THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Former Buffalo Bills quarterback Jim Kelly gives two thumbs up at a news conference announcing his selection to the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
(Sunday, February 3, 2002) -- When Jim Kelly called his home in Orchard Park Saturday afternoon to tell his wife, Jill, he had been elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame, the couple shed a few tears of joy.
Then Jill put the phone to the ear of the couple's son, Hunter, and when Jim explained to the soon-to-be 5-year-old what had just happened to daddy, Hunter blinked his eyes.
It was his way of saying, ''Way to go, Dad.''
Because Hunter suffers from Krabbe's Disease, he is unable to speak, but when he blinks his eyes, that's the indication to the Kellys that he understands.
Hunter had quite a reason to blink Saturday.
Kelly, the all-time great Buffalo Bills quarterback, was voted into the Hall of Fame in his first year of eligibility. He will be joined on the steps of the Canton, Ohio, shrine for the Aug. 3 induction by John Stallworth, Dave Casper, George Allen and Dan Hampton.
''Wow, I don't think I've ever been as nervous in my life,'' Kelly said in reference to the hours prior to Saturday's announcement in New Orleans, site of tonight's Super Bowl between the Rams and Patriots.
Kelly thanked everyone who has ever had anything to do with his football career, including his father and five brothers, his high school football coach in East Brady, Pa., his college coach at the University of Miami (Howard Schnellenberger), and his offensive coordinator with the USFL's Houston Gamblers (Mouse Davis).
But he saved his fondest thank yous for the members of the Bills' organization -- general managers Bill Polian and John Butler, coach Marv Levy, and a coterie of teammates including Thurman Thomas, Frank Reich, Andre Reed and Kent Hull.
"To be inducted is the greatest achievement, but I didn't do it myself," Kelly said. "A lot of people helped me. I was blessed, I had a lot of talent around me.
"Do you think I could call all my plays without Thurman Thomas behind me and Andre Reed on the outside or a guy like Kent Hull in front of me who made sure every single person on that line was blocked?
"And the main guy who kept the Bills together, the guy who was able to rally us every single year after those Super Bowls, Marv Levy. He's the guy who allowed me to be the player I was."
Polian attended the news conference and said, "I think it validates the great contribution that he made. It's a great day for western New York and for Bills fans everywhere."
Kelly is one of just 216 men enshrined at Canton, and is one of only 25 quarterbacks with a bronze bust.
Among the Hall of Fame quarterbacks, Kelly ranks third in career passer rating at 84.4, trailing only Joe Montana (92.3) and Otto Graham (86.6). Only four Hall of Famers (Fran Tarkenton, Dan Fouts, Montana and Johnny Unitas) have thrown for more yards than Kelly (35,467).
However, if you add Kelly's statistics from the USFL, his career passing yardage jumps to 45,309. Among the Hall of Famers, only Tarkenton (47,003) has more.
"I learned the passing game in the USFL," said Kelly, who will turn 42 on Valentine's Day, the same day Hunter turns 5. "Mouse Davis taught me what the passing game was all about."
But Kelly learned how to play football, and how to be a leader and a teammate, during his 11 years in Buffalo.
"One thing about our team, we had a bunch of guys who were always together," Kelly said. "It all started with Marv, the way he talked to us. He let us be ourselves.
"If I was in a regular offense where I had to do the regular things like listen to the plays coming in from the sideline, I don't know if I'd be sitting here."
Steve Tasker, who played 10 1/2 years with Kelly, said, "It's fun for me to look back and say that I was there for most of it. I never doubted that he would get in. In fact, I never doubted that he'd be a first-ballot guy."
At the end of his news conference Kelly made light of the fact that from now on, the number people will associate him with will not be No. 12, but '02, the year he was inducted into the Hall of Fame.
"They don't put their numbers on, they put HOF and the year they were inducted. Fittingly for me, mine will be 'HOF '02' because I've been in that situation a few times," Kelly said.
"But today we're No. 1. The Buffalo Bills, the fans of Buffalo, the Kelly family. Today, going into the Hall of Fame, we can honestly say that we're No. 1."
