The Bud Hudson Junior Pro Football League is still in its early phases of the 2024 season, but already it has scored a touchdown.
According to a press release from the league Thursday morning, former Hopkinsville High School All-State linebacker Steven Kelley and his wife Tracy have purchased 200 uniforms including tops and bottoms for players in the league. The uniforms cost nearly $20,000, which is believed to be the largest single gift to the Bud Hudson League by a private citizen in its 73 years of operation.
In the release, Steven Kelley recounted his experience playing in the league nearly 40 years ago.
“I played in the Bud Hudson League and for Coach Hudson,” he said. “I can’t put a dollar amount on what I would owe either the late Coach H.E. ‘Bud’ Hudson, or his league, were I to compensate for either for the life lessons imparted to me and my friends and neighbors during that formative time in all our childhoods.”
He added, “Tracy and I are both proud to facilitate a similar experience to present and future kids signing up for this valuable training. I hope news of this gift will encourage other former league participants and players to support this worthwhile childhood experience.”
Kelley played at Hopkinsville High School from 1983-86. He was an All-State linebacker and received a scholarship to play at the University of Kentucky where he played several seasons before injuries ended his career. He was recently inducted into the third class of the Hopkinsville High School Athletic Hall of Fame.
Bud Hudson Youth League Directors Matt Monday and Fletcher Long both expressed gratitude for Kelley’s donation.
“On behalf of the league, Long and I are both blown away by the Kelley’s extraordinary generosity,” Monday said in the news release.
“Kelley and I both played in the league and on the same team when we were kids,” Long said. “That experience apparently engendered in the two of us a still existent love and appreciation for the game.”
The league, which began operation in 1951, will pass out equipment on or about Aug. 5. The season begins play in September and it is hoped that the new uniforms will be here by the opening games.