the feeding tube out of my belly last week, so I can start to eat regular food again. My son had a feeding tube and daddy had to have one, too.”

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In recognition of his outstanding play on the field and his perseverance off it, Kelly has been named the winner of the 2015 Dapper Dan Lifetime Achievement Award. Kelly will be honored at the 2015 Dapper Dan Dinner and Sports Auction Feb. 10 at David L. Lawrence Convention Center.

The Dapper Dan sportsman and sportswoman of the year will be announced at a later date.

Kelly has begun to feel better in recent weeks. A week ago, he made a public appearance at Ralph Wilson Stadium when he led the Bills onto the field before their game against the Cleveland Browns. He also has resumed a schedule of speaking engagements in addition to his work for Hunter’s Hope, a charitable foundation that raises awareness for Krabbe disease.

One of Kelly’s first thoughts after his feeding tube was removed was getting to eat his Aunt Toni’s spaghetti and meatballs again. Toni McGinn of East Brady used to bring spaghetti and meatballs to the tailgate parties for every Bills home game. Her husband, Ed, was in charge of bringing the Iron City Beer.

“She used to bring so much I would give some to the other players,” Kelly said. “She claims that’s why we had such a good home record all those years.”

The spaghetti and meatballs, that is, not the Iron City, though Kelly remains partial to his hometown beer.

Kelly was part of the famed 1983 quarterback draft class along with Dan Marino and John Elway. He played his first two professional seasons with the Houston Gamblers in the USFL before signing with the Bills, who retained his draft rights, in 1986 after the upstart league folded.

By 1988, the Bills were a playoff team, and in 1990, they made the first of four consecutive appearances in the Super Bowl. Kelly is the only quarterback in NFL history to lead his team to four consecutive Super Bowl appearances, and he was the first quarterback from the 1983 class to be enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

For Kelly, returning to Pittsburgh to receive the Lifetime Achievement Award is coming full circle. In those backyard football games with his brothers, Kelly always played the role of Terry Bradshaw throwing passes to Lynn Swann.

In 1970, when he was 10, he met Bradshaw at an NFL-sponsored punt, pass and kick contest and had his picture taken with him. Twelve years later, before his senior year at the University of Miami, Kelly visited a Steelers practice at Three Rivers Stadium and showed the picture to Bradshaw.

Little did he know that 20 years later he would be enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame alongside Bradshaw and his other boyhood idol, Beaver Falls native Joe Namath.

“I know what it felt like for me to get to meet Bradshaw,” Kelly said. “I know that made me feel good. You’re a role model for young kids. On the field, Bradshaw was my idol, and off the field, it was Joe Namath. I just liked the way Namath handled himself. He was this ladies’ man. I’m not saying I was this good-looking guy or anything, but as a quarterback, to have to have that swagger. And he had that swagger. I had two Western Pennsylvania guys as my role models.”

First Published: December 7, 2014, 5:00 a.m.

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Jim Kelly has been named the winner of the 2015 Dapper Dan Lifetime Achievement Award and will be honored at the 2015 Dapper Dan Dinner and Sports Auction on Feb. 10.  (Gary Wiepert/Associated Press)
Gary Wiepert/Associated Press
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