HIGHTSTOWN, New Jersey (27 June 2000) - Larry Kelley, the former two-way star end at Yale who won the Heisman Trophy as the nation's Outstanding College Football Player in 1936, died today at his home in Hightstown. Kelley was 85.

Officials in Hightstown said Kelley died from an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound. "It appears to be a suicide," said Mercer County assistant prosecutor Angelo Onofri. Kelley suffered a stroke early last year and had been in failing health.

Kelley won the Heisman the first year it bore the name of the long-time coach and innovator John W. Heisman. Running back Jay Berwanger of the University of Chicago won the first Outstanding Player Award in 1935 and the award was named the Heisman Memorial Trophy the following year after the death of Heisman, who was the Director of Athletics at the Downtown Athletic Club in New York.

Kelley scored 15 touchdowns playing end for Yale and scored at least once in every game against traditional rivals Harvard and Princeton in his three varsity seasons. Kelley, a 6-foot-1, 185-pound native of Conneaut, Ohio, scored 91 points and was a unanimous All-America selection in 1936. He also was voted the Outstanding Player in the East-West Shrine Game in San Francisco following the season. Kelley, who also starred on Yale's baseball and basketball teams, was the first of two consecutive Yale players to win the Heisman. Running back Clint Frank won in 1937.

Kelley was elected to the National Football Foundation and College Hall of Fame in 1969. He maintained his connections with the Heisman Trophy throughout his life, serving as a member of the Downtown Athletic Club's Heisman Trophy Committee for several years.

Kelley is survived by his wife, Mary Ruth. Funeral services were being handled by the Glackin-Saul Funeral Home in Hightstown.

Contact:

Joe Carnicelli
Heisman Trophy Media Relations
Downtown Athletic Club