There was a time when Super Bowl Sunday arrived and Pittsburgh sports fans had a rooting interest even if the Steelers weren't playing. For a 13-year stretch from 1982-94, a Pittsburgh native quarterbacked his team in the Super Bowl nine times, including a stretch of six consecutive seasons from 1989-94.
Following in the footsteps of Joe Namath, Johnny Unitas and Joe Montana, Jim Kelly holds the distinction of being the most recent Western Pennsylvania-bred quarterback to lead his team to the Super Bowl. That was 21 years ago, in 1994, when he led the Buffalo Bills to an unprecedented fourth consecutive Super Bowl.
Ten days from now, at the 2015 Dapper Dan Dinner and Sports Auction, Kelly will be honored with the Lifetime Achievement Award, and he will be introduced by another famous Super Bowl quarterback.
Two-time Super Bowl winner Ben Roethlisberger will introduce his friend when Kelly receives the award at the David L. Lawrence Convention Center.
• When: Feb. 10.
• Schedule: Cocktail reception and silent auction begins at 6 p.m., with dinner and awards to follow at 7 p.m.
• Tickets: Call 412-263-3850 or go online at post- gazette.com/dapperdan. Tickets are $150 for general seating and $250 for premium seating.
"It's an honor," Kelly said. "I always heard about the Dapper Dan when I was younger. It will be great to be a part of it."
Kelly and Roethlisberger have a lot in common. Both were a part of famed quarterback classes and had to wait their turn while peers were drafted ahead of them.
Kelly was the third quarterback selected in the 1983 draft, which also included John Elway and Dan Marino. Roethlisberger was the third quarterback selected in 2004 after Eli Manning and Philip Rivers in the second-most famous quarterback draft class.
Kelly grew up in East Brady, Pa., and idolized Namath and Terry Bradshaw. He was 8 when Namath led the New York Jets to the 16-7 upset victory against the Baltimore Colts in Super Bowl III. A couple of years later, Kelly met Bradshaw when he was a rookie when Kelly won an NFL-sponsored punt, pass and kick contest.
It was the perfect time for a budding quarterback to grow up in Western Pennsylvania.
"They were my role models," Kelly said.
After a standout career at the University of Miami, Kelly 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 remains 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.
"Not only was Jim Kelly one of the best quarterbacks I have ever seen, he was the toughest person I ever met," said Bill Polian, who was the general manager of the Bills from 1986-93.
That toughness came from his East Brady roots. His father grew up in an orphanage in Pittsburgh and became a golden gloves boxer in the navy. He worked hard to provide for his family, but Kelly remembers shoveling snow and raking leaves with his brothers to earn money that was given to his parents to help pay bills.
"We never had anything that was given to us," Kelly said.
Kelly's love of football grew out of the Steelers dynasty of the 1970s. He and his five brothers played football in the backyard of their parents' home where they pretended to be their favorite Steelers.
"I grew up with the Pittsburgh Steelers and bled black and gold," Kelly said. "When we were in the backyard, I was always Terry Bradshaw throwing to Lynn Swann. And when I was on defense, I was Jack Lambert or Mean Joe Greene."
As the fourth of six boys, Kelly took a beating in those backyard games, but that environment helped to shape who he became.
"When you grow up in a family of six boys, you're going to be tough," he said. "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.'?"
Kelly was known as the toughest quarterback of his era. He was referred to as the quarterback with a linebacker's mentality. He rode that toughness to more than 35,000 passing yards and 237 touchdown passes.
In retirement, Kelly has relied on his toughness in battling oral cancer. He was diagnosed in the summer of 2013. He has endured surgeries and chemotherapy, and lost 65 pounds as a result.
Kelly won't look like the quarterback who filled out the No. 12 Bills jersey for all those years, but he will arrive back in his hometown next week cancer-free. And for that, he and his family have reason to celebrate.
Ray Fittipaldo: rfittipaldo@post-gazette.com and Twitter @rayfitt1.
First Published: February 1, 2015, 5:00 a.m.