Position: Halfback
Years: 1966-1968
Place of Birth: Newport News, VA
Date of Birth: Feb 18, 1947
Place of Death: West Lafayette, IN
Date of Death: April 15, 2021
Jersey Number: 23
Height: 6-3
Weight: 199
High School: Newport News, VA (George Washington Carver HS)
A true Boilermaker icon, Leroy Keyes remains the only two-time consensus All-American in school history. He finished third and second in balloting for the Heisman Trophy as a halfback his junior and senior seasons.
The 6-foot-3, 199-pound Keyes set school records for career touchdowns (37), points (222) and all-purpose yards (3,757). He was voted the All-Time Greatest Player as part of the 100-year anniversary of Purdue football in 1987, and he was an inaugural member of the Purdue Intercollegiate Athletics Hall of Fame in 1994.
Keyes, who played high school football at George Washington Carver High School in Newport News, Virginia, broke in as a sophomore playing defensive halfback for the Boilermakers. Against Notre Dame, he picked off a fumble in midair and ran 95 yards to score, which remains the longest fumble return by a Boilermaker.
As a junior, Keyes scored 19 touchdowns (13 rushing and six receiving) to set the Purdue season record, which still stands, and led the nation with a school-record 114 points en route to being honored as the Big Ten Conference Most Valuable Player. The following year, he became the first Boilermaker to rush for 1,000 yards in a season and was selected to the 1968 East-West Shrine Game.
In addition to the season touchdown record, Keyes remains the Purdue record-holder for rushing average in a season (6.6 yards per carry in 1967) and career (5.88). He ranks third all-time in total touchdowns, fifth in rushing touchdowns (29), sixth in points, ninth in all-purpose yards, 11th in rushing yards and 19th in rushing attempts (356). His 1,870 all-purpose yards as a junior were the school standard for 40 years until Dorien Bryant topped it in 2007.
Nicknamed "The Golden Mr. Do-Everything," Keyes' career statistics included 2,094 rushing yards, 80 receptions, eight touchdown passes (among 12 completions), four interceptions as a defensive halfback and a 25.8-yard kickoff return average. He also handled kickoff duties.
Keyes was selected by the Philadelphia Eagles with the third overall pick of the 1969 National Football League Draft. A running back and safety, he played for the Eagles from 1969 to 1972 and for the Kansas City Chiefs in 1973 before injuries curtailed his career. He had six interceptions and three fumble recoveries in 1971.
A desegregation specialist for the Philadelphia school district for 16 years, Keyes returned to Purdue as running backs coach under Jim Colletto in 1995 and 1996. Keyes subsequently served as an administrative assistant for the football program under Joe Tiller from 1997 to 1999 and then a member of the John Purdue Club staff until his retirement in 2011.
Keyes passed away April 15, 2021. He was 74.
