Leroy Kelly
Teams
Cleveland Browns (1964-1973)
Playoffs
Appearances - 7 (1964,1965,1967,1968,1969,1971,1972)
Conf Champ Games - 4 (1964,1965,1968,1969)
Champ Games - 2 (1964,1965)
Championships -1 (1964)
Awards and Honors
All-Pro First Team - 3 (1966,1967,1968)
All-Pro Second Team - 1 (1969)
Pro Bowl - 6 (1966,1967,1968,1969,1970,1971)
Hall of Fame - 1994
All-Time Ranks
Rushing Touchdowns - #28
Total Touchdowns - #40
Rushing Yards - #63
League Leads
Rushing Yards (#1-1967,1968, #2-1966, #7-1969, #8-1971)
Rushing Touchdowns (#1-1966,1967,1968, #2-1969,1971, #9-1970)
Yards per Rush (#1-1966,1967, #2-1968, #8-1969)
Rushing Yards per Game (#1-1967, #2-1966,1968, #7-1969, #9-1971)
Total Touchdowns (#1-1966,1968, #2-1967,1971, #5-1969)
Scrimmage Yards (#1-1967,1968, #2-1966, #7-1969, #9-1971)
Yards per Touch (#4-1966,1968, #8-1967)
After averaging over 5 yards per carry and winning a CIAA championship at Morgan State, Leroy Kelly was drafted by the Cleveland Browns in the 8th round of the 1964 NFL Draft.
In his first two seasons, he was a backup to Jim Brown, so he barely ever took the field at running back, but he was a very good kick returner, averaging over 24 yards per kick return in each of those seasons. After the 1965 season, Jim Brown retired, and Kelly was elevated to starter, and he immediately established himself as the best running back in the league.
In his first season as a starter, he rushed for 1141 yards on a league-best 5.5 yards per carry, and also led the league with 15 rushing touchdowns, and his 1507 scrimmage yards per #2 in the league, as were his rushing yards. He was the runner-up for MVP, and was named to the All-Pro First Team.
The next year, he led the league in pretty much every rushing category, including carries, rushing yards, rushing touchdowns, yards per carry, yards per game, touches, and scrimmage yards. He finished #3 in that year's MVP voting.
He continued his dominant run in 1968, when he led the league with 1239 yards and 16 touchdowns, both career highs, and he also led the league and set career highs in scrimmage yards and total touchdowns. He was the MVP runner-up once again, and led the Browns to the NFC Championship Game, but didn't play well in that game, and the Browns lost to the Colts 34-0.
His numbers dipped a bit in 1969, down to just 817 yards and 9 touchdowns, but he was still good enough to make the All-Pro Second Team. He got them back to the NFC Title Game that year, and had an 80-yard day, but the Browns fell to the Vikings 27-7.
At that point he began to slow down, but he played 4 more years with the Browns, then one year with the Chicago Fire of the WFL before retiring. At that time, he was #4 on the all-time list for yardage and #3 for touchdowns.
The Browns were used to having the best running back in the league with Jim Brown around, and they were able to keep that going for 3 more seasons after Brown's retirement thanks to Kelly. He was either the league leader or runner-up in every single rushing category for 3 straight seasons, and he is still #63 in all-time rushing yards 50 years after his retirement. Though he isn't as famous as his predecessor, he is one of the best to ever play the game.
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