Toronto Argonauts’ quarterback Chad Kelly brought some swag to the city’s Major League Baseball team on Tuesday night, throwing the first pitch for their game against the Baltimore Orioles.
The 29-year-old wore an unbuttoned Blue Jays’ jersey adorned with his name and number from the Argonauts. He stood just shy of the mound and delivered a high pitch to infielder Ernie Clement and received an ovation from the crowd.
The six-foot-two, 216-pound passer has taken the CFL by storm in his first year as a starter, throwing for 1,530 yards, eight touchdowns, and four interceptions amid an undefeated start to the season. This year marks the first time the Argos are 6-0 since 1935, having most recently defeated the Saskatchewan Roughriders in Touchdown Atlantic.
Swag delivers the first pitch at the @BlueJays game 🔥 pic.twitter.com/Knp2dEwB2X
— Toronto Argonauts (@TorontoArgos) August 2, 2023
Kelly took the long road to the CFL after achieving notoriety in college over stints at Clemson and Ole Miss. He was selected in the seventh round of the 2017 NFL Draft by the Denver Broncos but was released by the team in October 2018 after being arrested for first-degree criminal trespassing. He later pled guilty to misdemeanor second-degree criminal trespassing.
After a two-year stint with the Indianapolis Colts, Kelly briefly entered the coaching ranks before electing to sign with the Argos. His CFL rights originally belonged to the Edmonton Elks, though they were acquired by Toronto via trade.
The native of Buffalo, N.Y. is the nephew of Pro Football Hall of Fame quarterback Jim Kelly, who attended one of Toronto’s games earlier this season. This is his second year with the Argonauts, having won the Grey Cup in 2022 as a backup to McLeod Bethel-Thompson.
The Argos (6-0) are scheduled to visit the Calgary Stampeders (2-5) on Friday, Aug. 4 with kickoff slated for 9:00 p.m. It will mark the first of two meetings between the teams this season.
