Ken Kelley (born June 20, 1960) is a former

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team with ...

linebacker Linebacker (LB) is a playing position in gridiron football. Linebackers are members of the defensive team, and line up three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage and the defensive linemen. They are the "middle ground" of defenders, p ...

who played two seasons in the

United States Football League The United States Football League (USFL) was a professional American football league that played for three seasons, 1983 through 1985. The league played a spring/summer schedule in each of its active seasons. The 1986 season was scheduled to be ...

with the Philadelphia Stars, Chicago Blitz and Birmingham Stallions. He was drafted by the Philadelphia Stars in the 1983

USFL Territorial Draft The United States Football League had two types of drafts as their main sources for player recruitment: the Collegiate Draft and the Territorial Draft. The Collegiate Draft resembled its NFL counterpart (the NFL Draft), in which teams were given a p ...

. He played

college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States. Unlike most ...

Penn State University The Pennsylvania State University (Penn State or PSU) is a public state-related land-grant research university with campuses and facilities throughout Pennsylvania. Founded in 1855 as the Farmers' High School of Pennsylvania, Penn State became ...

and attended Sterling High School in

Somerdale, New Jersey Somerdale is a borough in Camden County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 United States census, the borough's population was 5,566, an increase of 415 (+8.1%) from the 2010 census count of 5,151,Stratford, New Jersey Stratford is a borough in Camden County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. At the 2010 census, the borough's population was 7,040,high school football High school football (french: football au lycée) is gridiron football played by high school teams in the United States and Canada. It ranks among the most popular interscholastic sports in both countries, but its popularity is declining, part ...

for the Sterling High School Silver Knights. He was a safety and linebacker for the Silver Knights before converting to quarterback his junior year. The team was 11-0 his senior season and garnered a number one ranking in New Jersey. In his four years playing for the Silver Knights, they won four Colonial Conference titles and reached the first four South Jersey Group 3 championship games, winning three of them. He was inducted into the Camden County Sports Hall of Fame in 2013.

College career

Kelley played college football for the

Penn State Nittany Lions The Penn State Nittany Lions are the athletic teams of Pennsylvania State University, except for the women's basketball team, known as the Lady Lions. The school colors are navy blue and white. The school mascot is the Nittany Lion. The interco ...

. He converted to linebacker for the Lions and was captain of the 1982 national championship team. He

redshirted Redshirt, in United States college athletics, is a delay or suspension of an athlete's participation in order to lengthen their period of eligibility. Typically, a student's athletic eligibility in a given sport is four seasons, aligning with the ...

his freshman year.

Professional career

Philadelphia Stars

Kelley was drafted by the Philadelphia Stars in the 1983 USFL Territorial Draft. He played for the Stars during the 1984 season.

Chicago Blitz

Kelley played for the Chicago Blitz in 1984.

Birmingham Stallions

Kelley played for the Birmingham Stallions in 1985.

References

External links

Just Sports Stats
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kelley, Ken Living people 1960 births American football linebackers Penn State Nittany Lions football players Philadelphia/Baltimore Stars players Chicago Blitz players Birmingham Stallions players People from Stratford, New Jersey Players of American football from Camden County, New Jersey Sterling High School (New Jersey) alumni