BATW20

Hunter was a fighter. My god bless the little guy he was so strong, and so was the whole Kelly family. My heart and prayers go out to them.

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imported_Zac

I was in tears watching Kelly's Hall of Fame Induction.

KWilliamsAWinfield

I remember that speech, I cried through it, it was a emotional speech and I'm saddened that Hunter died

DawkinsINT

:tombstone:

imported_Zac

Would it be possible to pin this?

BATW20

It is to this day, one of the most heart wrenching speeches I've ever heard...

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JPBroncsAW

:tombstone:

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imported_Zac

Thank you.

imported_Zac

More from that day.

Kelly: 'I'm joining the greatest team of all'

CANTON, Ohio -- Jim Kelly never walked off a football field holding his son's hand. He never got to play catch with Hunter or take him camping or fishing.

But Kelly's 5-year-old son gave him something much more special: A hero.

Jim Kelly never tossed a touchdown pass as meaningful or had a moment on the field as sweet as the one that closed his induction speech into the Pro Football Hall of Fame on Saturday.

Choking back tears throughout his 10 minutes at the podium, the Buffalo Bills quarterback thanked the teammates, coaches, family and friends who helped him achieve football's highest honor.

Then Kelly looked down at his terminally ill child.

Hunter Kelly, who shares his father's birthday and grit, has Krabbe's disease, a rare degenerative disorder of the nervous system that robbed him of motor skills.

"It's been written that the trademark of my career was toughness,'' Kelly said. "The toughest person I ever met in my life was my son, my hero, Hunter.

"I love you, buddy.''

Kelly's closing capped an emotional day as he was enshrined along with the late coach George Allen, tight end Dave Casper, defensive lineman Dan Hampton and wide receiver John Stallworth.

On a hot day, a record crowd of 17,700 attended the ceremonies in Fawcett Stadium, a long TD pass from the Hall. This was the first time the ceremony wasn't held on the Hall's front steps since 1965.

Good thing, too, since Kelly's enshrinement brought thousands of Bills fans -- many of them wearing his No. 12 jersey -- who made the 240-mile drive to Canton and made Fawcett feel like an October afternoon in Orchard Park, N.Y.

"Is there anyone back in Buffalo today?'' said Bills Hall of Fame coach Marv Levy, who presented Kelly for induction.

"I feel like I'm in Buffalo,'' Bills center Kent Hull said before the ceremony. "Look at this.''

People back in western New York undoubtedly were watching the ceremonies on TV to see Kelly, who led the Bills to four straight Super Bowls.

Kelly passed for 35,467 yards and 237 TDs during his 11-year NFL career. He led the Bills to the playoffs eight times, and Levy has no doubt who he would want with the ball and time running out.

"Right there,'' Levy said, stepping back from the podium to point at Kelly. "Jim Kelly, No. 12. He cared about winning. He cared about his team and his teammates. He cared about his family. His arm was great, but so was his heart.''

Beyond his unquestioned physical skills, Kelly's greatest attribute was the way he led -- with a swagger.

"If there was a movie made about the life of John Wayne,'' Levy said. "Jim Kelly ought to play the part.''

Kelly was the afternoon's final speaker, and for a moment it seemed like the sea of red, white and blue Bills fans wasn't going to let him get started, drowning out his opening with a rousing ovation.

dolphinsfanjr88

Jim Kelly's 8-Year-Old Son Hunter Dies

By JOHN WAWROW
BUFFALO, N.Y. (AP) - Hunter Kelly, whose battle with a fatal nervous system disease inspired his Hall of Fame father Jim Kelly's charitable works, died Friday morning. He was 8.

``Our prayers go to the family and kids,'' Jim Kelly's brother, Dan, told The Associated Press.

Born in 1997, Hunter Kelly was given no more than three years to live after being diagnosed with Krabbe Disease, an inherited degenerative disorder of the central and peripheral nervous systems. The disease hinders development of the myelin sheath, a fatty covering that protects the brain's nerve fibers.

In honor of their son, Jim Kelly and his wife, Jill, established the Hunter's Hope Foundation in 1997, which has raised more than $6 million and awarded more than $3.8 million to leukodystrophy and other neurological disease-related research.

The disease has no known cure.

Jim Kelly, who won an unprecedented four straight AFC titles as the Bills' quarterback in the early 1990s, had credited his son for serving as his inspiration after he retired from football following the 1996 season.

``He'll never be able to do what daddy did,'' Kelly said last year. ``But he's going to do greater things. He's going to make a difference in kids' lives. He already has.''

Kelly and his son happened to share the same birthday, Valentine's Day.

The Kelly family was preparing to issue a press release later in the day, Dan Kelly said.


:tombstone:

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^W-Mac69^
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