Two Bills Drive

‘When the 6-foot-4, 265-pound Smith sat on the cart, the vehicle’s four tires seemed to wilt under the duress. But away it chugged, whisking the 17-year veteran to his spot at the forefront of the celebration.’

‘God gave him Hunter Kelly. He also gave the Kellys a responsibility not many of us could carry.’

‘The city could have been renamed South Buffalo.’

‘From Penny M. Wolfgang, a New York Supreme Court justice, to what one East Brady, Pa., resident claimed was “half Jim’s hometown,” the party was pure Kelly. White collars and blue collars rubbed shoulders, and everyone knew Jim and one or more of his five brothers.’

‘Nikco Sports is offering a limited edition, 5,000 NFL-licensed footballs commemorating Kelly’s Hall of Fame induction, and donating 10 percent of the proceeds to the Hunter’s Hope Foundation, an organization that raises funds to support research efforts to find a cure for Krabbe disease and other leukodystrophies.’

‘”I feel like we’re at a Bills home game,” said Kelly’s former center Kent Hull. “Akron has never seen a party like the one we have planned.”‘

‘Every year, new Pro Football Hall of Famers talk about the people who changed their lives. But until Saturday, one of those had never been a 5-year-old lying in a canopied stroller in the front row, his eyes barely open, a line of oxygen wrapped under his nose.’

‘Besides Kelly, Thurman Thomas, the Bills former All-Pro running back, doesn’t see why Tasker shouldn’t have a bronze bust. “You talk about individuals making plays and making a difference, he’s the greatest special teams player ever to play the game,” Thomas said.’

‘Don’t count out Bledsoe, though. Given time, he is one of the finest passers in the league.’

‘The Buffalo turnout even drowned out the usually overwhelming number of “Terrible Towel”-waving Pittsburgh Steeler fans who showed up to cheer for Stallworth.’

‘”In an era of headsets and technology, he did it his own way: out on the field.”‘

‘But this day was an outpouring of affection for Kelly, a man who turned around the once-bumbling Buffalo franchise.’

‘Kelly, who has friends who own an RV company in Buffalo, borrowed the vehicle to accommodate Hunter’s oxygen tanks and other needs.’

‘Bills blue was everywhere, and the cheers for Kelly all day were long and thunderous.’

‘Kelly’s entourage of 1,100 was more than double any following for previous inductees and the crowd of 20,000 was the Hall’s largest.’