Thoughts and prayers to an all-time University of Miami great who is dealing with another life-blow.
The legendary Jim Kelly has been diagnosed with squamous cell carcinoma, which in simpler terms is a form of cancer in his upper jaw bone.
Surgery will take place on Friday June 7th and Kelly is expected to make a full recovery as tests have shown that the cancer is isolated in his upper jaw and has not spread to other parts of his body. Kelly will have part of his upper jaw removed, as part of the procedure.
The announcement was made on Monday morning before the quarterback great’s “Kelly For Kids” charitable foundation’s annual celebrity golf tournament, with Kelly in good enough spirits.
“Doctors have told me that my prognosis for recovery is very good,” said the 53-year old Kelly. “It’s just another challenge for me and I know I’ll beat it.”
Kelly is known world-wide for his success under center with the Buffalo Bills, where he spent eleven seasons, holding a slew of records, having played in four Super Bowls and earning an induction to the Pro Football Hall Of Fame in 2002, six years after retiring from the NFL.
Hurricane fans remember Kelly’s journey starting in Coral Gables, by way of East Brady, Pennsylvania. Thought to be headed to Penn State, Kelly spurned legendary head coach Joe Paterno, who wanted to turn him into a linebacker, and headed south to play for Howard Schnellenberger.
Kelly finished his career at Miami, going 406-of-648 for 5,233 yards and 32 touchdowns, but more importantly helped put the Hurricanes on the map during some pivotal years between 1979 and 1982, including exacting revenge on his home state Nittany Lions.
Unranked Miami welcomed number one Penn State to the Orange Bowl on Halloween in 1981. It was Homecoming and behind Kelly, the Hurricanes went on to knock off Paterno’s squad, 17-14. The year before it was Kelly under center in UM’s first bowl game since 1967, helping Miami knock off No. 20 Virginia Tech in the Peach Bowl, 20-10 – a game Schnellenberger lobbied very hard to earn his squad.
Kelly went on to earn his way into the Miami’s ‘Ring Of Honor’ in the fall of 2008, sixteen years after he was inducted into the University Of Miami Sports Hall Of Fame in 1992.
Kelly is strong-willed and ready for the personal battle, having already losing his eight-year old son Hunter back in 2005 to Krabbe disease. Hunter Kelly was diagnosed with the disease at birth and the Hunter’s Hope foundation was established in 1997, having raised almost $4M for neurological disease-related research by the time of their son’s passing.
Here is to our #12. A legend. A great man. A tremendous football player and a fighter.
Godspeed, Jim.