Daniel Kepley (born August 24, 1953) is a former star

linebacker Linebacker (LB) is a playing position in gridiron football. Linebackers are members of the defensive team, and typically line up three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage and so back up the defensive linemen. They play closer to the line ...

for the

Edmonton Eskimos The Edmonton Elks are a professional Canadian football team based in Edmonton, Alberta. The club competes in the Canadian Football League (CFL) as a member of the league's West Division and plays their home games at Commonwealth Stadium. The E ...

of the

Canadian Football League The Canadian Football League (CFL; , LCF) is a Professional gridiron football, professional Canadian football league in Canada. It comprises nine teams divided into two divisions, with four teams in the East Division (CFL), East Division and f ...

(CFL). Kepley played college football at

East Carolina University East Carolina University (ECU) is a public university in Greenville, North Carolina, United States. It is the List of universities in North Carolina by enrollment, fourth largest university in North Carolina and the only one in the state with s ...

. He tried out with the

NFL The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The N ...

Dallas Cowboys The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football team based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The Cowboys compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East division. T ...

before starting a 10-year career with the Eskimos from 1975 to 1984. He was an intense player and hard tackler. Teamed with fellow linebackers

Dale Potter Dale William Potter (born November 9, 1949) is a former star linebacker for the Edmonton Eskimos of the Canadian Football League (CFL). Potter played his university football with the University of Ottawa Gee Gees; he was named their most valuabl ...

and

Tom Towns Tom Towns (March 17, 1953) is a Canadian former professional football linebacker for the Edmonton Eskimos of the Canadian Football League (CFL). Towns played his university football with the University of Alberta Golden Bears. In 1972 he was on t ...

for 8 seasons, this trio formed the backbone of a defence that played in 7

Grey Cup The Grey Cup () is both the championship game of the Canadian Football League (CFL) and the trophy awarded to the victorious team playing in the namesake championship of professional Canadian football. The game is contested between the winners ...

games, winning six championships. Kepley won 3 CFL's Most Outstanding Defensive Player Awards and was an All Star 5 times. Following retirement, Kepley spent the 1985 season as an assistant coach with the Eskimos. He began a real estate career, worked as a football analyst on both radio ( CFRN) and television (

CBC CBC may refer to: Media * Cadena Baja California or Grupo Cadena, a radio and television broadcaster in Mexico * Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, Canada's radio and television public broadcaster ** CBC Television ** CBC Radio One ** CBC Music ** ...

ESPN ESPN (an initialism of their original name, which was the Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by the Walt Disney Company (80% and operational control) and Hearst Commu ...

), and from 2002 to 2010 was an assistant coach with the Eskimos. Kepley has struggled with

alcoholism Alcoholism is the continued drinking of alcohol despite it causing problems. Some definitions require evidence of dependence and withdrawal. Problematic use of alcohol has been mentioned in the earliest historical records. The World He ...

and in 2000 spent time in jail for

impaired driving Driving under the influence (DUI) is the crime of driving, operating, or being in control of a vehicle while one is impaired from doing so safely by the effect of either alcohol (see drunk driving) or some other drug, whether recreational or ...

, his fifth such offence.Back in football heaven - Despite defeat, Dan Kepley is thankful to be part of the game again, Perry Lefko, Toronto Sun, Nov. 25, 2002. Kepley was inducted into the

Canadian Football Hall of Fame The Canadian Football Hall of Fame (CFHOF) is a not-for-profit corporation, located in Hamilton, Ontario, that celebrates achievements in Canadian football. It is maintained by the Canadian Football League (CFL). It includes displays about the CFL, ...

in 1996, and in 2006 was named one of the CFL's Top 50 players (#11) of the league's modern era by Canadian sports network

The Sports Network The Sports Network (TSN) is a Canadian English language discretionary sports specialty channel owned by the Sports Network Inc., a subsidiary of CTV Specialty Television, which is also a joint venture of Bell Media (70%), also owned by BCE ...

/TSN.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kepley, Danny 1953 births Living people Players of Canadian football from North Carolina Canadian Football Hall of Fame inductees Canadian Football League announcers Canadian football linebackers Canadian Football League Most Outstanding Defensive Player Award winners East Carolina Pirates football players Edmonton Elks coaches Edmonton Elks players People from Albemarle, North Carolina Players of American football from North Carolina