Before the 1983 NFL draft, Jim Kelly’s agent asked him if there was any team he did not wish to play for. Kelly, who did not like cold weather, named the Buffalo Bills as one of his three teams. Ironically, that’s exactly where he landed as the 14th pick. Although he dodged playing for them with two seasons in the USFL, he now agrees, “the best decision of my life proved to be the day I signed with the Buffalo Bills.”

For a team that had just lost LB Tom Cousineau to the Cleveland Browns and was coming off consecutive 2-14 losing seasons, things were about to change: In his very first season with the Bills, Kelly changed the team’s losing trajectory; by his third season, Buffalo moved from the last-ranked team in the conference to the first; consecutive Super Bowl appearances from 1990 to 1993; and as he was leaving after the 1996 season, he gave the team a winning season and a second conference spot. No ring to show for it, but Kelly became one of the best QBs in the NFL.

And for the signal caller who had become a nuisance to his opponents for 11 seasons, his Hall of Fame induction wasn’t going to be quiet either. In 2002, on a scorching August day, a crowd of record 1200+ spectators gathered to see Kelly get inducted. However, the stairs of the Fawcett Stadium, where the Hall of Fame has celebrated the NFL’s best since 1965, did not have enough space. In Kelly’s defense, everyone knew how Buffalo celebrated. Now, Steve Tasker, Kelly’s teammate in the Bills, remembers how the legend brought back a 39-year-old tradition that the Hall of Fame still follows. Sitting with Rich Eisen on his show, the former WR said,

“When Jim went into the Hall of Fame, he was a first ballot guy. And the Hall of Fame said, ‘How many people do we need to accommodate for your group? How many friends are you bringing with you?’ And he said, ‘37 bus loads.’ They said, ‘37 people?’ He said, ‘No, no, no. 37 bus loads of people.’ If you remember, that’s the first year when they had to move the Hall of Fame induction ceremonies from the steps of the Hall of Fame into the stadium.

“That was the first time they did it. Chris Berman started hosting, and it became this big event. And they had to open it up because the entire region of Western New York showed up at Jim’s induction, and they just couldn’t accommodate all those people. Now, it’s a big deal, and they do it every year like that. But Jim was the guy who forced them to do that.”

Before Kelly, the maximum limit reached during a Hall of Fame ceremony was 600 people. The QB, however, broke that record quite effortlessly. How he remembers the story is also quite funny. Previously, when he appeared on the NFL Players Second Act podcast, he revealed, “I knew the way Buffalo celebrates. I knew the way they were when I got inducted on the first ballot. The people in the city and how they were talking.

“We contacted the Hall of Fame. I didn’t. My brother did, said, ‘You know what? I don’t think you’re going to want to have this celebration on the steps because there ain’t going to be enough room.’ And so, they moved it to the stadium. I don’t know how many rooms it was, but I tell you what, that check was a big one. But you know what? It’s worth every single penny!”

Kelly’s social impact began much earlier than Canton, though. And it began with his team. After a game, Kelly, who had not yet married Jill, invited the entire team to his Orchard Park house for some wine. According to Tasker, ”He invited the entire team over—and not just the players—families, college buddies, everybody.”

Eventually, they were no longer a group of players, but a true team, as Tasker confessed to Eisen, “We started playing for each other and even each other’s families.” And that aided the Bills’ four-year consecutive Super Bowl runs, despite ending in losses every time. But it also helped Kelly earn individual accolades.

On the gridiron, Kelly’s record speaks for itself. He is a five-time Pro Bowler and a 2x All-Pro pick. Kelly led the Bills to four consecutive Super Bowl appearances from 1990 through 1993, a record never equaled in NFL history. Kelly’s career mark of 101-59 regular season record and 9-8 postseason record as a starter, together with his passing ability and resilience, assured him a Hall of Fame spot. And he, on the other hand, assured the future Hall of Famers get to invite as many people as they want.