[2] He played tight end in football,[3] and was selected to an all-star team for the Texas High School Coaches Association clinic in 1964.
[4] After graduating high school, Key played college football for Southwest Texas State University as a starting tight end.
[11] He spent the season on the team's taxi squad and played for the Pottstown Firebirds of the Atlantic Coast Football League (ACFL) during his tenure.
[20] After missing six games in 1979 due to hamstring and groin injuries, and undergoing surgery to remove calcium deposits in his leg, he was waived by the team on September 1, 1980.
[9] Key finished his career with 121 games played,[13] and was selected as a member of a 75th anniversary team in honor of the Eagles' 75th season in 2007.