NFL Hall of Fame quarterback Jim Kelly comes to us following a long and successful career as a pro quarterback in the NFL for the Buffalo Bills and the USFL’s Houston Gamblers. Kelly was the third quarterback drafted in the 1983 NFL Draft, the same draft class where John Elway was first overall. Employing the K-Gun offense, he lead one of the great NFL scoring juggernauts and led the Buffalo Bills to four consecutive Super Bowls, from 1991 to 1994. In 2002, in his first year of eligibility, he was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Jim Kelly’s number 12 is the only number ever retired in Buffalo Bills history and, in 2009, Kelly was elected to the Buffalo Bills 50th Season All-time Team.
Jim 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, Jim established a non-profit organization in 1997: Hunter’s Hope. Kelly’s advocacy on behalf of Krabbes’ patients has increased national awareness of the disease. Kelly 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.
