Ed Kelce is the father of Jason and Travis Kelce, two of the best talents in the NFL currently. While it’s indeed a flex to have two future Hall of Famers as sons, do you know that Ed Kelce also had NFL dreams of his own?
Yes, Ed Kelce had the potential to make a name for himself on the gridiron had it not been for health issues.
What happened to Ed Kelce?
In a “New Heights” podcast episode earlier this year, Ed Kelce joined his illustrious sons to have a conversation before their Super Bowl LVII matchup.
Ed Kelce reminisced about his earlier days when he was turned away from joining the army due to an old high school football injury that resulted in him having the cartilage in his left knee removed.
Ed said to his sons:
You’ve got to remember, everybody in my family prior to me was in the service.”
Due to his health challenges, he couldn’t join the army. However, he was advised to enlist in the Coastal Guard, utilizing the skills he had already acquired. However, during basic training, Ed Kelce discovered that he had Crohn’s disease.
According to a health journal:
“Crohn’s disease is an inflammatory disease in the bowel that causes swelling of the tissues (inflammation) in the digestive tract, which can lead to severe diarrhea, abdominal pain, weight loss, fatigue and malnutrition.”
This sickness put to bed any chance of Ed being a professional sportsman.
“I enlisted in the Coast Guard, and the Chron’s reared up. I’d never had that before, and I was sick. I went through most of the basic training with some severe gastrointestinal issues. They don’t need sick people in the service; they need people who are ready to perform.”
Ed Kelce’s condition didn’t stop him from raising two future NFL legends, Travis Kelce and Jason Kelce. The Kelce name is synonymous with greatness in the league, and no one can put a damper on that.
