Louis James Kelcher (born August 23, 1953) is an American retired professional football player who was a defensive tackle in the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...

(NFL), spending most of his career with the San Diego Chargers. He was a four-time

All-Pro All-Pro is an honor bestowed upon professional American football players that designates the best player at each position during a given season. All-Pro players are typically selected by press organizations, who select an "All-Pro team," a list t ...

and a three-time

Pro Bowl The National Football League All-Star Game (1939–1942), Pro Bowl (1951–2022), or Pro Bowl Games (starting in 2023) is an annual event held by the National Football League (NFL) featuring the league's star players. The format has changed thro ...

selection. Kelcher was inducted into the Chargers Hall of Fame and is a member of their 40th and 50th anniversary teams. Kelcher played college football with the

SMU Mustangs The SMU Mustangs are the athletic teams that represent Southern Methodist University in University Park, Texas, United States. The Mustangs were founded in 1911 and joined the Southwest Conference, competing against Baylor, Rice, Texas, Texa ...

and earned consensus All-American honors as a senior in 1974. He was selected by the Chargers in the second round of the

1975 NFL Draft The 1975 National Football League draft was held January 28–29, 1975, at the New York Hilton at Rockefeller Center in New York City, New York. With the first overall pick of the draft, the Atlanta Falcons selected quarterback Steve Bartkows ...

. His outstanding performance made him one of the team's most popular players from 1975 through 1983. He joined the

San Francisco 49ers The San Francisco 49ers (also written as the San Francisco Forty-Niners) are a professional American football team based in the San Francisco Bay Area. The 49ers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the league's National ...

in 1984 and helped them win Super Bowl XIX that season.

Early life

Growing up in Beaumont, Texas, Kelcher was more interested in playing

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding t ...

, even though youngsters in Texas who were big typically played football. He was supposed to be eight years old to play peewee league. However, Kelcher was bigger than his peers, and the

Little League Little League Baseball and Softball (officially, Little League Baseball Inc) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organizationBeaumont French, he was only interested in playing baseball, but the coaches placed him in football.

College career

Kelcher attended

Southern Methodist University , mottoeng = "The truth will make you free" , established = , type = Private research university , accreditation = SACS , academic_affiliations = , religious_affiliation = United Methodist Church , president = R. Gerald Turner , ...

, where he played for the

Mustangs The mustang is a free-roaming horse of the Western United States, descended from horses brought to the Americas by the Spanish. Mustangs are often referred to as wild horses, but because they are descended from once-domesticated animals, they ...

. As a senior in 1974, he was named National College Lineman of the Week by the

Associated Press The Associated Press (AP) is an American non-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association. It produces news reports that are distributed to its members, U.S. ne ...

after recording 16 unassisted

tackles Tackle may refer to: * In football: ** Tackle (football move), a play in various forms of football ** Tackle (gridiron football position), a position in American football and Canadian football ** Dump tackle, a forceful move in rugby of picking u ...

and assisting on eight others in an 18–14 win over No. 5

Texas A&M Texas A&M University (Texas A&M, A&M, or TAMU) is a public, land-grant, research university in College Station, Texas. It was founded in 1876 and became the flagship institution of the Texas A&M University System in 1948. As of late 2021, T ...

. He was named a consensus All-American and voted the

Southwest Conference The Southwest Conference (SWC) was an NCAA Division I college athletic conference in the United States that existed from 1914 to 1996. Composed primarily of schools from Texas, at various times the conference included schools from Oklahoma ...

's defensive player of the year.

NFL career

Kelcher was known for his immense size. Standing , he once said his weight varied between and infinity; he wore size 17EEE shoes. He was selected by the San Diego Chargers in the second round of the

1975 NFL draft The 1975 National Football League draft was held January 28–29, 1975, at the New York Hilton at Rockefeller Center in New York City, New York. With the first overall pick of the draft, the Atlanta Falcons selected quarterback Steve Bartkows ...

and was named to the NFL All-Rookie team. In nine seasons (1975–1983) with the Chargers, Kelcher was selected to three

s (

1977 Events January * January 8 – Three bombs explode in Moscow within 37 minutes, killing seven. The bombings are attributed to an Armenian separatist group. * January 10 – Mount Nyiragongo erupts in eastern Zaire (now the Democrat ...

, 1978 and 1980), twice as a starter. He was named All- AFC in 1977, 1978 and 1980; first-team

in 1977 and 1978; and second-team All-Pro in 1980 and 1981. His teammates voted him the Chargers' most valuable player in 1977, when he helped the team set a then-team record of 44 sacks. He was the first defensive tackle in the team's history to win the award. Kelcher was sidelined in

1979 Events January * January 1 ** United Nations Secretary-General Kurt Waldheim heralds the start of the '' International Year of the Child''. Many musicians donate to the '' Music for UNICEF Concert'' fund, among them ABBA, who write the so ...

for all but three minutes after a knee operation. He returned in 1980, teaming with fellow 1975 Chargers' draftees

Fred Dean Frederick Rudolph Dean (February 24, 1952 – October 14, 2020) was an American professional football player who was a defensive end in the National Football League (NFL). A twice first-team All-Pro and a four-time Pro Bowler, he won two Super ...

and

Gary "Big Hands" Johnson Gary Lynn "Big Hands" Johnson (August 31, 1952 – August 4, 2010) was an American professional football player who was a defensive tackle in the National Football League (NFL). He was a four-time All-Pro and a four-time Pro Bowl selection. He p ...

as the Chargers led the NFL in sacks (60). Johnson and Dean were named first-team All-Pro, with Kelcher being named second-team All-Pro. The trio, along with Leroy Jones formed a defensive frontline that was nicknamed the Bruise Brothers. In the 1980 AFC Championship Game against the Oakland Raiders, Kelcher has 20 tackles, 10 solo and 10 assisted, and also one sack. In the

Epic in Miami The Epic in Miami was the National Football League AFC divisional playoff game between the San Diego Chargers and Miami Dolphins that took place on January 2, 1982 in the Miami Orange Bowl. The game, won by the Chargers in overtime, 41–38, is ...

, the 1981 divisional playoff which became one of the greatest football games ever, the Dolphins were leading 38–31 in the fourth quarter and threatening to score again at the Chargers' 20 when Kelcher stripped the ball from Miami's Andra Franklin and San Diego's Pete Shaw recovered the fumble. The Chargers rallied to force overtime and won 41–38. Don "Air" Coryell's Chargers teams of that era are mostly remembered for its high-scoring, pass-oriented offense. The Chargers made four consecutive playoffs (1979–1982), winning three straight

AFC West The American Football Conference – Western Division or AFC West is one of the four divisions of the American Football Conference (AFC) in the National Football League (NFL). The division comprises the Denver Broncos, Kansas City Chiefs, Las ...

titles (1979–1981) and advancing to back-to-back AFC championship games. Kelcher retired in November 1983, but remained on the Chargers reserve list. The Chargers traded him to the

in March 1984. Kelcher had wanted to play again, but not with San Diego. The trade reunited him with former Charger teammates Johnson, Dean and offensive lineman Billy Shields. In his final NFL season that year, the 49ers won Super Bowl XIX.

Legacy

Kelcher was a favorite among Chargers fans, who greeted him at home games with cheers of "Loueeee". Chargers quarterback

Dan Fouts Daniel Francis Fouts (born June 10, 1951) is an American former football quarterback who played for the San Diego Chargers of the National Football League (NFL) throughout his 15-season career (1973-87). After a relatively undistinguished fi ...

called him "the most universally beloved guy on our team." Kelcher was among the first NFL defensive linemen to weigh . He was inducted into the Chargers Hall of Fame in 2003, and the Breitbard Hall of Fame in 2006. He was also named to both the Chargers' 40th and 50th anniversary teams. Kelcher received first-team honors on the All-Southwest Conference football team of the 1970s, and he was inducted into the Southern Methodist University Hall of Fame in 2012.

Later years

Kelcher moved to

Austin, Texas Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of Texas, as well as the seat and largest city of Travis County, with portions extending into Hays and Williamson counties. Incorporated on December 27, 1839, it is the 11th-most-populous city ...

, in 1992. He became co-owner with

Doug English Lowell Douglas English (born August 25, 1953) is an American former professional football player who was a defensive tackle for the Detroit Lions (1975–1985) of the National Football League (NFL). Early years English was born in Dallas, Te ...

, a former college rival with the

Texas Longhorns The Texas Longhorns are the athletic teams representing the University of Texas at Austin. The teams are sometimes referred to as the Horns and take their name from Longhorn cattle that were an important part of the development of Texas, and a ...

, in the warehousing firm Pro Line Warehouse and Distribution. Kelcher also had a stake in a trucking business in Texas.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kelcher, Louie 1953 births Living people People from Beaumont, Texas All-American college football players American football defensive linemen SMU Mustangs football players San Diego Chargers players San Francisco 49ers players American Conference Pro Bowl players