LOS ANGELES — With his daughters, Erin and Camryn, by his side and two of his toughest opponents in the NFL, John Elway and Dan Marino, on stage with him at the Microsoft Theater, East Brady native Jim Kelly had a simple message.

“Make a difference today for someone who is fighting for their tomorrow,” Kelly said in his Jimmy V Award for Perseverance acceptance speech Wednesday night at the ESPYs.

Kelly is certainly fighting for his tomorrow.

Diagnosed with oral cancer three times in the last five years, Kelly has waged an on-going battle against the disease that has ravaged his upper and lower jaw and left his speech slurred.

His message at the ESPYs was heard loud and clear, however.

There weren't many dry eyes in the audience during his six-minute speech as the cameras periodically captured reaction from the those in attendance.

Kelly referenced his son, Hunter, shown in a clip that aired before his speech.

“It is never easy watching video about my son,” Kelly said between emotional pauses.

Hunter was born with Krabbe Disease, a rare genetic disorder of the nervous system and died in 2005.

Kelly, 58, also gave a shout out to Terry Henry, his high school football coach at East Brady and one of his closest friends.

“My high school football coach, who is the reason I have a gold jacket, the reason I turned professional, the reason I am still sitting here, Terry Henry, I love you,” Kelly said.

Elways and Marino were also visibly shook by the words of the man they battled against in the AFC for more than a decade.

“They couldn't be giving this award to a better guy,” Elway said.

Most of the speech was spent encouraging those listening to make a difference in the lives of people around them.

“You don't need to be a Russell Wilson, an Aaron Rodgers, to make a difference out there,” Kelly said. “Every single person in this room can be a difference-maker.

“I urge anybody out there, if you have somebody who's suffering — it doesn't have to be cancer. It can be somebody not having a good day. It could be your Mom, your Dad. It could be your grandparents. What you say to them, the smile you have on your face, could be the difference.”

Kelly starred at East Brady in multiple sports, but it was football that carried him to the University of Miami to play quarterback for the Hurricanes.

He helped that school become known as “Quarterback U.”

Drafted by the Buffalo Bills in 1983 — a draft that also featured Elway and Marino — Kelly decided to spurn the Bills in favor of the Houston Gamblers and the upstart USFL.

When that league folded, Kelly joined the Bills and led the franchise to four consecutive Super Bowl appearances, all defeats.

Kelly was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2002.

Kelly was first diagnosed with oral cancer in 2013, and when the cancer returned in 2014, underwent chemotherapy treatment.

He was declared cancer free in 2016.

But earlier this year, the cancer had again returned and he underwent more surgeries to remove the cancer and reconstruct his upper jaw.

He has been cancer-free since March, but has no upper teeth and cannot eat solid foods.

Kelly found out in May that he was to receive the Jimmy V award.

“God willing, I'll be there,” he said at the time.

Wednesday, he was there.

And he closed his speech echoing the words of the man for which the award was named.

“Like Jimmy V said, 'Never ever give up.”