Former Buffalo Bills and Miami Hurricanes QB Jim Kelly is returning to Miami to be the Hurricanes' grand marshal for homecoming.
Kelly has been battling cancer for most of 2014 and has undergone chemotheraphy and radiation treatments. However, an August exam brought great news and showed that Kelly had no signs of cancer. Kelly first had surgery to remove cancer from his jaw in 2013 but the cancer had spread, necessitating further treatment.
“The University of Miami was and remains an important part of my life,” Kelly said in a Miami statement. “My family and I are honored and we look forward to being Grand Marshal of the Homecoming Parade and Honorary Captain for the Homecoming game.”
The game on November 1 against North Carolina will also be designated a #KellyTough green-out and all fans will be encouraged to wear green to the game.
Kelly was at Miami from 1979-1982. He led he Hurricanes to a win over No. 1 Penn State in 1981 and a win in the Peach Bowl the previous year. It was Miami's first bowl game in 14 years. Kelly's arrival on campus was at the same time as coach Howard Schnellenberger's. In Schnellenberger's five years as Miami coach, the Hurricanes were 41-16. Miami was 20-34 in the previous five seasons.
“Jim Kelly to me is as much responsible for rescuing the University of Miami football program and athletic department as anyone,” Miami OL coach Art Kehoe, a teammate of Kelly's while at Miami, said. “So many people have been important to this program, but Jim Kelly was a guy that took us from being ready to drop football to being a national championship contender and having prominence again. He was such a tough guy and such a leader. That’s how he was the whole time he was here. He always wanted to fight and scrap, always trying to compete and win. For me, no one can be the Grand Marshal of our Homecoming ceremonies better than Jim Kelly.”
After leaving Miami, Kelly played in the USFL and then for the Buffalo Bills from 1986-1996. He was inducted into Miami's Hall of Fame in 1992 and the team's football Ring of Honor in 2008.
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Nick Bromberg is the assistant editor of Dr. Saturday on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at nickbromberg@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!
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