Hall of Honor
Former San Angelo College football player Benjamin Kelly was one of the first African American football players to compete for a previously all-white football team in Texas.
Kelly played at San Angelo College from 1953-1954 and was a two-time All-Pioneer Conference first team selection. Kelly was the recipient of the Nathan's Jeweler Ram football award in 1954. The Rams went 10-8-1 during Kelly's two seasons on campus. He played for head coach Max Bumgardner and assistant coach Phil George.
Kelly graduated from Blackshear, an all-black high school in San Angelo, in 1950. He went on to play at the University of Illinois for two seasons and served two years in the U.S. Army before coming back to San Angelo.
He was signed by the San Francisco 49ers and played one season before playing a year with the New York Giants under Vince Lombardi and Tom Landry. Kelly spent 29 years running the San Angelo Boys and Girls Club before retiring in 1996.
The first game Kelly played in was a 26-0 season opening win on September 19, 1953 over Phoenix College at Bobcat Stadium, eight months prior to the landmark Brown v. Board of Education decision.
