Marvin Leroy Keyes (February 18, 1947 – April 15, 2021) was an American professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

player who was a running back and safety for five seasons in the National Football League (NFL) with the Philadelphia Eagles and the Kansas City Chiefs. He was drafted by the Eagles in the first round of the

1969 NFL Draft The 1969 National Football League draft was part of the common draft, the third and final year in which the NFL and American Football League (AFL) held a joint draft of college players. The draft took place January 28–29, 1969. The draft beg ...

. 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 ...

for the Purdue Boilermakers. He was an All-American as a halfback on

offense Offense or offence may refer to: Common meanings * Offense or crime, a violation of penal law * An insult, or negative feeling in response to a perceived insult * An attack, a proactive offensive engagement * Sin, an act that violates a known m ...

and played corner on

defense Defense or defence may refer to: Tactical, martial, and political acts or groups * Defense (military), forces primarily intended for warfare * Civil defense, the organizing of civilians to deal with emergencies or enemy attacks * Defense industr ...

and returned kicks and punts. He also played both ways for Philadelphia before settling in as a solid

strong safety Safety is a position in gridiron football on the defense. The safeties are defensive backs who line up ten to fifteen yards from the line of scrimmage. There are two variations of the position: the free safety and the strong safety. Their dut ...

College career

Keyes played

at Purdue University, where he was an All-American in 1967 and 1968, and finished third in the 1967

Heisman Trophy The Heisman Memorial Trophy (usually known colloquially as the Heisman Trophy or The Heisman) is awarded annually to the most outstanding player in college football. Winners epitomize great ability combined with diligence, perseverance, and hard ...

voting, he finished second in the 1968

voting. In his very first collegiate game, played on national television against eventual national champion

Notre Dame Notre Dame, French for "Our Lady", a title of Mary, mother of Jesus, most commonly refers to: * Notre-Dame de Paris, a cathedral in Paris, France * University of Notre Dame, a university in Indiana, United States ** Notre Dame Fighting Irish, th ...

, Keyes made his presence known by returning a

fumble A fumble in gridiron football occurs when a player who has possession and control of the ball loses it before being downed (tackled), scoring, or going out of bounds. By rule, it is any act other than passing, kicking, punting, or successful ...

94 yards for a touchdown. He played in the January 1967 Rose Bowl game, which Purdue won 14–13 over USC. He was a dynamic player running and catching the ball. He finished his career running for 2,090 yards and also had 1,204 receiving yards. In 1967, he led the nation in scoring as he rushed for 986 yards with 13 touchdowns and had 45 catches for 758 yards and 6 touchdowns. As a senior in 1968, he followed it up by running for 1,003 yards and 14 touchdowns while catching 33 passes for 428 yards and 1 touchdown.

Professional career

Philadelphia Eagles

Keyes was drafted by the Philadelphia Eagles with the third pick in the

. He played for the Eagles from

1969 This year is notable for Apollo 11's first landing on the moon. Events January * January 4 – The Government of Spain hands over Ifni to Morocco. * January 5 **Ariana Afghan Airlines Flight 701 crashes into a house on its approach to ...

–

1972 Within the context of Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) it was the longest year ever, as two leap seconds were added during this 366-day year, an event which has not since been repeated. (If its start and end are defined using Solar time, me ...

. He was considered the "consolation prize" by the Eagles, who had just lost out to the

Buffalo Bills The Buffalo Bills are a professional American football team based in the Buffalo metropolitan area. The Bills compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division. ...

to draft

O. J. Simpson Orenthal James Simpson (born July 9, 1947), nicknamed "Juice", is an American former football running back, actor, and broadcaster who played for the Buffalo Bills and San Francisco 49ers of the National Football League. Once a popular figure ...

with the first overall pick. Conversely, Keyes was drafted one pick ahead of Joe Greene; both Simpson and Greene would go on to the Pro Football Hall of Fame while Keyes is generally considered a bust. He started out as a running back and had 637 total yards on offense including 3 rushing touchdowns as a rookie. He saw little playing time in 1970 and was moved to strong safety in 1971, where he made 6 interceptions and recovered 3 fumbles. The next year (1972), he had 2 interceptions in 14 starts before going to Kansas City.

Kansas City Chiefs

Keyes played for the Kansas City Chiefs in

1973 Events January * January 1 - The United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland and Denmark enter the European Economic Community, which later becomes the European Union. * January 15 – Vietnam War: Citing progress in peace negotiations, U.S. ...

After football

Keyes worked for the John Purdue Club until he became an assistant athletic director for the Purdue Boilermakers. Keyes was a member of The Pigskin Club Of Washington, D.C., as well as the National Intercollegiate All-American Football Players Honor Roll. In 1987, Keyes was inducted into the Virginia Sports Hall of Fame. He was inducted into the

College Football Hall of Fame The College Football Hall of Fame is a hall of fame and interactive attraction devoted to college football. The National Football Foundation (NFF) founded the Hall in 1951 to immortalize the players and coaches of college football that were vote ...

in 1990. On December 30, 2010, Keyes was inducted into the Rose Bowl Hall of Fame in a ceremony at the

Pasadena Convention Center The Pasadena Convention Center is a convention center in Pasadena, California. It consists of three buildings. Pasadena Civic Auditorium The Civic Auditorium, one of the major structures in the Pasadena Civic Center District, was built in 1931 a ...

. On December 11, 2014, the

Big Ten Network Big Ten Network (BTN) is an American sports network based in Chicago, Illinois. The channel is dedicated to coverage of collegiate sports sanctioned by the Big Ten Conference, including live and recorded event telecasts, news, analysis programs, ...

included Keyes on "The Mount Rushmore of Purdue Football", as chosen by online fan voting. Keyes was joined in the honor by Drew Brees,

Bob Griese Robert Allen Griese (pronounced ; born February 3, 1945) is a former American football quarterback who earned All-American honors with the Purdue Boilermakers before being drafted in 1967 by the American Football League's Miami Dolphins. Gries ...

, and Rod Woodson. Keyes died on April 15, 2021, in West Lafayette, after several months of suffering from a recurrence of cancer and congestive heart failure. Keyes was survived by his wife Monica and children Colin, Raymond, Jacqueline and Courtland.

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