There were no PlayStations, no X-Boxes, no electronically rendered 3-D animated football players of any kind.

When Jim Kelly was a kid growing up in East Brady, a football field was any barren plot of land, not a collection of polygons on a TV screen.

"We lived and breathed football," Kelly said. "Nowadays, kids have Nintendo games and so many distractions. We didn't have that. We played tackle football and it didn't matter where."

Kelly used that experience, drawing plays in the soft earth in East Brady, and took it to places where few have gone.

From Division I college football to the USFL to the NFL's Buffalo Bills and finally to the Pro Football Hall of Fame as the first quarterback from the celebrated 1983 draft class to make it to Canton, Ohio.

"I grew up visualizing what it would be like to play in the Super Bowl," Kelly said. "As a kid, my dream was to be an NFL quarterback, and I was blessed to be around good teammates and good coaches all my life."

Kelly was a normal kid growing up in a small town. He played sports - basketball, baseball and, of course, football.He was good. Very good.But did anyone think he was good enough to make it to the Hall of Fame?"Nah," said Jim Hiles, Kelly's East Brady football teammate. "It's hard to tell when you are that age how good someone is. We just thought he was a very good player."So did former East Brady football coach Terry Henry. He thought Kelly had potential to be an accomplished quarterback at the next level.But the Hall of Fame was really never in his thoughts."You really don't know," Henry said. "I knew there were some big schools recruiting him. I thought he could get a chance. We tried to get him into Penn State, Stanford, Notre Dame, but they weren't very interested in him as a quarterback."Kelly flashed his football talent early.As a 10-year-old, he advanced to the national semifinals of the NFL Punt, Pass and Kick competition in San Diego. The next year, he advanced to he semifinals in Houston."He could throw the ball 30 to 40 yards down the field," said Jim Martin, Kelly's youth football coach.Once Kelly reached East Brady High School, he was surrounded by teammates who played with him through the ranks. That familiarity provided Kelly with a comfort zone that allowed him to throw for 3,915 yards and 44 touchdowns in his high school career.East Brady was dominating during those years, going 9-0-1 in Kelly's junior season and 10-0 during his senior campaign.His success in high school led to some attention for Division I colleges.

How things might have been different had Kelly opted to take Joe Paterno's offer.Kelly was getting some looks from big time Division I programs, but he had always had his eye on Penn State."I wanted to play at Penn State," Kelly said. "It was always my first choice."But Paterno wanted Kelly, then 6-feet-3, 215 pounds, as a linebacker.Kelly was a quarterback at heart."I guess I impressed him as a linebacker," Kelly said. "I didn't want to be a linebacker. I wanted to be a quarterback. But I admire Paterno for being up front with me."Most schools did want Kelly as a quarterback. But back then, he was limited to six college visits.When he took a trip to the University of Miami, it didn't take Kelly long to realize Southern Florida was the place for him."It was my first trip to Florida," Kelly said. "I never had lobster or shrimp before."Kelly liked the school, but not the offense.The Hurricanes were running a veer attack, requiring skills from a quarterback that weren't Kelly's strengths.Things changed when Howard Schnellenberger put in a pass-oriented offense and Kelly took to it quickly.Kelly threw for 5,233 yards and 32 touchdowns as a Miami quarterback and helped launch the 'Canes reputation as "Quarterback U."His first collegiate start was against No. 1 ranked Penn State in State College. Kelly led the Hurricanes to the upset victory.His next three opponents were Alabama, Notre Dame and Florida State."I said to myself, 'Jim, you're not in East Brady anymore," Kelly said.

Kelly was a blue-chip NFL prospect after his senior season in Miami, his name uttered in the same breath with the other big-name quarterbacks coming out of college in 1983.John Elway, Dan Marino, Todd Blackledge, Tony Eason, Ken O'Brien.Buffalo took Kelly with the 14th pick of the first round, the third quarterback selected in the draft.But he opted to play in the USFL.It was a decision that ultimately paid off."I credit the USFL for really teaching me the passing game," Kelly said. "I pretty much saw every defense imaginable."And he certainly got opportunities to pass.In Jack Pardee's pure Run and Shoot offense in 1984 and 1985, Kelly threw for 5,219 yards and 44 touchdowns as a rookie in 1984 and for 4,623 yards and 39 touchdowns in 1985, despite missing several games with an injury.Once again, Kelly was in the right offense at the right time."I've made some really good decisions in my life," Kelly said. "Going to the USFL was a blessing."In 1986, Kelly left the league and reported to Buffalo amid fanfare usually reserved for rock stars."They expected him to be a savior," Hiles said. "I remember Jimmy would bring a bus full of people from East Brady to game in Buffalo and we'd pull into the parking lot and the fans would be throwing things at our bus. They knew what bus was Jimmy's. It wasn't all good times in Buffalo."But things got better. Kelly led the Bills to four consecutive Super Bowls but was unable to win any of themStill, Kelly was a first-ballot entrant into the Hall of Fame."I was lucky to be around coaches who stayed," Kelly said. "I didn't have too many different coaches. I'm grateful for Jack Pardee and for (former Buffalo head coach) Marv Levy and (Buffalo offensive coordinator) Ted Marchibroda. They let me call my own plays."Kelly invented the K-Gun offense in Buffalo, an attack that featured the shotgun formation, three receivers and one running back.It was a hurry-up attack that fitted Kelly's brash nature perfectly.And it reminded him of the days drawing up plays in the soft earth of his hometown."Some of those pickup games in East Brady were the toughest I've ever played," Kelly said.