Kelly L. Kirchbaum (born June 14, 1957) is an American former professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

player who was a

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 two seasons in the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, 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 ...

(NFL) with the

Kansas City Chiefs The Kansas City Chiefs are a professional American football team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Chiefs compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) West division. Established in 1959 ...

and

Philadelphia Eagles The Philadelphia Eagles are a professional American football team based in Philadelphia. The Eagles compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East division. The team plays its ...

. He was selected by the

New York Jets The New York Jets are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Jets compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East division. The team p ...

in the fifth round of the

1979 NFL draft The 1979 NFL draft was the procedure by which National Football League teams selected amateur college football players. It is officially known as the NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting. The draft was held May 3–4, 1979, at the Waldorf Astoria ...

after playing

college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...

for the

Kentucky Wildcats The Kentucky Wildcats are the men's and women's intercollegiate athletic squads of the University of Kentucky (UK), a founding member of the Southeastern Conference. The Kentucky Wildcats is the student body of the University of Kentucky. 30, ...

. Kirchbaum also played for the

Tampa Bay Bandits The Tampa Bay Bandits were a professional American football team in the United States Football League (USFL) which was based in Tampa, Florida. The Bandits were a charter member of the USFL and was the only franchise to have the same principal ...

of the

United States Football League The United States Football League (USFL) was a professional American football league that played for three seasons, 1983 through 1985. The league played a spring/summer schedule in each of its active seasons. The 1986 season was scheduled to be ...

(USFL) and the Denver Dynamite of the

Arena Football League The Arena Football League (AFL) was a professional arena football league in the United States. It was founded in 1986, but played its first official games in the 1987 Arena Football League season, 1987 season, making it the third longest-runnin ...

(AFL).

Early life and college

Kelly L. Kirchbaum was born on June 14, 1957, in

Fort Knox Fort Knox is a United States Army installation in Kentucky, south of Louisville and north of Elizabethtown, Kentucky, Elizabethtown. It is adjacent to the United States Bullion Depository (also known as Fort Knox), which is used to house a larg ...

Kentucky Kentucky (, ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north, West Virginia to the ...

. He participated in both football and wrestling at

North Hardin High School North Hardin High School, located in Radcliff, Kentucky, United States, has a student population of approximately 1,600. The school, a part of Hardin County Public Schools, was founded in 1962. The athletics teams are known as the Trojans. The ...

Radcliff, Kentucky Radcliff is a home rule-class city in Hardin County, Kentucky, in the United States. The population was around 23,042 as of the 2020 Census, up from 21,692 from the 2010 census. Its economy is largely dominated by the adjacent U.S. Army base ...

. He was inducted into the North Hardin High School Athletic Hall of Fame in 2007. Kirchbaum was a four-year

letterman Letterman may refer to: * Letterman (sports), a classification of high school or college athlete in the United States People * David Letterman (born 1947), American television talk show host ** ''Late Night with David Letterman'', talk show that ...

for the

of the

University of Kentucky The University of Kentucky (UK, UKY, or U of K) is a Public University, public Land-grant University, land-grant research university in Lexington, Kentucky, United States. Founded in 1865 by John Bryan Bowman as the Agricultural and Mechanical ...

from 1975 to 1978. He recorded one interception in 1977.

Professional career

Kirchbaum was selected by the

in the fifth round, with the 123rd overall pick, of the

. He was placed on injured reserve on August 21, 1979, and spent the entire season there. He was placed on injured reserve again on September 1, 1980, and was later waived on December 16, 1980. Kirchbaum was claimed off waivers by the

on December 18, 1980. He played in one game for the Chiefs during the 1980 season. He was released on July 25, 1981. Kirchbaum signed with the

Houston Oilers The Houston Oilers were a professional American football team that played in Houston, Texas, from its founding in 1960 Houston Oilers season, 1960 to 1996 Houston Oilers season, 1996. The Houston Oilers began play as a charter member of the Ame ...

on June 7, 1982, and was released on August 3, 1982. On September 7, 1982, Kirchbaum signed with the

of the

(USFL) for the

1983 USFL season The 1983 USFL season was the inaugural season of the United States Football League. Rules differences from NFL *Optional 2 point conversion after touchdown (the NFL would add this rule in 1994). *Optional 1 inch kicking tee for extra points an ...

. He played in eight games, all starts, for the Bandits in 1983, recording one sack and one fumble recovery. He started 17 games, recovering one fumble, in 1984 as the team finished with a 14–4 record and lost in the Eastern Conference semifinals to the

Birmingham Stallions The Birmingham Stallions were a franchise in the United States Football League, an attempt to establish a second professional league of American football in the United States in competition with the National Football League. They played their ...

. Kirchbaum posted one sack and two fumble recoveries for Tampa Bay in 1985. The USFL folded after the 1985 season. Kirchbaum played in three games for the Denver Dynamite of the

(AFL) during the league's inaugural 1987 season, posting nine solo tackles, four assisted tackles, one forced fumble, one fumble recovery, and one pass breakup. He also played offense during his time in the AFL as the league played under

ironman rules The one-platoon system, also known as "iron man football", is a platoon system, rule-driven substitution pattern in American football whereby the same players were expected to stay on the field for the entire game, playing both offense and defense ...

. The Dynamite finished the season with a 4–2 record and won

ArenaBowl I Arena Bowl '87 (or Arena Bowl I) was the Arena Football League's first Championship Game. It was played on August 1, 1987, at the Civic Arena in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U. ...

against the

Pittsburgh Gladiators The Tampa Bay Storm were a professional arena football team based in Tampa, Florida, US. It played in the Arena Football League (AFL). Originally the team was located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and operated as the Pittsburgh Gladiators. The ...

. For his performance during the 1987 season, Kirchbaum was named second-team

All-Arena An All-Arena Team, an all-star team consisting of the best players of their position was selected every season in the Arena Football League (AFL). Teams * 1987 All-Arena Team, 1987 * 1988 All-Arena Team, 1988 * 1989 All-Arena Team, 1989 * 1990 Al ...

as an

offensive lineman In gridiron football, a lineman is a player who specializes in play at the line of scrimmage. The linemen of the team currently in possession of the ball are the offensive line (OL), while linemen on the opposing team are the defensive line ( ...

defensive lineman In gridiron football, a lineman is a player who specializes in play at the line of scrimmage. The linemen of the team currently in possession of the ball are the offensive line (OL), while linemen on the opposing team are the defensive line (D ...

. On September 25, 1987, Kirchbaum signed with the

during the 1987 NFL players strike. He played in three games for the Eagles and recovered one fumble. He was released on October 19, 1987, after the strike ended.

References

External links

Stats Crew profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kirchbaum, Kelly Living people 1957 births Players of American football from Kentucky American football linebackers Kentucky Wildcats football players New York Jets players Kansas City Chiefs players Houston Oilers players Tampa Bay Bandits players Denver Dynamite (arena football) players Philadelphia Eagles players People from Radcliff, Kentucky Sportspeople from Hardin County, Kentucky NFL replacement players