Throwback: Jim Kelly’s 1st NFL game 1986

[Chandler#81]

Coming off back to back 2-14 seasons, the USFL folded and we had the rights to Kelly. He signed for a then unheard of $8million dollars! 
He brought instant credibility to a forlorn franchise and led us to the playoffs his 3rd year.

 

’KELLY IS GOD!’

 

 

Edited Tuesday at 12:03 PM by Chandler#81

[Another Fan]

I watched some of this last night.  I would not have guessed who caught Jim’s first few throws as a Bill.

 

It was hard for me after the last 10 or so years to see the Jets as ever a good team…..   but back then they were solid.  

 

I wonder too with the social media age if Jim would have a harder time living down not wanting to play for the Bills initially.  But with just 4 wins in the prior 2 seasons I think fans still would have embraced him like here 

[SoonerBillsFan]

It's hard to remember Jim could actually move and scramble at one time lol.

[Wacka]

Was at that game. The week after Kelly signed, we bought seasons. Had them until 93.  The beginning of many great memories.

[transient]

41 minutes ago, Another Fan said:

I watched some of this last night.  I would not have guessed who caught Jim’s first few throws as a Bill.

Brings back memories…

 

”Kelly has the tight end all alone at midfield. He’s got nothing but smooth sailing between him and the end zone. He’s at the 50… he’s at the 49… he’s made it all the way from tiny Wabash college to the NFL, he’s livin’ the dream…  he’s at the 47…”

[NC-billsfan!]

I forgot how good Bell was.

 

How times have changed. Bell runs over a db in the first series. Certainly looks like a concussion and the announcer says he’s got some cob webs to work out!

[Buffalo Boy]

48 minutes ago, SoonerBillsFan said:

It's hard to remember Jim could actually move and scramble at one time lol.

Funny to hear the announcer call that one of his strengths .

[boyst]

I remember his press conference for coming to Buffalo. My mom's friend wrote his speech and had to work with him on how to go through it. She wrote a bunch for the Bills. She said he wasn't easy to work with and she had to really work with him on being genuine and caring/emphasis on words to show sincerity. 

[corta765]

1 hour ago, Another Fan said:

It was hard for me after the last 10 or so years to see the Jets as ever a good team…..   but back then they were solid.  

Its funny because if you look at the Jets history from 1981 to 2010 the Jets were decently average with some good teams but never breaking through or having a QB that could carry the team.  They actually made the AFC title 4 times in those 29 years and despite NE being there in the 2000s they made the playoffs 6 of the 10 years with 2 division crowns and an AFC title. The Jets have always well Jetted to an extent, but in the past it was more missed opportunities vs the last decade + of pure ineptitude. Before the Jets picked Darnold over Allen it was O'Brien over Marino. I always felt Pennington was a good enough starter to go the distance but once his shoulder got wrecked it was what it was (not sure though with NE there if it would have mattered)

 

I think the issue forever with the Jets which my uncle summarized well is the Jets chased the newspaper headlines while the Giants actually chased titles.

[Gregg]

5 minutes ago, corta765 said:

Its funny because if you look at the Jets history from 1981 to 2010 the Jets were decently average with some good teams but never breaking through or having a QB that could carry the team.  They actually made the AFC title 4 times in those 29 years and despite NE being there in the 2000s they made the playoffs 6 of the 10 years with 2 division crowns and an AFC title. The Jets have always well Jetted to an extent, but in the past it was more missed opportunities vs the last decade + of pure ineptitude. Before the Jets picked Darnold over Allen it was O'Brien over Marino. I always felt Pennington was a good enough starter to go the distance but once his shoulder got wrecked it was what it was (not sure though with NE there if it would have mattered)

 

I think the issue forever with the Jets which my uncle summarized well is the Jets chased the newspaper headlines while the Giants actually chased titles.

 

As long as Woody Johnson remains the owner, they will continue to remain a ****show. He is up there for being one of the worst owners in sports.

[Milano]

12 hours ago, Chandler#81 said:

Coming off back to back 2-14 seasons, the USFL folded and we had the rights to Kelly. He signed for a then unheard of $8million dollars! 
He brought instant credibility to a forlorn franchise and led us to the playoffs his 3rd year.

 

’KELLY IS GOD!’

 

 

Thanks for this. I was 21 in 86', Bills fan since I was 6 yrs old.

That summer when they signed Kelly, I went nuts. This guy was the sh*t, and everybody knew it.  The video game numbers from the USFL just blew your mind. Finally you could feel it, they would compete, and "it" was real. 

 

I lived in CT, if you weren't in the Buffalo area, no chance of watching this game. Probably saw 4 replays total and that was it. Pissed.

I remember Jets D line talking about how they were going to introduce this rookie to the NFL etc.  Kelly took a beating in this game, and just kept coming at them. 

Post game, Klecko and the rest of that great defensive line saying how tough Kelly was. Respect. Finally.  Go Bills!

[SoonerBillsFan]

5 hours ago, boyst said:

I remember his press conference for coming to Buffalo. My mom's friend wrote his speech and had to work with him on how to go through it. She wrote a bunch for the Bills. She said he wasn't easy to work with and she had to really work with him on being genuine and caring/emphasis on words to show sincerity. 

Oh he hated it,but after the USFL folded, the Bills held his rights for another couple of years.  Ralph and Bill weren't trading him so he had no choice.

[Gugny]

18 hours ago, Chandler#81 said:

Coming off back to back 2-14 seasons, the USFL folded and we had the rights to Kelly. He signed for a then unheard of $8million dollars! 
He brought instant credibility to a forlorn franchise and led us to the playoffs his 3rd year.

 

’KELLY IS GOD!’

 

 

God would have won at least one Super Bowl. 

[Low Positive]

I was at this game as a kid. I'll always remember the play where Kelly tripped at the LoS, got up, scrambled backwards, and threw a TD pass off his back foot. I turned to my dad and said "Joe Fergusson doesn't make that play." It's at 2:17:02 of the video. 

[JTown]

10 hours ago, boyst said:

I remember his press conference for coming to Buffalo. My mom's friend wrote his speech and had to work with him on how to go through it. She wrote a bunch for the Bills. She said he wasn't easy to work with and she had to really work with him on being genuine and caring/emphasis on words to show sincerity. 

Genuine was not a word used to describe Jimbo in those days.  Pompous and arrogant seem to be more accurate.   

 

I frequently ran into him when he hung out with Conlan and Norwood.  I cannot remember anything Genuine about any of those encounters. 

 

Thankfully he changed a lot and I believe that he has become a very Genuine person. 

[The Cincinnati Kid]

1 hour ago, JTown said:

Genuine was not a word used to describe Jimbo in those days.  Pompous and arrogant seem to be more accurate.   

 

I frequently ran into him when he hung out with Conlan and Norwood.  I cannot remember anything Genuine about any of those encounters. 

 

Thankfully he changed a lot and I believe that he has become a very Genuine person. 

Kelly hung out with Norwood? Can we get some more details? You know, for science or whatever.

[Freddie's Dead]

At 10:45, Joe Klecko cheap shots Kelly.  I've hated Joe ever since.

[Livinginthepast]

I was so pumped as a 17 year old fan that we got Kelly that I thought that we would literally win every game! Once the reality that Kelly was great but the team and the coaches were a train wreck it was pretty devastating! I remember the loss to TB in this year to be particularly agonizing! But that's what got Bullough fired and Marv in the door.

[Dunkirk Donski]

7 hours ago, Freddie's Dead said:

At 10:45, Joe Klecko cheap shots Kelly.  I've hated Joe ever since.

F that schmuck

[SoMAn]

On 3/24/2025 at 8:36 PM, Chandler#81 said:

Coming off back to back 2-14 seasons, the USFL folded and we had the rights to Kelly. He signed for a then unheard of $8million dollars! 
He brought instant credibility to a forlorn franchise and led us to the playoffs his 3rd year.

 

’KELLY IS GOD!’

 

 

I'll have to look at that when I get a few minutes.

Me and my best buddy drove up from Atlanta that weekend for the game. (it was easy to get tickets and was very affordable for guys like us who barely had rent money). We stayed the entire week in Buffalo, visiting old friends and relatives, too many of whom are now gone.

We left the following Sunday and stopped in Cincinnati to watch the Bills and Kelly's second-ever game at the old Riverfront stadium. Cincinnati is exactly the halfway mark between Buffalo and Atlanta, so it was a perfect stopping point.

We watched the game (another loss), got in the old car, and headed straight home to Atlanta. Needless to say, it was a long day.

But when you're young, it's a lot easier. 

Our ride was a light blue mid-70's Chevy Impala station wagon, identical to the one driven in the Travolta movie, 'Michael'. 

Great memories from the days of 'roughing it'.

Sadly, my buddy/best friend will never have the chance to see our Bills win a super bowl.