Back in the days of two-way players - and two-sport collegiate athletes - few in the country were better than NM State legend Bob Kelly. Not only did he play a major role in the most prosperous era of Aggie football, he was a force on both offense and defense while doing so.
Kelly starred as both a receiver and a defensive end for the Aggies from 1957-60 and helped the team clinch its first bowl victory in program history in 1959. Kelly's key interception in the first quarter of NM State's 28-8 triumph over North Texas in the Sun Bowl that season set up the second of four Aggie touchdowns in that victory. Kelly later latched on to a 15-yard scoring strike Charley Johnson, extending NM State's lead to 21-0.
The following year, Kelly again played a pivotal role in the Aggies' second-straight Sun Bowl victory, racking up a game-high 64 yards through the air in NM State's 20-13 victory over Utah State. NM State's 1960 club produced a perfect mark of 11-0 en route to the program's last bowl game win until the 2017 campaign. A two-year letterman for NM State's basketball team, Kelly suited up for the Aggies cagers from 1957-59 and helped the squad claim a share of the 1959 Border Conference crown before advancing to the second NCAA Tournament in program history.
Kelley still ranks 16th in program history in terms of total 100-yard receiving games (three) and also owns the ninth-longest receiving touchdown in program history (82 yards at Tulsa on Sept. 26, 1958). A 1960 All-Border Conference selection as a defensive end, Kelly became an interior lineman exclusively throughout his professional football days.
Upon the conclusion of his collegiate career, Kelly was selected in the 22nd round of the 1961 AFL Draft and enjoyed a five-year career for a trio of AFL (now NFL) clubs - the Houston Oilers (1961-64), the Kansas City Chiefs (1967) and the Cincinnati Bengals (1968).
Kelly captured an AFL championship with the Oilers in his debut season (1961) and took part in a total of 39 NFL engagements before his career came to an end. Following his professional football days, Kelly served as a teacher and coach at Hughes High School in Cincinnati, Ohio, for nearly three decades.
Kelly's induction to the US Bank/NM State Athletics Hall of Fame is a posthumous one as the Aggie legend passed away on Dec. 18, 2014 at the age of 76. Kelly's wife, Beatrice, and his son, Bob Jr., will be in attendance for his induction in early March.
