Marvin Leroy Keyes was an American professional football player who was a running back and safety for five seasons in the National Football League with the Philadelphia Eagles and the Kansas City Chiefs.
19 Facts About Leroy Keyes
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Leroy Keyes was drafted by the Eagles in the first round of the 1969 NFL Draft.
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Leroy Keyes was an All-American as a halfback on offense and played corner on defense and returned kicks and punts.
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Leroy Keyes played both ways for Philadelphia before settling in as a solid strong safety.
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Leroy Keyes was a dynamic player running and catching the ball.
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Leroy Keyes finished his career running for 2,090 yards and had 1,204 receiving yards.
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Leroy Keyes was drafted by the Philadelphia Eagles with the third pick in the 1969 NFL Draft.
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Leroy Keyes was considered the "consolation prize" by the Eagles, who had just lost out to the Buffalo Bills to draft O J Simpson with the first overall pick.
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Conversely, Leroy Keyes was drafted one pick ahead of Joe Greene; both Simpson and Greene would go on to the Pro Football Hall of Fame while Leroy Keyes is generally considered a bust.
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Leroy Keyes started out as a running back and had 637 total yards on offense including 3 rushing touchdowns as a rookie.
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Leroy Keyes saw little playing time in 1970 and was moved to strong safety in 1971, where he made 6 interceptions and recovered 3 fumbles.
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Leroy Keyes worked for the John Purdue Club until he became an assistant athletic director for the Purdue Boilermakers.
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Leroy Keyes was a member of The Pigskin Club Of Washington, DC, as well as the National Intercollegiate All-American Football Players Honor Roll.
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In 1987, Leroy Keyes was inducted into the Virginia Sports Hall of Fame.
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Leroy Keyes was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1990.
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On December 30,2010, Leroy Keyes was inducted into the Rose Bowl Hall of Fame in a ceremony at the Pasadena Convention Center.
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Leroy Keyes was joined in the honor by Drew Brees, Bob Griese, and Rod Woodson.
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Leroy Keyes died on April 15,2021, in West Lafayette, after several months of suffering from a recurrence of cancer and congestive heart failure.
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Leroy Keyes was survived by his wife Monica and children Colin, Raymond, Jacqueline and Courtland.