Angelo State Alumni Magainze Articles on Kelly
SAN ANGELO – Former San Angelo College football player Benjamin Kelly, one of the first African American football players to compete for a previously all-white football team in Texas, will be inducted into the Texas Black Sports Hall of Fame on December 7 in Dallas.
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.
"Ben Kelly is a Ram legend and we are incredibly pleased and proud that he is being honored for his contributions not only on the playing field, but for the example he set for all of us under most difficult circumstances and at great personal risk," ASU Athletic Director
Sean Johnson said. "We are honored that he represents Angelo State University."
Kelly graduated from Blackshear, an all-black high school in San Angelo, in 1954. He went on to play at the University of Illinois for one season 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. 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.
Other inductees this year include Zelmo Beaty, Jr (basketball), Steffanie Blackmon (basketball), Chryste Gaines (track & field), Clifton Gilliard (coach), Kenneth Houston (football), Robert Hughes (coach), Carl Jackson (coach), Jeff Jacobs (football) and Todd Scott (football)
The Hall of Fame includes legendary Dallas Cowboy Stars such as Tony Dorsett, Drew Pearson, Preston Pearson, Mel Renfro, Ed "Too Tall" Jones, Robert Newhouse, Rayfield Wright, Billy Joe Dupree, Jethro Pugh, Everson Walls and Tony Hill. The Hall of Fame also includes other heroes and heroines such as Abner Haynes, State Senator Royce West, 1966 "Glory Road" Championship Basketball UTEP Team, Coach Hensley Sapenter, Ervin Garnett, Coach Jackie Carr, Jolanda Jones, Anthony "Spud" Webb, Rolando Blackmon, Earl Campbell, Ernie Banks, Zina Garrison Jackson, Elvin Hayes, Jerry Levias, Coach James "Bo" Humphery (Founder TSU Relays), and William Nicks.
The Texas Black Sports Hall of Fame, housed at the African American Museum, was established to chronicle the sports history contributions made by African Americans. It was established in 1996 to honor coaches and athletes of high character and athletic achievement, who are either Texans by birth or by athletic participation (collegiate or professional), and who have made recognizable contributions to African American culture and or history. The general public submits the nominees, and a panel of judges (including sports media journalist) makes the final selection.
