The 1985 Chicago Bears captivated the attention and imagination of the American public like no team before or since that remarkable season. Going 15–1 in the regular season, they would outscore their three playoff opponents by a combined 91–10, culminated with a thrashing of the New England Patriots in Super Bowl XX. Along the way, they even had time to become the first sports team ever to record a song and video — The Super Bowl Shuffle — which was nominated for a Grammy Award. For their accomplishments, the NFL Network recently ranked them as the second greatest Super Bowl champion of all-time, behind the 1972 Miami Dolphins — the only undefeated team in NFL history.
Like most Bear teams, the DNA of the ’85 squad was fortified by one word — defense. Anchored by future Hall of Famers Mike Singletary, Dan Hampton and Richard Dent, that version of the Monsters of the Midway is still seen as the fiercest and most dominating of all-time. There were more towering names up and down the Bear roster, although no one towered — literally speaking — higher than defensive end Tyrone Keys. At 6–7, Keys was the tallest Bear and his size allowed great flexibility for legendary defensive coordinator Buddy Ryan to implement his equally legendary scheme — the 46 Defense.
While the Dallas Cowboys had Ed “Too Tall” Jones, Ryan would dub Keys as the Bears version of “Too Tall”. Keys played in all 16 regular season games for the Bears as well as the three playoff victories. Keys length would clog up blockers, as well as the vision, of opposing quarterbacks which gave Bears pass rushers the ability to overwhelm the offensive backfield. His signature moment came in the 4th quarter of the NFC Championship with the Bears up 17–0. In one of the most famous plays in Bears history, Richard Dent stripped the ball from Ram QB Dieter Brock and linebacker Wilbur Marshall swopped in to pick up the loose ball. Only Ram running back Eric Dickerson had a chance to tackle Marshall. But Keys shielded off Dickerson, which allowed Marshall to run 52-yards unimpeded with the snow falling for the capping touchdown to send the Bears to their first title game in 22 years. WOW GOOD BILL ….I REMEMBER IT BEGIN TO SNOW WHEN WILBUR WAS RUNNING TOWARD THE PROMISE LAND …I HAVE A GREAT PICTURE OF THAT PLAY ALONG WITH THE FINAL PLAY AGAINST N0 1 ALA ……I USE BOTH TO SHARE WITH MY STUDENTS ON ( my Grand mom quote on TASK NO matter the Labor big or small do it well or not at all ,,BOTH WERE MY LAST PLAYS AT BOTH STADUIM…….THIS PAST SUMMER I RETURNED BACK TO MEMORIAL STADUIM IN JACKSON MISS …….AS I STOOD THERE having my picture taken for the Cover of Christian Living Magazine I NOW HAD A COMPLETE VISION AND I HAD COME FULL CIRCLE to for the glory of God ……MY FIRST TIME AT THE STADUIM WAS IN 1975 AT A BILLY GRAHAM CRUSADE MOTHER DAY WEEKEND( my life was not the same after that encounter) ..AND MY MOTHER HAD TAKEN ME AND BROTHERS IT WAS THE FIRST TIME THAT BLACKS AND WHITES HAD COME TOGETHER IN MASSES TO WORSHIP …….I REMEMBER BILLY GRAHAM SAYING “ COME TO ME ALL WHO ARE WEARY AND BURDEN and need Rest for your Soul …..Hook up with me …..Mississippi was in the beginning stages of integration …….Before I knew it I was on the field BLACKS AND WHITES for the first time in Miss history had come together in masses …..and in 1980 ….I made the game saving tackle with 22 seconds left to preserve victory over then no 1 rank Ala and fans black and whites were bolted out of the stands the same way I had bolted /storm the field ……to Come to Christ………..
IT IS AMASSING THAT SPORTS CAN TRANSEND RACE , AND PARALLEL LIFE THIS WHAT I WAS SEEING LAST SUMMER WHILE BACK IN MISS VISION HOW GOD HAD USED ME TO PARLAY THE GAME ON THE FIELD FROM LOCKERRROM TO CLASSROOM TO THE BIGGEST GAME OF ALL …NOT THE SUPER BOWL …..BUT LIFE …….OUR HS team still hold the city record winning 22 consecutive games …this was done, WHAT A BEAUTIFUL THING IT WAS TO SEE BLACK AND WHITES SIT TOGETHER AND CHEER US ON ..MANY OF US ARE FRIENDS TODAY AND HELP ME WITH ASCS.
“Gentle Giant” is perhaps an overused phrase in the lexicon of sports. But few, if any, typified that characterization like Tyrone Keys. Even in the midst of that remarkable 1985 season, the always selfless, always wanting to help others, Keys found himself in a position to be a role model to a young teammate as the “unofficial personal trainer” to an overweight rookie by the name of William “The Refrigerator” Perry (1). At 325 pounds, but only 6–2, Perry was built like, well like a refrigerator. The Fridge would become a cultural and commercial icon but his weight was no laughing matter. Keys struck up a friendship with Perry and would become a mentor to him during that season.
The anecdote with The Fridge was indicative of the quality that lay within Tyrone Keys. His towering impact on the field would be exceeded by his community outreach off the field. It was a journey that began with what he saw modeled by his own mentors; from his parents, to teachers to coaches as well as lessons learned from the playing field that he would use to successfully transition to the game of life.
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To know Tyrone Keys today, the gentle spirit that matches the outer smile, the kindness and generosity he has for all people, you wouldn’t know that he grew up amid the hatred, anger, and bitterness that characterized the Deep South in the 1960s, on into the 70s. Mississippi, in a lot of ways, was ground zero for the racial animosity of that era. But the cocoon of protection, love as well as support built by the nurturing of his parents Shelton and Johnnie Ruth Keys, fostered an unconditional love within Keys from an early age in the town of Jackson. Instilling a moral fabric within Tyrone and his brothers — Cedric and Frederic — was also important within the Keys’ home. (I WILL SEND YOU A PIECE I WROTE TO LAST WEEK ON MY GRANDPARENT ……BOTH WHO OWN FARMS AND WORKED HARD …MY DAD AND MY MOM WAS THE FIRST TO THE HIRTORY OF THERE FAMILIES TO ATTEND AND GRADUATE COLLEGE BUT IT WAS SPENDING TIME ON THE FARM WHERE I LEARN AND UNDERSTOOD TEAM WORK AND BIBILICAL PRICNCIPALS OF SOWNG AND REAPING ……LAST WEEK I WAS THERE AND THE WEEDS HAVE OVER TAKEN THE ONCE FERTILE GROUND …….WHY BECAUSE THERE IS NO SOWING GOING ON ….
“My first memory of attending Church was with my mom at age 5,” Keys said. “Earlier in the day, I had fallen and hit by head on a brick steps and blood was everywhere. I attended church that night and the pain was gone. From then I felt God’s presence as my friend. My family were members of Mount Helm Church in Jackson, where I was baptized when I was eight-years-old.”
Those early memories still resonate with him all these years later and proved to be the building blocks for his later work in building his Foundation.
“I stopped by there last year and sat in the back because tears of joy flowed throughout the whole service as I reflected back to childhood,” reflected Keys. “To see members from 30 years ago still there, my dad and mom, college roommate, and close friends, I was so very thankful and grateful that my parents had introduced me to God. That introduction to the awakening of the social and spiritual consciousness within oneself would become the mission of All Sports Community Service to assist students on their quest for real and true success.”
In the early 1970s, the desegregation efforts throughout the South were underway. But for those students on the frontlines of those efforts, emotions such as fear and feeling intimidated could be hard to overcome. When you add the normal vulnerabilities and awkwardness of early adolescence, these were confusing times for a black child in the heart of Dixie. Searching for self-worth and confidence, the influence of a sixth-grade teacher would have a lifelong impact on Keys. Mary Hagan was not only the first white teacher at Dawson Elementary; she was the first white person that ever spoke to Tyrone.
Amongst the chaos and still simmering facial unrest around them, Mary Hagan’s peaceful demeanor and soothing words assured young Tyrone and his classmates that calm would win over chaos. Ms. Hagan had a lasting impact on the impressionable Keys because her tutelage went well beyond the “Four Rs” of the classroom. She invested in her students by pouring herself into them, letting them know that each and every one of them was unique as God’s creation, that each student possessed talents and abilities available to fulfill in life. And she did all of this despite pressure and attacks by outsiders who couldn’t understand why a white women would attempt to bring out the best in black children. But that set an example of faith and courage in the face of daunting circumstances that would impact Tyrone for the rest of his life.
“Mrs. Hagan showed us the power of love, belief and faith,” said Keys. “She gave us a poem on what love was on her last day of school and the students began to cry. I remember saying to myself that she’s just moving away, that I was going to visit. But it would be 40 years before I’d see her again at AS A GUEST TO MY MISS HOF INDUCTION AND LATER WE WERE THE KEY NOTE SPEAKER AT THE TEACHER OF YEAR BANQUET AND SHARED OUR STORY ON THE POWER OF LOVE TO OVER FIVE HUNDRED EDUCATORS when she retired. This happened in 2011 right outside New Orleans where 25 years earlier we won the Super Bowl and become World Champions. Now I was able to recognize her as a champion.” THERE WAS NOT A TRY EYE IN CROWD ….HOW GREAT IT WAS TO HONOR SOMEONE WHO HAD FULFILLED HER TRUECALLING AND DESTINY ….WHICH IS SOMETHING THAT YOU CANNOT ACCOMPLISH ON YOUR OWN BUT IT HAPPEN THROUGH THE GRACE OF GOD …THAT MY NEXT DOOR
By the time Keys entered Callaway High School, a lot of those talents and abilities within him were displayed on the football field. Bigger, stronger and faster than most of his peers, Keys fulfilled his potential to its maximum extent, particularly when roaming on the defensive side of the ball. Callaway dominated during the Keys era, capped off by state championship in his junior year of 1975. The 1975 Callaway Chargers dominated Mississippi high school football like no team before or since that season in becoming the first team in the state of Mississippi to record a 12–0 record. They were also the last team from the Jackson Metro Area to go undefeated and rank as the №1 team in the state. (22 win in row)
For all their success, Calloway’s coach Odell Jenkins successfully keep the team grounded, not allowing greatness to go to their heads. Coach Jenkins was the next in line after Mary Hagan in mentoring Keys. The influence of Coach Jenkins went beyond the playing field as he held his players, including Keys, accountable off the field as well in how they conducted themselves. He was the first black coach and teacher at Calloway and he provided his players and students a picture of how of how adults of the opposite race could get along.
“We had never seen that before,” recalls Keys. “I credit (our entire coaching staff) for being so loving and caring around each other because, as young men do; we were watching how they conducted themselves on and off the field. But it was Coach Jenkins who lived in our community and provided a safe haven for us to hang out at his house and watch football games.”
Whereas many coaches stop at the edge of the playing field when it comes to demanding excellence, Coach Jenkins developed an appreciation of Godly character and commitment off the field in his players as well. As Keys reminisced, “He once told me, ‘Sow a thought . . . reaps a word. Sow a word . . . reap an action. Sow an action . . . reap a destiny. Sow a destiny . . . reap a character.’ That advice has influenced the way I’ve tried to structure my life.” (2)
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A scholarship to be a Bulldog at Mississippi State would open doors for Keys to make the most of the abilities God had given him both on and off the field. He would stay clear of the usual temptations that befall student-athletes on big-time college campuses by harnessing the collective life lessons learned from his parents and mentors during his formative years.
“Mentoring is a powerful tool. I lived on the fourth floor where my high school teammate Mark McIntosh also lived across the hall,” Keys said. “There were two older players, Raymond Peyton and Gerald Jackson, were good mentors who I spent a lot of time with and learned from them. They were caring and looked out for me. I was on academic probation my first semester. But when Coach (Emory) Bellard came (in 1979), he had a motto ‘ get all the way in the boat or get out of the boat’, meaning GET WITH PLAN AND PROGRAM we were students first, athletes second. It worked, because I would eventually graduate and would be nominated and Inducted in the Education HALL OF FAME Award.” ONE OF MY FIRST STUDENT SERVRE ON COLLEGE BOARDS AND 3 ARE PRINCIPALS AND HUNDREDS ARE TEACHERS
Selected All-SEC in his senior year of 1980, Keys lead the Bulldogs to a 9–3 record — one of the best seasons in school history — as they finished as the 19th ranked team in the nation. The signature game of that season, as well as Keys’ college career, came in early November when the Crimson Tide of Alabama rolled onto the campus of Mississippi State. With a 22-game winning streak that stretched back over two years, the #1 ranked Tide came up against a rabid Bulldog crowd at Memorial Stadium and an equally amped up MSU defense. In a tightly defensed game, MSU kicked a field goal to go up 6–3 early in the fourth quarter. The Bulldogs still clung to that lead with 22 SECONDS less than a minute remaining in the game. But the Alabama offense sat only four yards away from the winning touchdown. The Alabama quarterback took the snap, ran the option play to the right only to be met by the formidable Keys, who forced a fumble that the Bulldogs recovered to preserve what Scout.com ranked as one of the greatest finishes in college football history.
For Keys who, even as a young man was always on the lookout for qualities he could emulate as well as mindful of character building moments, what happened after the game stands out as more of a lasting impact than those final few frantic moments on the field.
“The door to our locker room opened, and in walked Bear Bryant. The room grew quiet, and what followed,” Tyrone recalls, “was the greatest example of character and sportsmanship I had ever witnessed. With a thousand fans jeering at him, he walked all the way across the field to congratulate not just our coach, but our team. Now that was class.” (3)
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When Tyrone entered professional football, it was well beyond any of his mightiest expectations that within five years he’d not only been a Super Bowl champion, but a member of one of the greatest defenses of all-time. He was drafted in the 5th round, 113th overall, by the New York Jets, a franchise stuck in a decade of dormancy by that point. Tyrone opted to play in the Canadian Football League before he ceased upon an opportunity presented to him to attend training camp with the Chicago Bears in 1983. Keys saw the possibility of a dream coming true in trying out with a franchise that had been his favorite team ever since he watched Brian’s Song about the RELATIONSHIP OF GALYE SAYERS AND terminally ill Bears running back Brian Piccolo in 1971. IT WAS THE SAME YEAR OF INTERGRATION IN MISS. WE DISCUSSED IN CLASS ….I REMEMBER BILL TOBIN COMING TO MISS STATE TO WATCH PRATICE …I MADE A GRAT PLAY AND THE COACH SAID THE BEARS SCOUT LOVED THAT
Camps back then were brutally long, hitting in full pads all day long with 120 players trying to make a final roster of 53. Making that cut wouldn’t be easy as the Bears, particularly on defense, were loaded with great young talent. Defensive talent that would ultimately produce eight future All-Pro players and three future Hall of Famers. Tyrone roomed with fellow defensive end Richard Dent and would attend Dent’s induction into the Hall of Fame in 2011.
By 1985, the Bears were ready to fulfill their potential by maximizing their talent and would do so in a way that hasn’t been done before or since that season. They dominated their opponents and didn’t lose their first game until Week 13. While doom and gloom set in over a City used to horrific collapses by its sports teams, the Bears’ players were so concerned about the loss that after getting back to Chicago in the early hours of Tuesday after the Monday Night game, they promptly went out that morning to record “The Super Bowl Shuffle.” Think about that for a minute: here was a team coming off a loss, ARRIVING BVACK IN CHICAGO AT 4AM AND WAKING UP TO 11 DEGREE WEATHER AND still with three regular games left and then the playoffs, going out and recording a music video about the Super Bowl — a game the Bears organization had never played in during the nineteen-year history of the event. While that anecdote can be seen as being cocky or arrogant, it was more a measured OF FAITH AND confidence that they knew had the talent to be best and they weren’t going to let anybody stop them from reaching their goals. I LOVED WALTER PAYTON LYRICS THAT THE BEARS HAD A GOAL SINCE TRAINING CAMP TO BRING CHICAGO A SUPER BOWL CHAMP Plus, “The Super Bowl Shuffle”, in which Tyrone played the keyboard, fit his charitable personality as all the proceeds went to local charities, WHICH WAS ONE OF THE FACTORS IN PRODUCING THE VIDEO IT NEEDED TO SERVE A CAUSE BIGGER THAN OURSELVES . It was this giving of himself that would serve Tyrone well in helping him eventually transition from the playing field to the game of life.
With the “Super Bowl Shuffle” playing in tape decks and VCRs and on radios and televisions (MTV) nationwide, the Bears saturated the sporting nation’s conscience and really the nation as a whole. But obviously the euphoria existed nowhere near that of Chicago’s — where you couldn’t read a newspaper, watch the news, go to school, work, the store, or anywhere for that matter where the Bears weren’t topic number one. They won their last three regular season games, went into the playoffs 15–1, and were ready to take their game to an even higher level. Any anxiety that existed about another Chicago postseason flop went away when the Bears opened up the playoffs with a dominating 21–0 win against the Giants and again the following week when they humiliated the Rams 24–0 to win the NFC Championship. The defense became the only unit in NFL history to record back-to-back shutouts in the playoffs, and, really, the only question for us as fans in the run-up to the Super Bowl was how badly they’d beat the AFC Champion New England Patriots, which they did 46–10.
While many athletes squander the massive financial resources, Tyrone put his Super Bowl bonus into an annuity and would use it after his career came to an end to start his Foundation — All Sports Community Service — in 1993. Many athletes when they experience the pinnacle of achievement allow that to corrupt them by lulling them into a sense of being more worthy than what they are; they exalt themselves over others and, to be cliché, their success goes to their heads. This can have a devastating effect on those that aren’t spiritually grounded because when the glory inevitably faded, those athletes become empty, unfulfilled and sometimes disillusioned, depressed or even suicidal. For Tyrone, he stayed true to his roots, not only because of his strong foundational years but because of a growing sense that his life wasn’t about him.
“I remember attending Willow Creek Church the following preseason of 1986 after he won the Super Bowl and hearing a message from the Pastor Bill Hybels,” said Keys. “He’s written Leaving Your Comfort Zone and Descending into Greatness. He discussed the humility with which Jesus handled power. That was eye-opening to me”
Just as Christ came, not to be served, but to serve, Keys would soon set out to serve others as his football career would wind down a few, short years later. He went from first to worst as he signed with the worst team in football in 1986 after parting ways with the Bears. While that transition wasn’t easy, he trusted that God’s perfect plan was in place.
“In 1986, I was on the worst team in football and I found myself trying to help kids who were in the worst condition, said Keys. “I played football because people saw potential in me, so I begin to look for potential in others, namely kids (from disadvantaged backgrounds). FROM WALTER PAYTON A COMMUNITY ICON AND LEGEND TO LEE ROY SELMON A LEGEND WHO HAS A HIGHWAY NAME AFTER HIM ……AND SEVERAL RESTURANTS IN THE AREA…..WHEN LEE ROY WAS SELECTED TO SPEARHEAD THE USF FOOTBALL PROGRAM HE CONTACTED WALTER PAYTON TO HELP REAISE MONEY FOR THE UNVERSITY FOOTBALL PROGRAM ..I ATTENDED WITH WALTER AND I HAVE A PICTURE OF HIM LOCKING IN BEAR HUG ,,,KEEP IN MIND I HAD SEEN AND HEARD THE LOCKUP ON THE FILD AND NOW TO SEE THEM PARLAY THE GAME FROMN THE FIELD TO THE GAME OF LIFE WAS INCREDIBLE … I RODE WITH WALTER TO CATCH HIS PRIVATE PLANE BACK TO CHICAGO AND HE ASK ME TO FLY WITH HIM AND HE WOULD FLY ME BACK ..HAD I KNOWN IT WOULD BEMY LAST TIME SEEING HIM ALIVE ,,, I WOULD HAVE …THE EXPERINCE OF SEEING HIM AND A RIVAL OPPONENT WHO WAS TRYING TO STOP HIM FROM SUCCEEDING ON THE FIELD TOOK MY CONSCIOUNESS TO ANTOHER LEVEL …TO PARLAY THE BIGGEST GAME FOOTBALL TO THE GAME OF LIFE WAS POWERFUL (PICTURE OF US AT THE EVENT )…LEE ROY SELECTED ME TO ADMINSTRATE HIS SCHOLARSHIP FUND THE LAST DECADE BUT ONLY IF I WOULD DO WITH FANFARE ….WALTER HAD THIS THING ABOUT GOING TO KITCHEN AND MEETING THE HELP THE SERVICE PEOPLE …THE HELP THE DISHWASHERS AND COOKS TO MAKE SURE THEY GOT AUTOGRAPHS AND PICTURES AND TO LET THEM KNOW THEY ARE THE HEROES OF THE EVENT …THAT IF FOOD IS GGOD THE EVENT IS GOOD ..IF HIS BLOCKER ARE GOOD ..HE IS GOOD ..THE TEAM IS GOOD ….THAT NO ONE MAKES IT ALONE …HE ACKNOWLEGE THEM BEFORE HE TOOK THE PODUIM..
He met Kenneth Muldrow, a coach at Blake High School in Tampa in 1987 and struck up a friendship after learning that Coach Muldrow shared the same heart Tyrone shared in wanting to help others… FORMER TEAMMMATE LESLIE FRAZIER SIGN ONE OF HIS STUDENTS DEAN RIVETTE AT THE SUGGESTIONS OF TYRONE TO PLAY FOR HIM AT TRINITY COLLEGE IN DEERFIELD … And so, after his career came to an end after the 1988 season because OF A CARRER ENDING INJURY ..BACK ,SHOULDER AND KNEE , at just 28-years-old when most young adults are just getting started in the work force, Tyrone would see firsthand how his faith would be rewarded and God’s purpose would come to perfect fruition in the Tampa Bay community.
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Tyrone made Tampa his new home and settled in to his new life without football, along with his wife Bessie, who he met in college and had married in 1981 and children — a daughter Chyla who was born in 1984, followed four years later by her brother T.J. With his budding friendship with Coach Muldrow, Tyrone was further inspired to serve others full-time after the tragic death of a young man named Albert Perry. An innocent bystander, the once-promising college football player was shot at a block party outside a WEST TAMPA Tampa housing project and died on his way to the hospital. Tyrone had invested in the young man, worked to get him a college scholarship, and obviously was profoundly impacted by his death.
“Nothing in my life had ever affected me so profoundly,” Tyrone recalls. “What else could I have done? It was the defining moment in my life when I realized something had to be done. I knew the reclaiming of young lives had to start somewhere, so it might as well start with me.” (4)
Not really knowing where to turn to fulfill his vision, Tyrone began to pray for wisdom and then sought guidance from Jerry Ulm who owned a Dodge dealership in Tampa. The two got to know each other and saw a mutual compassion to help others. Through “seed money” from THE FAMILY OF MR Ulm SUGGESTING THAT IN LIEU OF FLOWERS THAT ALL THEIR FAMILY AND FRIENDS DONTATE TO ASCS and Tyrone’s Super Bowl bonus that he saved, All Sports Community Service (ASCS) was founded in 1993. ASCS became a hub on the campus of Blake H.S., across the street from where Albert Perry was killed, and where Coach Muldrow would serveS as a mentor TO HUNDREDS OF KIDS .
The non-profit mentoring and scholarship program dedicated itself to guiding disadvantaged youth achieve their dream of attending college. The Tyrone Keys vision taught students the idea that the skills from the playing field could be parlayed onto the field of life. ASCS students are mentored through a combination of academics, community service and sports. Great emphasis is placed on returning to the community to assist the next generation. Therein lies the key to the success of ASCS in requiring their students to do community service so they have “skin in the game” while they’re going through the program. This investment in themselves and their community by the students instills an ownership stake and respect within them. So rather than being given something as a “handout”, they’re simultaneously giving back while developing an appreciation for the “hand up” offered to them. Upon completion of the program, students then return to invest time, energy and scholarship funds into the program and the community.
Two young men that found their potential and flourished because of ASCS were Ricky Sailor and a quadriplegic by the name of Labrawn Saffold. Ricky became a two-time All-American football player at Butte Junior College and also played for Texas Tech University. In 2010, he
came back to the Tampa Bay area and worked as program director for ASCS, also winning a state championship as defensive coordinator at Jefferson High School in Tampa. Ricky founded Unsigned Preps as an extension of ASCS, to
help high school student athletes get recruited, obtain college scholarships, stay in school and become active in community service as community leaders. Since then, Ricky has helped 98 student athletes
obtain college scholarships.
Labrawn was paralyzed in a car accident as a teenager in 2004 and exhibited every characteristic of a disadvantaged young man. When Tyrone met Labrawn, he was impoverished with no family support or structure and had been homeless for a time while suffering through depression and suicidal thoughts. By 2012, Labrawn had graduation from Florida State University with a Bachelor’s Degree and secured a full-time management job with Macy’s in Miami.
“Mr. Keys has been a father figure I’ve always dreamed of having and a mentor that has truly changed my life,” Saffold said. “His organization helped me to value my life by giving me the opportunity to help others. After years of actively hosting community events and volunteering at orphanages and need-based programs, my consciousness was awakened to the impacts I could have on my community.”
Since 1993, All Sports has assisted hundreds of students like Labrawn Saffold and obtained over $20 million in support towards their college education from all over this country. He’s met two sitting Presidents — both Bush and Obama — because of his work. But that, like winning the Super Bowl, ranks lower on his list of accomplishments than it might otherwise for somebody else who lacks his spiritual foundation. Tyrone’s transition from the playing field to the game of life has been a seamless one because he realized that his life was not about him, but about others. As Christ came not be served, but to serve. Tyrone’s legacy is one of peace and fulfillment that comes first by serving God and secondly by serving others.
“January 26th is a big date on the calendar for me,” said Keys. “The biggest game on the field happened when we won the Super Bowl on January 26, 1986,” said Keys. “I was awarded the 75th SEC (football conference) Story of Character Award on January 26, 2008. On January 26th 2010, ASCS received an honor (of distinction) from the Hope Center. Hank and Lynn Last Name left a memorial grant to ASCS on January 26th of 2012”.
“Those dates signify to me that as you parlay the game on the field and classroom to the biggest game of all — Life — you awaken to who you really are as a human being. A community service champion is a real and true champion. Acts 20:32 says ‘Now I commit you to God and to the word of his grace, which can build you up and give you an inheritance among all those who are sanctified.’ I’ve been divinely blessed by God’s Love and His mentorship on this glorious quest for real and true success.”
1. Sports Illustrated (Rick Telander) — November 4, 1985
2. Tyrone Keys Biography — allsportscommunity.org
3. Metro Christian Living (Peggy Wall and Barbara Hamilton) — September, 1012
4. Metro Christian Living (Peggy Wall and Barbara Hamilton) — September, 1012
