FILE PHOTO Joe Kelly gave son Jim the chance to develop his football ability. Canton calling Former Buffalo Bills quarterback Jim Kelly may be a solid choice to make the Pro Football Hall of Fame on his first try. The Buffalo News polled 28 selectors and 25 said they planned on voting for Kelly at today's 7:30 a.m. selection committee meeting in New Orleans. There are 38 selectors and Kelly needs to receive 80 percent of the vote. The Class of '02 for the Canton, Ohio, hall will be announced around 11:30 a.m.

By Scott Pitoniak
Democrat and Chronicle

(Saturday, February 2, 2002) -- Dan Kelly chuckles at the memory.

While he and his twin brother Kevin were sitting at the kitchen table munching on peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, older brother Jim would be out in the side yard, throwing pass after pass after pass under the watchful eye of Joe Kelly, the family patriarch.

"Dad was pretty tough on Jim," Dan said, recalling those daily lunch-time practice sessions at their East Brady, Pa., home about an hour north of Pittsburgh. "We'd be eating our sandwiches and nudge one another and say, 'Aren't you glad you're not Jim.' "

There was a method to Joe Kelly's madness; a reason for making a 10-year-old practice roll-outs and drop-backs and throw spirals at a clothesline 20 yards away. Papa Joe saw early on that Jim had more natural ability and drive than his other five sons, including first-born Pat, who played linebacker for several seasons in the NFL.

"Jimmy had a gift that none of the others had," said Joe, a spry 72-year-old. "And I didn't want him to waste it."

He also didn't want Jim to follow in his steel-toed, boot-steps. Joe spent a lifetime working as a machinist in western Pennsylvania steel mills. He saw football as an escape from the hard life he endured. He wanted his son to wear a helmet, not a hard hat.

"I believed it could be a way out for Jimmy and the others," Joe said. "I wanted them to have better lives."

Though there were times when Jim yearned to be sitting at that lunch table with his brothers, he came to appreciate all his father had done for him. Without Joe's guidance, the fame and fortune Jim achieved while leading the Buffalo Bills to an unprecedented four consecutive Super Bowls never would have occurred.

This morning could bring the crowning achievement of Jim Kelly's

illustrious football career.

If the voters' judgment hasn't been impaired by too many Hurricanes on Bourbon Street, Kelly will be elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame. And, if that happens, no one will be prouder than Papa Joe.

"Everybody I talk to says Jim has a great chance, but I'm not going to count our chickens before they hatch," Joe said. "I'm just saying my prayers and keeping my fingers crossed."

Should Kelly earn induction, he'll be asked to name the person he wants to present him with his bronze bust at the Hall of Fame ceremonies in Canton, Ohio, this summer. He'd be hard-pressed to find a better choice than his dad.

"I wasn't any different from any other parent," Joe said, attempting to downplay his influence on Jim's career. "I just wanted them to have an easier life than I did. I wanted them to be able to do something they loved. Jim deserves all the credit. He not only had talent, but he had a real love for the game. If he didn't love the game the way he did, I wouldn't have worked with him the way I did. You got to want it, and Jim wanted it in the worst way."

Joe said his late wife, Alice, also played a huge role in Jim's success.

"She probably was an even bigger booster than I was," he said. "You should have seen her at Jim's games. You didn't say anything bad about Jim with Alice around. She'd give you a piece of her mind."

The fact that Pat Kelly had played in the NFL also helped. He gave sage advice at several junctures of Jim's career.

"When Joe Paterno was asking Jim to play linebacker at Penn State, Pat told Jim not to do it," Joe said. "He said, 'Jim, stick to your guns. I got beaten up playing linebacker and you've got the skills to play quarterback, so go with a coach who will let you play that position. That's where you belong.' "

Pat also counseled his brother after Lou Saban, the former Bills coach who recruited Jim to play for Miami, left after just one season to coach at West Point.

"Jim was all set to transfer to Tennessee, but Pat had heard that Miami had hired Howard Schnellenberger, and he had played for Howard in Baltimore," Joe said. "He told Jim to stay put at Miami because Howard loves to pass the ball."

Jim stayed at Miami, and pumped life into a program that has since won four national championships and become known as Quarterback U. The Bills selected Kelly in the first round of the 1983 draft, but he did not want to play in Buffalo and wound up with the Houston Gamblers of the old USFL.

"Those two years there actually benefited him because if he had gone to Buffalo out of college, he would have sat behind Joe Ferguson for two years," Joe said. "I think sitting would have set him back. Playing those two seasons made him a much more polished quarterback."

One of the first things Jim did after signing his $8 million contract with the Bills was 'retire' his father and renovate the family home.

"He had always said if he ever came into any money, he was going to take care of his family, and he did," Joe said. "My boy made good on his promise. He took care not only of his mom and dad, but of his brothers. I'm as proud of that as anything he ever did on the football field."

Today he may have another opportunity to take care of those who helped him along the way. Sure, Marv Levy, the coach who gave Kelly the keys to the no-huddle offense, would be a worthy presenter, too.

But Jim never would have been in this position were it not for the dedication of the man who helped his son realize his dreams.

Having Joe Kelly on that stage in Canton would be a marvelous way to say, "Thanks, Dad. I couldn't have done it without you."