Bill Kenney
Encyclopedia
William Patrick Kenney is a retired quarterback
who spent 9 years in the National Football League
with the Kansas City Chiefs
from 1980 to 1988 and a former politician
who spent 8 years as a Missouri State Senator
. Kenney was originally drafted by the Miami Dolphins
in the 12th round of the 1978 NFL Draft
with the final selection, making him "Mr. Irrelevant
".
to play at Arizona State University
but transferred to small Saddleback College
after one season. After graduating from Saddleback, a two year junior college
, he spent the remainder of his college career
at the University of Northern Colorado
.
in 1978 when he was drafted by the Miami Dolphins
. The award traditionally is given to the last selection of the draft; Kenney earned the award as the second-to-last selection when the last player taken suffered a back injury and failed to report to camp. He was cut from the Dolphins at the end of training camp, but he had more success two years later, when he made the Kansas City Chiefs
roster as the backup to Steve Fuller. He ended up starting
games late in the year because of an injury to Fuller and did acceptably well. His late season performance helped him to take over the starting job for good in 1981.
After an average 1982 season
, Kenney was in line to be replaced by Todd Blackledge
, whom the Chiefs drafted as part of the vaunted Quarterback class of 1983. Kenney responded by having a breakout season, setting team records for passing yards (4,348) and completion
s (346) in a season; the latter was also good enough to lead the NFL. Kenney earned a Pro Bowl
berth that season
, and is the only Mr. Irrelevant to have been selected to one. At one point, he threw for over 300 yards in 4 games in a row, topping out at 417 yards in a loss to Seattle. Unfortunately for Kenney and the Chiefs, they would lose all four games.
He didn't come close to matching his 4,000-yard output over the next four seasons, but he did enough to prevent Blackledge from starting when he was healthy (in 1984
, he missed 7 weeks due to a thumb injury). He eventually gave up his starting job in 1988
when the Chiefs traded for Steve DeBerg
. Kenney was released after failing to throw a touchdown
pass in 114 attempts that season. He left the Chiefs as the second most prolific passer in team history behind Hall of Famer
Len Dawson
. He has been passed in most passing categories since then by Trent Green
; Green also broke Kenney's single season record for passing yards in 2004
.
In 1989, he signed with the Washington Redskins
to be the third quarterback behind Mark Rypien
and Doug Williams
. He did not appear in any games with the 'Skins, however, and he retired after the season.
after his retirement. He turned his attention to politics
at this time, and in 1994, he successfully ran as a Republican
to represent a portion of Kansas City
and parts of suburban Jackson County
in the Missouri State Senate. In 1996, Kenney ran an unsuccessful campaign to become Missouri's Lieutenant Governor
.
In 2001, Bill Kenney became the majority
floor leader
of the Missouri Senate, and held the position for two years. He left the Senate afterwards due to term limit
s, and retired from politics altogether as a result.
Quarterback
Quarterback is a position in American and Canadian football. Quarterbacks are members of the offensive team and line up directly behind the offensive line...
who spent 9 years in the National Football League
National Football League
The National Football League is the highest level of professional American football in the United States, and is considered the top professional American football league in the world. It was formed by eleven teams in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association, with the league changing...
with the Kansas City Chiefs
Kansas City Chiefs
The Kansas City Chiefs are a professional American football team based in Kansas City, Missouri. They are a member of the Western Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League . Originally named the Dallas Texans, the club was founded by Lamar Hunt in 1960 as a...
from 1980 to 1988 and a former politician
Politician
A politician, political leader, or political figure is an individual who is involved in influencing public policy and decision making...
who spent 8 years as a Missouri State Senator
Missouri Senate
The Missouri State Senate is the upper chamber of the Missouri General Assembly. It has 34 members, representing districts with an average population of 160,000...
. Kenney was originally drafted by the Miami Dolphins
Miami Dolphins
The Miami Dolphins are a Professional football team based in the Miami metropolitan area in Florida. The team is part of the Eastern Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
in the 12th round of the 1978 NFL Draft
1978 NFL Draft
The 1978 NFL Draft was the procedure by which National Football League teams selected amateur college football players. It is officially known as the NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting. The draft was held May 2–3, 1978...
with the final selection, making him "Mr. Irrelevant
Mr. Irrelevant
"Mr. Irrelevant" is the title bestowed each year upon the last pick of the annual National Football League draft.- Irrelevant Week :The name arose in 1976, when former Southern California and NFL receiver Paul Salata founded "Irrelevant Week" in Newport Beach, California. He announced the final...
".
High school/college
Kenney was born in San Francisco and graduated from San Clemente High School in 1973. He originally received a scholarshipScholarship
A scholarship is an award of financial aid for a student to further education. Scholarships are awarded on various criteria usually reflecting the values and purposes of the donor or founder of the award.-Types:...
to play at Arizona State University
Arizona State University
Arizona State University is a public research university located in the Phoenix Metropolitan Area of the State of Arizona...
but transferred to small Saddleback College
Saddleback College
The athletic programs are supported in part by the Associated Student Body at Saddleback College. Revenue generated from attendance at athletic events helps support the entire student activities program.-On-campus media outlets:*The Lariat...
after one season. After graduating from Saddleback, a two year junior college
Junior college
The term junior college refers to different educational institutions in different countries.-India:In India, most states provide schooling through 12th grade...
, he spent the remainder of his college career
College football
College football refers to American football played by teams of student athletes fielded by American universities, colleges, and military academies, or Canadian football played by teams of student athletes fielded by Canadian universities...
at the University of Northern Colorado
University of Northern Colorado
-Organization:The University of Northern Colorado offers 100 undergraduate programs and more than 100 graduate programs. The university has a satellite campus in Denver, Colorado...
.
NFL
Kenney was given the "honor" of being named Mr. IrrelevantMr. Irrelevant
"Mr. Irrelevant" is the title bestowed each year upon the last pick of the annual National Football League draft.- Irrelevant Week :The name arose in 1976, when former Southern California and NFL receiver Paul Salata founded "Irrelevant Week" in Newport Beach, California. He announced the final...
in 1978 when he was drafted by the Miami Dolphins
Miami Dolphins
The Miami Dolphins are a Professional football team based in the Miami metropolitan area in Florida. The team is part of the Eastern Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
. The award traditionally is given to the last selection of the draft; Kenney earned the award as the second-to-last selection when the last player taken suffered a back injury and failed to report to camp. He was cut from the Dolphins at the end of training camp, but he had more success two years later, when he made the Kansas City Chiefs
Kansas City Chiefs
The Kansas City Chiefs are a professional American football team based in Kansas City, Missouri. They are a member of the Western Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League . Originally named the Dallas Texans, the club was founded by Lamar Hunt in 1960 as a...
roster as the backup to Steve Fuller. He ended up starting
Starting lineup
A starting lineup in sports is an official list of the set of players who will actively participate in the event when the game begins. The players in the starting lineup are commonly referred to as starters, whereas the others are substitutes or bench players.The starters are commonly the best...
games late in the year because of an injury to Fuller and did acceptably well. His late season performance helped him to take over the starting job for good in 1981.
After an average 1982 season
1982 Kansas City Chiefs season
The 1982 Kansas City Chiefs season ended in a 3–6 record that resulted from the NFL Players Association strike that shortened the season.In May 1982, running back Joe Delaney underwent surgery to repair a detached retina in his eye, a radical procedure at the time...
, Kenney was in line to be replaced by Todd Blackledge
Todd Blackledge
Todd Alan Blackledge was an American football quarterback in both the NCAA and National Football League. In college, he led the Penn State Nittany Lions to a national championship; and, as a pro, he played for the Kansas City Chiefs and the Pittsburgh Steelers...
, whom the Chiefs drafted as part of the vaunted Quarterback class of 1983. Kenney responded by having a breakout season, setting team records for passing yards (4,348) and completion
Completion (American football)
A completion is a term used in American football when a receiver successfully catches a pass. The three possible outcomes of a pass thrown are completion, incompletion, and interception, respectively....
s (346) in a season; the latter was also good enough to lead the NFL. Kenney earned a Pro Bowl
Pro Bowl
In professional American football, the Pro Bowl is the all-star game of the National Football League . Since the merger with the rival American Football League in 1970, it has been officially called the AFC–NFC Pro Bowl, matching the top players in the American Football Conference against those...
berth that season
1983 Kansas City Chiefs season
The 1983 Kansas City Chiefs season ended with a second consecutive 6–10 record, and last place finish in the AFC West.To begin 1983, the Chiefs fired head coach Marv Levy on January 4 after compiling a 31–42 record. Dallas Cowboys quarterbacks coach John Mackovic was named the fifth head coach in...
, and is the only Mr. Irrelevant to have been selected to one. At one point, he threw for over 300 yards in 4 games in a row, topping out at 417 yards in a loss to Seattle. Unfortunately for Kenney and the Chiefs, they would lose all four games.
He didn't come close to matching his 4,000-yard output over the next four seasons, but he did enough to prevent Blackledge from starting when he was healthy (in 1984
1984 Kansas City Chiefs season
The 1984 Kansas City Chiefs season ended with an 8–8 record, and fourth place finish in the AFC West.Pro Bowl safety Gary Barbaro became the most notable Chiefs player to defect to the rival United States Football League, signing with the New Jersey Generals on February 2 after sitting out the...
, he missed 7 weeks due to a thumb injury). He eventually gave up his starting job in 1988
1988 Kansas City Chiefs season
The 1988 Kansas City Chiefs season ended with an 4–11–1 record, and last place finish in the AFC West.The spring was marked by several notable trades as the club jockeyed to improve on its 4–11 finish in 1987. Todd Blackledge was traded to Pittsburgh on March 29 and 12-year veteran quarterback...
when the Chiefs traded for Steve DeBerg
Steve DeBerg
Steven Leroy DeBerg had a long career as an American Football quarterback. His career spanned 21 years over 3 decades. Despite the fact that large portions of his career were spent as a backup, DeBerg ultimately accumulated some impressive NFL statistics, particularly during the early 1990s, when...
. Kenney was released after failing to throw a touchdown
Touchdown
A touchdown is a means of scoring in American and Canadian football. Whether running, passing, returning a kickoff or punt, or recovering a turnover, a team scores a touchdown by advancing the ball into the opponent's end zone.-Description:...
pass in 114 attempts that season. He left the Chiefs as the second most prolific passer in team history behind Hall of Famer
Pro Football Hall of Fame
The Pro Football Hall of Fame is the hall of fame of professional football in the United States with an emphasis on the National Football League . It opened in Canton, Ohio, on September 7, 1963, with 17 charter inductees...
Len Dawson
Len Dawson
Leonard Ray "Len" "Lenny" Dawson is a former American collegiate and Professional Football quarterback who attended Purdue University and went on to play for three professional teams, most notably the Dallas Texans/Kansas City Chiefs...
. He has been passed in most passing categories since then by Trent Green
Trent Green
Trent Jason Green is a retired professional American football quarterback. He was drafted by the San Diego Chargers in the eighth round of the 1993 NFL Draft. He played college football at Indiana University....
; Green also broke Kenney's single season record for passing yards in 2004
2004 Kansas City Chiefs season
The 2004 Kansas City Chiefs season proved not to be as successful as the team's previous season. Though the Chiefs finished the regular season with the most yards and the second highest amount of points, they also had a losing record of 7–9 and no playoff appearance.-Schedule:-Standings:...
.
In 1989, he signed with the Washington Redskins
Washington Redskins
The Washington Redskins are a professional American football team and members of the East Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The team plays at FedExField in Landover, Maryland, while its headquarters and training facility are at Redskin Park in Ashburn,...
to be the third quarterback behind Mark Rypien
Mark Rypien
Mark Robert Rypien is a former American football quarterback in the National Football League. He is the first Canadian-born quarterback to start in the NFL.-Biography:...
and Doug Williams
Doug Williams (football player)
Douglas Lee "Doug" Williams is a former American football quarterback and head football coach of the Grambling State University Tigers...
. He did not appear in any games with the 'Skins, however, and he retired after the season.
Politics
Kenney took up residency in Lee's Summit, MissouriLee's Summit, Missouri
Lee's Summit is a city in the U.S. state of Missouri, and is contained within the counties of Jackson and Cass. As of the 2010 census found the population at 91,364 making it the sixth-largest city in the Kansas City Metropolitan Area and the sixth-largest city in Missouri...
after his retirement. He turned his attention to politics
Politics
Politics is a process by which groups of people make collective decisions. The term is generally applied to the art or science of running governmental or state affairs, including behavior within civil governments, but also applies to institutions, fields, and special interest groups such as the...
at this time, and in 1994, he successfully ran as a Republican
Republican Party (United States)
The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...
to represent a portion of Kansas City
Kansas City, Missouri
Kansas City, Missouri is the largest city in the U.S. state of Missouri and is the anchor city of the Kansas City Metropolitan Area, the second largest metropolitan area in Missouri. It encompasses in parts of Jackson, Clay, Cass, and Platte counties...
and parts of suburban Jackson County
Jackson County, Missouri
Jackson County is a county located in the U.S. state of Missouri. With a population of 674,158 in the 2010 census, Jackson County is the second most populous of Missouri's counties, after St. Louis County. Kansas City, the state's most populous city and focus city of the Kansas City Metropolitan...
in the Missouri State Senate. In 1996, Kenney ran an unsuccessful campaign to become Missouri's Lieutenant Governor
Lieutenant governor
A lieutenant governor or lieutenant-governor is a high officer of state, whose precise role and rank vary by jurisdiction, but is often the deputy or lieutenant to or ranking under a governor — a "second-in-command"...
.
In 2001, Bill Kenney became the majority
Majority leader
In U.S. politics, the majority floor leader is a partisan position in a legislative body.In the federal Congress, the role differs slightly in the two houses. In the House of Representatives, which chooses its own presiding officer, the leader of the majority party is elected the Speaker of the...
floor leader
Floor Leader
Floor Leaders are leaders of their political parties in each of the houses of the legislature.- Senate :In the United States Senate, they are elected by their respective party conferences to serve as the chief Senate spokesmen for their parties and to manage and schedule the legislative and...
of the Missouri Senate, and held the position for two years. He left the Senate afterwards due to term limit
Term limit
A term limit is a legal restriction that limits the number of terms a person may serve in a particular elected office. When term limits are found in presidential and semi-presidential systems they act as a method to curb the potential for monopoly, where a leader effectively becomes "president for...
s, and retired from politics altogether as a result.
External links
- Database Football - career statistics
- Mr. Irrelevant - List of past Mr. Irrelevants, including Kenney