He was selected as a unanimous first-team All-American and won the Heisman Trophy as the best player in college football.

Kelley rejected offers to play professional football, baseball, and basketball and instead became a high school teacher and coach.

[5] While at Yale, he was also a member of the Delta Kappa Epsilon fraternity and the Skull and Bones society.

[1] On November 17, 1934, he caught the game-winning touchdown pass, covering 48 yards, in a 7–0 victory over Princeton.

[7][8] As a junior in 1935, Kelley gained attention for his pass receptions and his cocky and clever statements to the press.

[5] One of his most famous quips came after an opposing Princeton player came onto the field as a substitute and appeared confused as to who he was to replace.

"[9] Noted newspaperman Damon Runyon described Kelley as a mirthful swashbuckler, always ready with a smart crack on the tip of his tongue, and "the most picturesque football player that Yale has had since Tom Shevlin.

[11] Kelley was unanimously elected by his 25 fellow lettermen as captain of the 1936 Yale Bulldogs football team.

In the final five seconds, Yale got a first down at Dartmouth's one-yard line, but failed to score on two chances.

[15] Allison Danzig of The New York Times wrote: "It is usually left to posterity properly to appreciate and bestow the accolade of lasting fame upon heroes of the day, but no player in our time has conclusively left the impress of his personality upon the public than has Kelley of Yale.

"[17] Another newspaper account opined:The thing that made (Mr. Kelley) a great athlete was his unusual coordination.

[18] He is the only player in Yale football history to score a touchdown in every game he played against rivals Harvard and Princeton.

[20] On December 2, 1936, the Downtown Athletic Club announced that Kelley had won the Heisman Trophy as the year's best college football player[21] Against competition that included Hall of Famers Sammy Baugh and Ace Parker, Kelley won the award in a landslide, receiving 213 points, more than quadruple the point total received by any other player.

[9] Kelley recalled learning about the honor: "I got the telegram telling me that I had won it, and I didn't even know there was such a thing.

"[33] He also noted that pro football players in those days "were pretty much a rough and ready bunch, generally speaking.

[9][13] Instead of playing a professional sport or going to Hollywood, Kelley accepted an offer to teach mathematics and history and coach football at the Peddie School, his alma mater.

He tried to enlist during World War II but was ruled ineligible because both eardrums had been ruptured by playing football.

[15] In 1958, he joined the teaching staff at the Cheshire Academy, located 15 minutes from the Yale Bowl in Connecticut.

However, she grew up believing that she was the daughter of her mother's second husband and had no contact with Kelley until later in life.

[15] On June 27, 2000, six months after selling his Heisman Trophy, Kelley shot himself in the head with a handgun in the basement of his house in Hightstown.