Mark Alan Kelso (born July 23, 1963) 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

safety Safety is the state of being protected from harm or other danger. Safety can also refer to the control of recognized hazards in order to achieve an acceptable level of risk. Meanings The word 'safety' entered the English language in the 1 ...

for the

Buffalo Bills The Buffalo Bills are a professional American football team based in the Buffalo–Niagara Falls metropolitan area. The Bills compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East div ...

of 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). He appeared in four consecutive

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s with the Bills from 1990 to 1993, and served as the color commentator for the

Buffalo Bills Radio Network The Buffalo Bills Radio Network is a broadcast radio network based in Buffalo, New York. Its primary programming is broadcasts of Buffalo Bills home and away games to a network of 26 stations in upstate New York, the Northwestern and Northern Ti ...

from 2006 until 2019.

Early life

Kelso attended North Hills High School and the

College of William & Mary The College of William & Mary (abbreviated as W&M) is a public university, public research university in Williamsburg, Virginia, United States. Founded in 1693 under a royal charter issued by King William III of England, William III and Queen ...

. At William & Mary, Kelso recorded the second-highest interception total in school history with 20. In 1983, Kelso recorded 141 tackles, third all-time in a single season for a player of any position at William & Mary and the most ever by a safety.

Playing career

Kelso was selected by the

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 ...

in the tenth round of the

1985 NFL draft The 1985 NFL draft was the procedure by which National Football League teams selected amateur college football players. The NFL draft, draft was held April 30 and May 1, 1985 NFL season, 1985, at the Omni Park Central Hotel in New York City, New ...

. He played in eight NFL seasons and his entire career with the

, from 1986 to 1993. His peak performance as a pro came during the 1988 season when he had intercepted seven passes for 180 yards and one touchdown. Kelso recorded seven interceptions again in 1992 and twice recorded six interceptions in a season (1987 and 1989). He started 99 regular-season games in his NFL career, and 16 playoff games. Kelso was elected as a captain and started in the Bill's four consecutive Super Bowl appearances from 1990 to 1993. His thirty career interceptions rank third all-time for the Bills. Kelso is the recipient of the 1994 "Byron Whizzer White" NFL Man of the Year Award which awards annually one NFL player who goes above and beyond to perform community service in his hometown and team city. He was well known for wearing a "pro cap" on his helmet which was used to reduce the risk of concussions.

Broadcasting, coaching, and other work

From 2006 until 2018, Kelso served as the

color commentator A color commentator or expert commentator is a sports commentator who assists the main (play-by-play) commentator, typically by filling in when play is not in progress. The person may also be referred to as a summariser (outside North America) ...

for Buffalo Bills radio broadcasts on both

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96.9 FM and WGR 550. He was the development director at Saint Mary's High School in

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, as well as its varsity football

defensive coordinator A defensive coordinator (DC) is a coach responsible for a gridiron football team's defense. Generally, the defensive coordinator, offensive coordinator and special teams coordinator represent the second level of a team's coaching structure, wit ...

, from the 2003 to 2010 seasons. Kelso left his position at Saint Mary's in order to work with a Georgia-based company named The Hanson Group. Kelso also is a local baseball coach. Prior to that he taught fifth grade at Main Street Elementary School in East Aurora, New York. Since at least 2018, Kelso has also worked for JTG Daugherty Racing.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Kelso, Mark 1963 births Living people American football safeties Buffalo Bills announcers Buffalo Bills players High school football coaches in New York (state) NFL announcers Players of American football from Pittsburgh William & Mary Tribe football players